Back in high school, Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez was one of the highest-scoring basketball players in the nation, while Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud starred not only in football but on the basketball court. Just a couple counties away in southern California, their two schools faced off against each other on the hardwood in 2019.
Stroud recently said on a podcast that in their matchup, he put up 40 points and hit the game-winning shot for his school, Rancho Cucamonga, against Jaquez’s Camarillo High School. “Have you ever had a moment where they rushed the floor for you hitting the game-winner?” he asked fellow NFL player Micah Parsons on the podcast.
C.J. Stroud says he dropped 40 points on Jaime Jaquez in HS
(via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/vfkOZB3UfJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 14, 2024
While speaking to a reporter during All-Star Weekend, Jaquez was asked about Stroud’s comments and the game.
“I’ll make of it this way — I don’t think he had 40, but he definitely hit the game-winner. He had a crazy game-winner,” Jaquez said.
FoulUpThree found the receipts, and Stroud was only half-right — he finished with 26 points but hit the game-winning shot, and the crowd rushed the floor.
That shot was impressive enough that we have no issue with Stroud saying he put up 40. A game-winner like that against an opponent like Jaquez gives him the right to brag however he wants.
For what it’s worth, both players spoke with respect for the other. Stroud called Jaquez the Heat’s other star (along with Jimmy Butler), and clearly took pride in putting up that kind of performance against a player of Jaquez’s caliber.
Jaquez averaged 31.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game in his senior year. Now on the Heat, he is averaging 12.8 points as a rookie and was a member of the Rising Stars game.
Stroud clearly still has basketball talent too, as he scored 31 points in the NBA’s All-Star Celebrity Game last week.
Jaquez sent respect back Stroud’s way.
“I’m wishing him all the best from SoCal,” Jaquez said.
