From GU to FAU: Former Gonzaga staffer John Jakus, player Eric McClellan reunited in new roles at Florida Atlantic

Oct. 2—Eric McClellan, an entertaining follow on social media, recently posted snapshots of himself and John Jakus during a Florida Atlantic basketball practice wearing T-shirts reading: “Relationships over everything.”

It’s not some random cookie-cutter slogan for the two.

It’s essentially the reason McClellan revitalized his playing career after transferring to Gonzaga and how he became an FAU graduate assistant under first-year head coach Jakus, who restarted his coaching career thanks to key relationships built with Baylor’s and Gonzaga’s coaching staffs.

The two established a strong connection when Jakus, after two years as a grad assistant with Scott Drew at Baylor, joined GU’s staff as director of basketball operations (DOBO) from 2015-17, the final two years overlapping the 6-foot-3 McClellan’s two years in a Zags uniform.

“Obviously, he was the DOBO, but he was much more than that for me,” McClellan said. “He was someone I leaned on, someone I went to for counsel. He spent so much time caring about me, helping me achieve my dreams as a basketball player.

“I’d go over to his house. (McClellan’s then girlfriend now wife) Quincee was tight with John’s wife Sara, and Quincee would watch their three kids, Just super kids, beautiful people. I’m damn grateful.”

Jakus and McClellan credit former Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd with timely assists in their arrivals in Spokane. Lloyd, entering his fourth season as Arizona’s head coach, reached out to Jakus about joining the staff and later reached out to McClellan after he was dismissed at Vanderbilt following an academic violation and misdemeanor theft charge.

“I went from being a head coach overseas to having no job and I was an outsider in college basketball. And it was never my intention to coach college basketball,” Jakus said. “I would say Scott and Tommy and then Mark (Few, GU head coach) saw through that. Scott never treated me like a GA and Mark never treated me like an ops guy.

“The level of respect and including…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gu-fau-former-gonzaga-staffer-020400740.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-10-03 02:04:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.