Jerrod Long learning to lead on and off the court in his first year at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School

BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) - This week’s ABC7 Athlete of the Week is Jerrod Long. He’s a junior and star basketball player for the Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School (SSES) Falcons.

“I do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Long said. “If I have ten points, it’s points. If it’s 25, it’s 25. I just do my part. We are a unit. We are a team together.”

They are out to a hot start (9-3) and Long is a huge part of that. He’s had multiple games this season of scoring at least 25 plus points. However, the stats only mean something to him if it’s helping his team collect W’s.

“The game comes to me because I have a lot of good players on my team with me,” Long said. “It’s not just me trying to go get a bucket every single time. I kind of play within the system.”

Although it’s his first year with the Falcons, Long started his high school playing journey on the Suncoast at Braden River High School. He’s been playing the game since he was a young boy, and he says he’s learned many of the biggest lessons of his life through basketball.

“You’ve got to have grit in order to win,” Long said. “A person who wants it more will go get it. Work ethic, working hard and staying to the grind really matter.”

It helps that his head coach, Kevin Sutton, is in first year with this program too. It gives them a chance to learn and grow at SSES together.

“Jerrod is another fantastic young man, and has become a great leader for us,” Sutton said. “I love the fact that Jerrod epitomizes what a student-athlete is.”

Long gets it done off the court too. “I’ve got a 4.2 [GPA] right now at this school even though it’s very rigorous and hard to perform in,” Long said. “I’m involved with a lot of clubs. I’m about to be class president soon next year.”

When it comes to the hardwood, he wants to play on the next level in college. For right now, he’s focused on being the best for the Falcons that he can be.

“I’d like to put up a banner,” Long said. “Every single place that I’ve went, I haven’t put up a banner yet. I want to be able to turn the school around.”