One section I love To check every day at eurobasket.com are the top scorers of that day. Usually it is guys who produced big scoring games in lower leagues that I have never heard of, but every now and then I´ll see a name that I have covered or interviewed before. Just the other day I saw that American J.J. Frazier (178-PG-1995, college: Georgia, agency: MSG) had exploded for a ridiculous 48 points in a league game in Azerbaijan. I had remembered seeing him play in Frankfurt a few years ago and had interviewed him so I just had to jump at a new interview. Unfortunately I couldn´t reach him right away and was somewhat miffed why he wasn´t answering my messages. I thought maybe he had changed numbers and I reached out to his agent ex Euroleague and ACB champion Pete Mickeall and low and behold, I was correct. He had changed his number and when I got a text message with what´s up brother, I knew my interview would become reality. I reached JJ at mid day and he was as happy as could be. His season was going well and being able to score a career high meant a lot to him and his family and dad who was watching from above. “My career high before was 37. My dad had watched all my games my whole career. Unfortunately he passed a away in October. This game meant so much to me. I really wanted to prove something this game. I had been getting some comments again that I can´t score in the paint or use my right hand to score. I took that personally and took it to heart”, stressed J.J. Frazier.

The 178cm guard who once scored 57 points in high school knew very quickly from the get go that he would have an incredible scoring game. “The energy was different after I hit my first bucket. I usually like to set the table and then eat with my teammates, but this game it was different. I was a lot more aggressive and noticed their defense wouldn´t adjust on me. I just kept scoring. I scored like 16 points in the first quarter”, said J.J. Frazier. He was 0/4 from outside but scored 19 baskets from the 2 point range and was 10/10 from the free throw line. Was he totally content with his aggressiveness? “Yes I was. Going 0/4 from outside was disappointing. I only took one of those shots to make as the other 3 were low on the shot clock. My mindset is always to play downhill. That way I´m always an advantage to my team”, added J.J. Frazier. There were only 11 team assists. Did most of his scoring points come off the isolation? “Yes it was heavy isolation. They switched a lot early. I took advantage of it and had many good early looks and took advantage of it”, commented J.J. Frazier. Did not reaching 50 points bother him and does making 48 points motivate him even more to achieve 50 points one day? “My teammates were pushing me to get 50 points, but not reaching it didn´t bother me. I respect the game and the opponent. I feel like I had enough opportunities to get 50. I didn´t want to try to disrespect them. A win is a win and I´m super happy we got it. It motivates me to keep playing well, because after a game like that, opponents will guard me differently. I have always said, I would rather have a 15/7/11 game to even it out than a big scoring game. But the team needed scoring, so that is what I gave them”, warned J.J. Frazier. He hadn´t rewatched the game yet and didn´t have a favorite own basket of the game. His phone after the feat was flooded with messages and he was really happy about 2 messages. “I was really happy that my college coach Mark Fox was the first to reach out. I had previously had my college high of 37 against Mississippi State with him. I was also pleased to hear from my sister. It was a very big moment for my family”, stated J.J. Frazier.

After playing in countries like France, Spain, Germany, Turkey and Qatar, the walking bucket who last saw the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck film The Rip now is playing with Absheron Baku (Azerbaijan-ABL). It doesn´t matter where he has played in his career, he has always gotten love from the organizations he has played for. “Every club I have played for have given me the utmost respect. I really like learning about new cultures as well. I have shown my whole career that I can adapt to any place”, stressed J.J. Frazier. Despite playing in his ninth season, he is still seeking that first chip. Currently the team is 13-1 and battling with other top team Sabah for the crown. Could this be the year for him to finally taste champagne? “I believe so. Sabah is a very good team, but I believe in our roster and how it was constructed. I believe that if we can get to the final then anything is possible. I believe in our chances to win”, added J.J. Frazier. The team has many veterans and Americans. He is having an amazing season averaging 24/5/9/1 stats. As the point guard, his role is to be that leader that all can buy into. “All have bought into their roles and that is why we are winning. I have related well to our coaches message and the reason my numbers are like that is because all have bought in to what he says. Any player can have a break out game, but the most important thing for all is to win”, warned J.J. Frazier. He has been equally as well in the Fiba Europe Cup averaging 21/5/7 stats. He is so close to averaging 10,0apg which is seen seldom in top leagues overseas and it is something that is very realistic for him. “I was already averaging 10,0apg this season. My team has to play defense and feel involved as much as I do. I just give them opportunities to make plays. Averaging 9,0 apg really comes with ease”, said J.J. Frazier. After playing with the Fraport Skyliners, he played the last 2 seasons in Turkey in the TBL He continued to be a massive walking bucket scoring in double figures in 52 of 53 games and scored 20 points or more 33 times, but what also was refreshing and pretty to watch was how much his playmaking grew as he averaged 7,0apg in the 2 seasons something that has continued to transform to greater heights this season. “I was really blessed to play for coach Bas. He put a lot of confidence in my game. He helped me play with tempo, aggression and confidence. I regret not having shown that the year before in Frankfurt. I had personal things I was dealing with. Bas gave me full control and understood my intellect and let me manage the game and simply let me flourish. I became an extension of him on the court”, remembered J.J. Frazier. He also played with ultra veteran Eric Bucknor in Turkey and will never forget it. “Eric is a great guy. He is so athletic and even if he was older, he could still get up to the rim. He was a great veteran presence and I had a blast playing with him”, said J.J. Frazier. At age 30 now, are chips the only thing that drives him? “Winning as many chips as possible now is all that´s left. I want to be known as a winner. Winning is what drives me to wake up each morning”, stressed J.J. Frazier. He wants to play at least 8 more years. It will be interesting if he reaches his goal. This season could be the best chance to win a dub, so let´s go J.J. Frazier and make it happen.