Prospect Spotlight: Jaiden Jakubowski (2021)

As a player, transferring schools isn't always how it's played out in your head. Establishing yourself within a team can take time. Another consideration to take into mind is the league that the respective player is transferring to. For instance, 2021 guard Jaiden Jakubowski transferred from Bel Air High School to John Carroll before the start the school year in 2018. Any player coming from a lower level in to the MIAA always goes through a bit of a shock due to a multitude of factors.

"The speed and level of talent is definitely a lot better," Jakubowski said. "It's faster and a lot more physical. But I just feel like when you play against competition like this you can either play really good or fold. So for me, I just wanted to be ready and got in the gym every day."

John Carroll as a team saw its fair share of struggles throughout the 2018-19 season. Not only did they have a new coach in Seth Goldberg, but they also had a slew of young players that made up the roster. It was more of a year dedicated towards growth rather than wins. Luckily for Jakubowski, he has a skill that translates well at any level: shooting. The 6-foot-1 guard is the definition of a catch-and-shoot shooter who can knock shots down quickly once he establishes a rhythm. He's the type of player who must be accounted for at all times whether it be in the half court or in transition. 

The Patriots have a number of sets in the half court that includes their shooters coming off of 2-to-3 screens. Jakubowski does a nice job of getting his feet set quickly off the catch and not dropping the ball below his chest on his jumper. Little details like that can be huge as players develop over their time in high school when evaluating them for the college level.

Jakubowski is a player who buys into his role and knows the limitations of his game at this time. Not often does he put the ball on the floor and make plays off the bounce. This isn't saying he's not capable of doing so a couple of times throughout the course of games, but it hasn't yet become a staple of his game. He knows what he's good at and he sticks to it. It benefits both him and his team tremendously.

Even though as a team John Carroll has witnessed much more success, as indicated by their 16-6 overall record, Jakubowski doesn't feel like his role has changed much since last season.

"The only changes with me is that I'm more tough this year," Jakubowski told Prep Hoops. "I'm trying to be more physical especially at the defensive end. I still need to work on taking more charges and being a better rebounder."

The Patriots are a team that pride themselves on doing the little things such as charges, deflections and winning loose balls. While Jakubowski has contributed to each category, becoming a more consistent presence there would only up his value. 

In terms of improving as a team moving forward, there are certain things that Jakubowski feels they can do in order to be prepared for postseason play.

"In practice we just need to come and work every single day. In our losses, it was like we didn't believe in ourselves and didn't bring toughness. In the games where we play well, we are really tough and stay connected as a team all the way through. We just need to make it more consistent."