Anton Jannson had already barricaded himself in the gym all summer, playing to his strengths as a spot-up shooter with a steadily evolving handle and growing pull-up game.
And so the timing was right. During the summer of 2016, Jansson underwent the type of immense growth spurt every 15-year-old guard with pro aspirations longs for.
"Just like that, I shot up from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-7," recalls Jannson, the Sweden native who currently stands at 6-foot-11 and now creates an inevitable series of matchup headaches while playing for Golden State Prep.
"At the time, I was finding my competitive nature really. I had decided I wanted to live on this game. I was playing in a men's league at the time and basically living in the gym. I watched a lot of Chris Bosh and decided I wanted to play like him."
With a deft long range shooting touch, an above average IQ and feel for the game, plus a newfound explosiveness (one evident in the thunderous dunks he now pulls off), Jansson has sustained that guard/wing skill set he initially established at 15.
Now half an inch to 7-feet and entertaining a serious uptick of interest from a barrage of Division-1 programs, Jansson has found his niche as a multi-faceted, inside outside scorer with a heady passing arsenal.
Oregon State, Ohio, St. Joe's, LaSalle, and most recently Texas Tech have been keeping current tabs on the upstart international talent, who will play in this weekend's Hoop Exchange All American Jamboree in Orlando, Fla.
Like his countryman David Appelgren (Wofford) before him, Jannson understands the opportunity that comes with playing in the United States.
"I am open to any and all scholarship opportunities," he said. "The key is to really see what style best fits me and allows me to be me."
Jansson said his natural distaste for losing, competitive juices, and ability to not only be a versatile offensive threat but provide thorough rim protection are his bedrock assets.
Whether it is a simple shooting drill or a marquee matchup, it is clear competitiveness and a full throttle emphasis on winning are ultimately the defining characteristics of his game.
"Being at Golden State Prep and acclimating to the American game, it has been really good so far," he said.
"I am a competitor. I love to compete, to win. On defense I talk a lot, I see myself as a defensive leader. I can guard the bigs in post as well as the wings on the perimeter."
Jansson continued, "Offensively, I pride myself on shooting it really good both the three and the midrange shot. I can also use my size in the post and attack from the perimeter. One of my specialites is to fake the handoff."
With his unique ability to hit the outside shot with consistency and also beat slower defenders to the rim and finish in authoritative fashion, the threat he poses is palpable. For this year's Golden State Prep team, Jansson envisions himself playing the Mr. Everything role for head coach Nick Sullivan.
"My coach just expects me to go out and compete and to be a leader on the court," he explained.
"On defense (coach Sullivan) wants me to talk and play hard. In offense, he wants me to play both on the permeter and the post. On the permeter he wants me to be a decision maker, pass to the flare, dribble handoff. Scoring-wise, I've got the greenlight for shooting threes, mid-range, creating off the dribble, posting up, a little bit of everything."