‘He had a different kind of path that we respect’

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Miami Heat, coming off a run to the NBA Finals last season, are one of the top-tier teams in the Eastern Conference again this season at 19-13. Despite falling short in their final game of 2023 to the Utah Jazz on the road 117-109, Miami’s roster is full of veteran star power with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro.

The biggest surprise for the Heat this season has been Jaime Jaquez Jr., a rookie out of UCLA. Prior to the loss to the Jazz, Jaquez averaged 22.3 points the previous three games and has seen his minutes and offensive touches increase since mid-December.

“He understands the way we want to play,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game. “As he’s trying to figure things out and learn the tendencies of the league, a defensive system, some of these things are new to him, but from a competitive spirit standpoint, he fits very seamlessly with how we do things.”

Jaquez, 22, played four years at UCLA before being selected No. 18 in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was the first college senior taken off the board. Three other four-year players followed in the first round: Houston’s Marcus Sasser at No. 25 to the Detroit Pistons, Belmont’s Ben Sheppard at No. 26 to the Indiana Pacers and Missouri’s Kobe Brown at No. 30 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

“It helped [playing all four years] just learning how to win, learning to play the right way,” Jaquez told Yahoo Sports. “Something I learned under coach [Mick] Cronin is the little games within the game and what it takes to win and knowing when to make the right play and things like that. That stuff really translates when you’re coming into an organization that’s looking to win right away.”

In a draft that widely valued youth and upside (the first 13 picks were all one-and-done prospects), the Heat drafted an experienced player who brought immediate versatility and is looking like the steal of the draft with how impactful he’s been in the first few months of the season.

“There were stages to his career at UCLA over four years,” Spoelstra said. “In this current NBA society, nobody really wants that….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/heat-rookie-jaime-jaquez-jr-proving-4-year-college-players-can-impact-nba-immediately-he-had-a-different-kind-of-path-that-we-respect-025403108.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-31 02:54:03

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