Talented junior transfers to Rockford

T.J. Waldron competes during a pickup basketball game at Hudsonville High School on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. He transferred to Rockford High School from North Farmington. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Jace Opoku has known Troy “T.J.” Waldron since they were in middle school.

Now the dynamic basketball players will be teammates.

Waldon transferred to Rockford High School this summer from North Farmington High School.

“I played with him during middle school days,” Opoku said. “Then I played against him during high school AAU a little bit. Now I get to play with him during high school ball.”

The two also were teammates with the Grand Rapids Storm this year.

So why did Waldron transfer?
“My mom found a new job in the area,” he said. “So I went to the local school; I transferred to Rockford.”

Waldron is a 6-foot-2, 168-pound junior guard.

After he played a pickup game on Thursday with many of the top basketball players in West Michigan, he pulled on a North Farmington t-shirt out of habit.

Opoku told him he needs to get some Rockford gear now.

A trio of Rockford High School teammates pose after a pickup basketball game at Hudsonville High School on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. From left, Josh Bascom, Jace Opoku and T.J. Waldron. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)

“I’m very excited,” Waldron said. “I played with Jace and Josh (Bascom) during AAU. So I know what it’s like to play with them. I played with Eli (Wolfe) a few times. So I’m excited to get going with those guys so we can get clicking.”

Waldron said he averaged 11 points and six assists last season at North Farmington.

Now he joins a Rockford team which won the Division 1 state championship last season. 

“I’m really enjoying it,” Waldron said of being at Rockford. “A lot of college coaches looking … and they just won state, so it’s a great feeling to be apart of this group.”

What kind of player is Waldron?

“He’s a good defender; very quick,” Opoku said. “He’s an undersized guard, so he can use his speed. He’s also physical. He can shoot the ball pretty well. He’s a good playmaker, too.”

Rockford sophomore Jace Opoku competes during a pickup basketball game at Hudsonville High School on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)

*** Big week for Opoku

Rockford sophomore Jace Opoku has had a big week.

He got an offer from Iowa State University and then an invite to tryout for the Team USA 17U team.

“The director, Cole Miller …  I talked to him after my final AAU tournament,” Opoku said of Miller, who is the Team USA assistant director. “He said that I got invited and that’s a huge blessing. He said he’s been watching me for awhile. It’s a huge blessing for me to play and compete with some of the best players in the country.”

Opoku will go for the tryout in October. 

He also picked up an offer from Iowa State University this week, his fifth Division I offer.

“I’ve been talking to them on the phone for the past couple of weeks,” Opoku said. “And then I took an unofficial visit there last weekend. I toured the facilities and sat down to talk to them. It was a great experience. Then they gave me the offer. Then they came to see me at a morning workout that we had at Rockford.”

Cyclone coaches like the guard so much that they flew into Michigan a few days later just to see him workout.

“They told me that they were going to come,” Opoku said. “They show a lot of love and that they want me at Iowa State. It’s a huge blessing.”

The Rockford guard’s full name last name is Opoku-Agyeman, but he said he’d like to just be referred to by Opoku from now on.