2021 6’10 Jonathan Kurtas

Another NC Phenom 150 Exposure Camp breakout performer. Every camp the NC Phenom 150 provides a stage for newcomers to take ahold and run with it. For Session 3 of the 16th Annual NC Phenom 150 Exposure Camp, 6’10” 2021 Jonathan Kurtas was this player here. 

Kurtas have always had the skillset, with some size. Last year, during this same camp our Keion Robinson wrote, “Kurtas has a chance to become a next-level forward soon considering all he does well. He stands tall, posts inside aggressively, can find others on the perimeter out of the block and has excellent patience with the ball. The maturity in his game sets him apart from most of the younger forwards we’ve come across so far. Keep an eye on him.” At the time Robison wrote this, Kurtas was 6’7”, a good size, however, Kurtas stepped foot in here, a year later, at 6’10”.

Over the past few months, Kurtas has grown 3 inches and gained 32 pounds. With this growth, he has been able to keep (and in some cases enhance) his skill set. Kurtas runs the floor exceptionally well. He has great hands to go with good footwork on the block and touch over both shoulders. He is a vertically explosive and has the look of someone who may not be done growing. Kurtas’ father is 6’6” and mom is 6’2”, he attends Southlake Christian, with NC State great Rodney Monroe is the head coach. 

In his first game at Session 3 of the 16th Annual NC Phenom 150 Exposure Camp, Kurtas went toe to toe with fellow 6’10” 2021 prospect Kuluel Mading. Kurtas finished that game with 17 points, 13 boards, and 7 blocked shots. And to reiterate, we don’t say toe to toe, as in we faced Mading (**Note here that Mading’s last offer was Clemson. ), we are saying that he matched Mading in everything that he did. Kurtas showcased excellent shot block timing, he put the ball on the floor, delivered pinpoint passes, displayed excellent footwork on the block (on multiple occasions) and he dunked on a kid off a drop step (VICIOUS!!). He followed this performance up with a 19 points, 12 rebound game in game 2. 

A lot of this points towards more growth to come, and yes, Kurtas as taken an apparent huge leap very recently, but as they always say its the bigs you have to be patient with. Last season, Kurtas averaged 8 points, 9 boards and 5 blocks per game, again this was as a 6’7” post player. Expect a huge jump in the rankings and the 6’10” post player’s recruitment to really take a jump over the next year. He is the goods and just now scratching the surface.