Palmetto basketball standout Jarrid Rhodes headed for Missouri State

Former Palmetto High standout Jarrid Rhodes finished his junior college career on a high note and has signed with Division I Missouri State University, which plays in the tough Missouri Valley Conference.

The 6-foot-7 guard averaged 13.4 points and earned NJCAA All-Region II honors in helping Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa College to a 26-7 record and 25h ranking in the national JUCO final season poll. Rhodes shot 37.1 percent from 3-point land and averaged five rebounds per game.

He also received offers from Duquesne, Tulsa, Buffalo and Middle Tennessee. Because of his height and long range shooting, Rhodes is considered a unique prospect with a very high ceiling. With senior Tre Clark verbally committed to Furman and slated to sign next month, Palmetto could have two former players playing Division I basketball next season.

Former Palmetto High standout Jordan Smith finished his college basketball career with two solid seasons at Benedict College in South Carolina.

The guard was the Tigers second-leading scorer last season averaging 12.4 points per game in helping Benedict to a 16-12 record. He led the team in 3-point field goals (69-194) shooting 36.7 percent from beyond the arc

Smith scored in double figures in 15 games with a high of 26 points against Paine when he drained 8 of 14 from beyond the arc.

Smith plans to continue playing basketball and is leaving his options open. He has received interest from professional teams overseas and could wind up in Germany, another option could

be playing in the NBA Development League.

Former Bradenton Herald Player of The Year Jordan Young was having a standout season for Johnson County Community College (Kansas) before he suffered an injury.

The Palmetto grad averaged 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and led his team in 3-point field goal percentage (43.8).

Young was the second-leading scorer for JCCC and scored in double figures in 15 of 17 games he appeared. The 6-5 swingman who grew up in St. Louis before moving to Palmetto in his junior year, expects to be healthy next season and return for his sophomore year.

Trevon Young, Braden River's career scoring and rebounding leader, left the football program at the University of Florida after realizing basketball is his true love.

The 6-5 forward showed it was good decision this past season when he averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 49 percent for Division II Eckerd College.

Brian Cobb, one of Lakewood Ranch's top players, finished his career at Eckerd. He averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds for Lakewood Ranch as a junior but missed nearly all of his senior season with a torn ACL.

Reggie Smalls, 2010-11 Bradenton Herald Player of the Year, averaged 8.3 points per game in helping Miles College (Ala), to a 17-13 season. The Southeast High product shot 44 percent from the field and 40 percent on 3-pointers. Miles plays in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), the same as Benedict.

Isiah Williams, who earned Suncoast Conference Player of the Honors when he led State College of Florida in scoring (17 points per game), saw his college career end when Iona was eliminated by Iowa State in the NCAA Division I tournament.

The 6-3 Williams averaged 12.8 points and 6.9 rebounds for Iona and was second on the team with 89 treys while shooting 35% from beyond the arc.

He averaged 17 points. 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his only season at SCF.

Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter at ADellSports.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 11:53 PM with the headline "Palmetto basketball standout Jarrid Rhodes headed for Missouri State ."