AJ Storr Q&A
Updated: Jun 11, 2022
With such a limited amount of opportunities for exposure in 2020, few have been able to dramatically boost their stock like AJ Storr has done as of late. A native of Rockford, Illinois, Storr grew up in an athletic family and seemed primed to break out at some point during his early career. After a transition out west to Bishop Gorman and more recently AZ Compass Prep, Storr has quickly made a name for himself as one of the rising perimeter prospects in the 2022 class.
After a stellar performance during the Border League on national television, Storr turned some heads and consequently, his recruitment really began to heat up. Measuring at 6’6” and weighing in at 200 pounds, Storr has all the physical tools to hold his own as he transitions up levels. Storr also brings excellent vertical pop, open court speed, and burst to a roster from an athletic standpoint. With a smooth shooting stroke and versatility on the defensive end, Storr has the upside to plug and play for any program as a 3+D guard/wing. Look for the offers to continue rolling in as he gains more exposure over the coming months.
As part of the Pro Insight Q&A series, Storr discusses his move across the country, his recruitment, his motives, various off-court interests, and much more.
For the next installment of the Pro Insight Q&A series, we present 2022 prospect AJ Storr, from Rockford, Illinois:
Pro Insight: Tell us a bit about your background.
AJ Storr: I’m from Rockford, Illinois. It’s a little bit outside of Chicago, but it’s not a suburb so don’t think of it as a suburb. My mom played basketball in college and she also played semi-pro; my sister played basketball in college, too. She just came from a D-1 school — she transferred out, but she’s about to go back to a D-1. She’s working on her associate’s degree and stuff like that. I’m from the west side of Rockford, Illinois, and I started playing basketball when I was six years old and I just fell in love with the game since then.
PI: Any other siblings?
AS: Yeah, I actually have four brothers on my dad’s side and a sister on my mom’s side.
PI: Any of them play sports, as well?
AS: They’re all younger than me, but yeah my little brother started playing basketball about two years ago, he’s eight years old right now. My other brother he’s more into football, he doesn’t like basketball like that.
PI: Did you play football growing up?
AS: Yeah, I definitely played football growing up. I actually used to like football more than basketball when I was in elementary school, but then I started growing and started liking basketball more.
PI: When did you start focusing more on basketball?
AS: I would say 8th grade — going into my freshman year I started focusing on basketball more.
PI: Why’d you shift more toward basketball?
AS: I liked them both [football & basketball], but I liked basketball more. I got inspired when I started watching LeBron more. Even though I’ve been a fan of basketball since I was like five years old, around 8th grade is when I got inspired to go to the NBA.
PI: How did your approach to the game change when you made that shift?
AS: When I was playing both basketball and football I wasn’t in the gym nearly as much as I was when I just started focusing on basketball. Once I started focusing on basketball I was in the gym more...you have to start working on different stuff with your body between basketball and football, so I was just running the treadmill a lot, getting my miles up, getting shots up, and was in the gym way more.
PI: What positions did you play in football?
AS: I played QB, RB, DE, and CB. Yeah, lotta positions.
PI: If you stuck with football, what position would you have tried to play in college?
AS: QB — that was definitely my position.
PI: Describe your game — what are your biggest strengths on the court?
AS: For those who haven’t seen me play, I’m a great catch-and-shoot shooter. I like slashing to the rim and dunking on people. My ball-handling can get better, but I’m improving on it every day. I just like dunking and I like winning. I’m a winner. I’m that type of guy.
PI: How about some things that could use improvement?
AS: For the next level, definitely getting more in shape, tightening my ball-handling, and keeping my body fit for the next level. I think that will be the biggest thing.
PI: What about some underrated aspects of your game?
AS: My catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. I hardly miss when I catch it off the swing. And of course my bounce, I think my bounce is up there, too.