JJ Redick was born in Cookeville, Tennessee, and raised in Roanoke, Virginia, the second of five children in a family wired for basketball. His father, Ken, had played two seasons at Ohio Wesleyan University. His mother, Jeanie, was a nurse. His twin sisters, Catie and Alyssa, both played at Campbell University. His younger sister Abigail played at Virginia Tech and Drexel. His brother David was a football player at Marshall. In the Redick household, competition was the family language.
His nickname came from the twins. As a toddler, the family called him ‘J.’ The sisters kept repeating it — ‘J, J’ — and it stuck. His middle name, Clay, came from his father’s background as a stoneware potter. Jonathan Clay Redick became JJ to the world before he could walk.
At Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Redick became the best player in Virginia. He averaged 28.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists as a senior. In the 2002 VHSL Class AAA state championship game, he scored 43 points — a championship-game record across all classifications that stood for 16 years, until Mac McClung broke it in 2018. He finished as Virginia’s all-time AAA leading scorer with 2,215 career points and shot over 44 percent from three. He played AAU ball for the Boo Williams All-Stars, whose national championship teams faced future NBA stars like Dwyane Wade.
He was the 2002 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP, scoring 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting and winning the three-point competition. Ranked the No. 2 shooting guard and No. 13 overall prospect in the country. Virginia Mr. Basketball. Parade All-American. Every major program wanted him. He chose Duke.