Tahjon "TJ" Starks (born September 11, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who recently played for Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for Texas A&M and Cal State Northridge.

Early life and high school career

Starks attended Lancaster High School and played under head coach Ferrin Douglas. As a junior, he averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game. Starks led the Tigers to its second consecutive Class 5A State Championship and scored 20 points during the championship-game win against Elkins High School. As a senior, he was selected as the 2017 5A Region II District 10 Offensive Player of the Year as well as a Class 5A All-State selection by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Starks was regarded as a three-star prospect and committed to Texas A&M in June 2016 over an offer from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

College career

As a freshman, Starks made 15 starts and averaged 9.9 points and 2.3 assists per game. He helped lead Texas A&M to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and scored 21 points in an upset of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the second round. Starks earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors. He made a buzzer-beating three-pointer on January 12, 2019, to propel the Aggies to an 81-80 win over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. On February 26, Starks sustained a right shoulder injury in a loss against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, which required hospitalization and forced him to miss the rest of the season. He averaged 12.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game as a sophomore. Starks missed the first two games of his junior season with an ankle injury he sustained during an exhibition game. On November 14, 2019, he was suspended indefinitely due to being arrested for possession of two ounces or less of marijuana. Starks entered the transfer portal and was contacted by

Mo Williams Maurice Williams (born December 19, 1982) is the head men's basketball coach at Jackson State University and a former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high scho ...

, an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge. Despite not being familiar with the program, he committed to the Matadors over interest from DePaul. Starks sat out the rest of the season as a redshirt and was expected to help replace the production of the departing

Lamine Diane Lamine Diane (born November 7, 1997) is a Senegalese professional basketball player who last played for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Cal State Northridge Matadors. He was named the Big West Pl ...

and

Terrell Gomez Terrell Gomez (born February 5, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Chorale Roanne Basket of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for Cal State Northridge and San Diego State. Early life and high school career Gomez att ...

. On February 19, 2021, he scored a career-high 31 points in a 75-74 loss to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. As a redshirt junior, Starks averaged 21.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He was named to the First Team All- Big West as well as Big West Newcomer of the Year. Following the season, he declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

Professional career

On September 5, 2021, Starks signed his first professional contract with Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League. In October 2021, Starks joined the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

after a successful tryout. On December 11, 2021, Starks signed with Nevėžis of the Lithuanian Basketball League. In 10 games, he averaged 18.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists. On March 26, 2022, Starks signed with Semt77 Yalovaspor of the Turkish Basketball Super League for the rest of the season. He averaged 13.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. On July 30, 2022, Starks signed with Greek club Kolossos Rodou. On April 9, 2023, he parted ways with the club. In 14 domestic games (12 in the Greek Basket League and 2 in the Supercup), he averaged 15 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 22 minutes per contest. Starks ended the season with Qatari club Al-Rayyan, scoring 18.3 points per game. On July 31, 2023, Starks signed with Greek club

Apollon Patras :''The first version of this article has been based in the text of :el:Α.Σ. Απόλλων of the Greek Wikipedia published under the GFDL.'' A.S. Apollon Patras (Greek:''A.Σ. Απόλλων Πατρών'') is a multi-sports club that is ba ...

. On January 8, 2024, he parted ways with the team. On January 14, 2024, Starks signed with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) until the end of the 2023–24 season.

References

External links

Eurobasket profile

RealGM profile

Texas A&M Aggies bio

Cal State Northridge Matadors bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starks, TJ 1998 births Living people American men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Apollon Patras B.C. players BC Juventus players BC Rytas players BC Nevėžis players Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball players Kolossos Rodou B.C. players People from Lancaster, Texas Sportspeople from Ellis County, Texas Point guards Shooting guards Basketball players from Dallas County, Texas Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players Wisconsin Herd players Yalovaspor BK players