This new skill is helping Independence basketball star, Southern Miss signee Jett Montgomery
Jett Montgomery flew down the court for what looked like would be another transition layup for the Independence basketball star.
Then he hit the brakes, rose on a dime and smoothed a jump shot through the net.
That’s not something opponents have seen from him in recent years.
“If you look at any of the greats in the NBA, college, they have a pull-up game. I always watched videos and was like, ‘I need to get that,’ ” said Montgomery, who finished with 33 points in Tuesday’s 65-59 win at Brentwood. “I literally shot thousands of those this summer. Pull-up, pull-up, pull-up. Pull-up left, pull-up right, step back.”
Montgomery, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior who has signed with Southern Miss, entered the season as one of the area’s top players and an early favorite to contend for the Mr. Basketball award. In December, he broke former Independence and Belmont star Grayson Murphy’s school career scoring record, surpassing Murphy’s 2,093-point mark.
Most of Montgomery's career points have come from the 3-point line or drives to the basket. For a while, he was primarily known as a spot-up deep shooter.
The last piece of the puzzle was developing a mid-range shot to keep opponents guessing. It’s helped him average 23.6 points, up from 21.4, on 51% field-goal shooting through 16 games.
Montgomery’s performance against Brentwood might not have been possible without multiple moves. His playing time was limited by three first-half fouls.
“He’s added to his game where he can score at every level,” Independence coach Mark Wilkins said. “I think he’s taking a lot more (mid-range shots) because teams aren’t letting him just stand there and shoot threes.”
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Montgomery’s future is another reason he developed a new shot. Getting layups against bigger Division I post players won’t be easy. He has already learned that lesson from elite AAU competition. It was also apparent Tuesday against Brentwood’s 6-7 forward Daniel Cochran, who swatted away a couple of Montgomery’s attempts.
“If someone is taking away the three and you can’t get all the way to the basket, it’s an easy way to score,” Montgomery said.
Independence (13-3) will need every move in Montgomery’s arsenal to reach the Class 4A state championship game again. The Eagles went 33-5 and finished as state runners-up, losing 69-57 to Memphis Overton in the finals.
Montgomery is sharing point guard duties with Tylan Lewis after primarily playing off the ball in the past. And with a new mid-range shot, his points can come from anywhere.
“I’ve had this part of my game, but I’ve never been elite at it," he said. "I think that's what I was missing the most.”
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA basketball: Why Independence's Jett Montgomery worked on jump shots
