By Brenna Eller
Opinion Page Editor
On Tuesday, Hutchinson Community College sophomore guard J.J. Rhymes was named first-team NJCAA All-American. His honor marks the third-year-straight that the HutchCC men’s basketball team has had a player in the first-team NJCAA All-American.
Rhymes played as a freshman and contributed to win a national championship in 2017, and this year carried the Blue Dragons to the NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship again.
Rhymes hit his career-high of 41 points December 6, against Butler 82-80. Rhymes hit the game-winning shot with a 3-pointer as the buzzer went off.
In addition to his career-high, Rhymes became 11th in Blue Dragon history to score 700 points in a season with 704 total points. He also made the career Top 10 scoring list, placing with 1,295 points.
Rhymes is one of two Jayhawk Conference players to have earned a spot in the All-American this 2018 season. The second being Coffeyville guard Travis Washington. Rhymes also was named Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year and was a first-team Region 6 selection.
