Jernard Jarreau: An Instant Impact Part II

This is a two-part series, with the first part focusing on the physical tools and talents that Jernard Jarreau possesses, and the second is on the Jarreau and the Washington Huskies.

Jernard Jarreau is a competitor and has a natural instinct to win. Not only win basketball games but to win a spot as a starter. He isn’t shy in admitting that he is gunning for a starting spot on the Husky Basketball roster. He wants starter’s minutes.

“I am going to compete with those guys. I want to start,” Jarreau told me.  This may seem brash as a true freshman but that is what you want to hear from a player, as a coach and even as a fan. You don’t want any athlete on your roster that doesn’t want to compete and doesn’t want to fight for a starting spot and starting minutes. Jarreau plans to do just that.

It wasn’t long ago that Jarreau was headed to the east coast and had committed to

VCU but shortly after his commitment something just didn’t sit right with him. He quickly went with the better fit in UW, “It was a good opportunity for me. I felt comfortable with the coaches and the team, and the style of play fits me.”

The coaches may have done a lot of the recruiting work but the current players certainly helped as Jarreau on his visit was really impressed by the whole team. I asked him specifically who stuck out during the scrimmage on his visit and he said, “all of them.”

However, that wasn’t his first time seeing them play, “I watched them the whole year, all the way through the tournament.” He enjoyed watching them and when asked what he liked about the team he said, “They play great defense and they get up and down the court quick.” Jarreau is ready to be a part of that and that is one of his strengths, his quickness and agility as a big man.

He is coming into next season as part of a 6 person recruiting class which consists of Jarreau, Andrew Andrews, Tony Wroten Jr., Hikeem Stewart, Martin Breunig, and most recently Shawn Kemp Jr. Jarreau is excited for what each will bring to the team. I asked him specifically about Breunig and Wroten.

He told me that he was happy to see UW sign Breunig because that seemed to be an issue last year and it never hurts to have another big man. It helps in foul situations and for competition.

With Wroten he said he hasn’t played with him but he has seen tape and is excited to get on the court with him. He joked about his amazing passes and said, “I gotta be ready for his passes.” They can come from anywhere and everywhere.

Jarreau is an exciting Husky with a ton of potential and if he continues to work as hard as he did his senior year, he could find himself making an instant impact not only this year but years to come. His eventual goal is to make it to the NBA and he is going to continue to work and compete until he fulfills that dream.