TJ Starks
Starks in 2017
Juventus Utena
PositionShooting guard / Point guard
LeagueLithuanian Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1998-09-11) September 11, 1998
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021Rytas Vilnius
2021Wisconsin Herd
2021–2022Nevėžis
2022Semt77 Yalovaspor
2022–2023Kolossos Rodou
2023Al-Rayyan
2023–2024Apollon Patras
2024–presentJuventus Utena
Career highlights and awards
  • Qatari League champion (2023)
  • First-team All-Big West (2021)
  • Big West Newcomer of the Year (2021)
  • SEC All-Freshman Team (2018)

Tahjon "TJ" Starks (born September 11, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for Texas A&M and Cal State Northridge.

Early life and high school career

Starks attended Lancaster High School and played under head coach Ferrin Douglas. As a junior, he averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game. Starks led the Tigers to its second consecutive Class 5A State Championship and scored 20 points during the championship-game win against Elkins High School. As a senior, he was selected as the 2017 5A Region II District 10 Offensive Player of the Year as well as a Class 5A All-State selection by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.[1] Starks was regarded as a three-star prospect and committed to Texas A&M in June 2016 over an offer from Oklahoma.[2]

College career

As a freshman, Starks made 15 starts and averaged 9.9 points and 2.3 assists per game.[1] He helped lead Texas A&M to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and scored 21 points in an upset of North Carolina in the second round. Starks earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors.[3] He made a buzzer-beating three-pointer on January 12, 2019, to propel the Aggies to an 81-80 win over Alabama.[4] On February 26, Starks sustained a right shoulder injury in a loss against LSU, which required hospitalization and forced him to miss the rest of the season.[5] He averaged 12.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game as a sophomore.[6] Starks missed the first two games of his junior season with an ankle injury he sustained during an exhibition game. On November 14, 2019, he was suspended indefinitely due to being arrested for possession of two ounces or less of marijuana.[7]

Starks entered the transfer portal and was contacted by Mo Williams, an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge. Despite not being familiar with the program, he committed to the Matadors over interest from DePaul. Starks sat out the rest of the season as a redshirt and was expected to help replace the production of the departing Lamine Diane and Terrell Gomez.[8] On February 19, 2021, he scored a career-high 31 points in a 75-74 loss to Hawaii.[9] As a redshirt junior, Starks averaged 21.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.[10] He was named to the First Team All-Big West as well as Big West Newcomer of the Year.[11] Following the season, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft.[12]

Professional career

On September 5, 2021, Starks signed his first professional contract with Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[10]

In October 2021, Starks joined the Wisconsin Herd after a successful tryout.[13]

On December 11, 2021, Starks signed with Nevėžis of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[14] In 10 games, he averaged 18.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

On March 26, 2022, Starks signed with Semt77 Yalovaspor of the Turkish Basketball Super League for the rest of the season.[15] He averaged 13.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

On July 30, 2022, Starks signed with Greek club Kolossos Rodou. On April 9, 2023, he parted ways with the club. In 14 domestic games (12 in the Greek Basket League and 2 in the Supercup), he averaged 15 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 22 minutes per contest. Starks ended the season with Qatari club Al-Rayyan, scoring 18.3 points per game.

On July 31, 2023, Starks signed with Greek club Apollon Patras.[16] On January 8, 2024, he parted ways with the team.[17]

On January 14, 2024, Starks signed with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) until the end of the 2023–24 season.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Hattersley, Andrew (November 14, 2019). "A&M G TJ Starks suspended indefinitely for violating team rules". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  2. ↑ Riddle, Greg (June 30, 2016). "Three-star recruit T.J. Starks commits to Texas A&M after helping Lancaster win state title". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Meet the Matadors: TJ Starks & Amound Anderson". Cal State Northridge Matadors. November 13, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  4. ↑ Miller, Alex (January 12, 2019). "WATCH: Texas A&M's TJ Starks hits buzzer beater to give Aggies win over Alabama". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ Dauster, Rob (February 27, 2019). "Texas A&M guard TJ Starks taken to hospital after shoulder injury". NBC Sports. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  6. ↑ Thompson, Cole (November 14, 2019). "Update: TJ Starks Suspended Indefinitely". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  7. ↑ Brown, Travis (November 14, 2019). "Texas A&M basketball player TJ Starks suspended indefinitely following drug arrest". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  8. ↑ Whicker, Mark (March 1, 2021). "Whicker: CSUN's TJ Starks is filling up the basket, reeling in the years". The Orange County Register. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Madut scores 23 to lead Hawaii over CSU Northridge 75-74". ESPN. Associated Press. February 19, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Rytas bring in rookie T.J. Starks". Eurobasket. September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Big West Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team". Big West Conference. March 8, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  12. ↑ Parker, Timothy (July 27, 2021). "With NBA Draft coming, CSUN star TJ Starks looks for his chance". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Wisconsin Herd Announces 2021 Training Camp Roster". Our Sports Central. October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Nevėžis added an American who participated in the Morning Review / News". Diglogs. December 11, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Yalovaspor lands T.J. Starks". Sportando. March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  16. ↑ "T.J. Starks (ex Al Rayyan) joins AS Apollon Patras". Eurobasket. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Απόλλωνας Πάτρας: Ο Χριστόπουλος αλλάζει οριστικά τον Σταρκς". sportal.gr (in Greek). January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Utenos komandos gretas papildė T.J. Starksas". utenosjuventus.lt (in Lithuanian). January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
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