Former Gopher in the pros

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This article was published 23/11/2015 (3646 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He may have a few inches on Muggsy Bogues, but at five-foot-10, Jarred
Ogungbemi-Jackson is still small by basketball standards.  

However, height, or a lack of it, doesn’t stop the former Garden City Collegiate point guard from playing big.

In August, Ogungbemi-Jackson, 24, signed a contract with Galitos-Tley, a Barreiro-based professional team in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (LPB).

“At every level of basketball I’ve ever played, I’m typically the smallest player on the court,” Ogungbemi-Jackson told The Times by email from Portugal.  

“But, I’ve always played with a big heart and I am a fierce competitor who mentally doesn’t allow size to be a factor in how I can contribute.”

It was very early on in his basketball career that Ogungbemi-Jackson demonstrated his ability to play with the big boys.

As a Grade 7 student at Leila North Community School, Ogungbemi-Jackson would tag along with his older brother Sidney to Garden City Fighting Gophers basketball practice and would often find himself hooping it up.

“Phil Penner (Garden City coach) would let me play against those guys and not only did I hold my own for someone in Grade 7, I did pretty well and made a good impression,” Ogungbemi-Jackson said.

Two years later, Ogungbemi-Jackson was Garden City’s starting point guard.

“Playing varsity in Grade 9 was definitely a challenge but I believe it was extremely beneficial for the development of my game and helped me get here today.”

After leading Garden City to two provincial basketball championships, Ogungbemi-Jackson played five seasons with the University of Calgary Dinos.

In the 2014-15 season, he was named to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Canadian Second Team after leading the Dinos in points per game (19.3), rebounds per game (7.3), assists per game (5.2) and steals per game (1.4).

Ogungbemi-Jackson finished his CIS career as the Dinos all-time leader in steals (217) and third all-time leading scorer (1,799).

Ogungbemi-Jackson may not be a big player, but he is a complete player.

“I am a quick and strong guard with very good ball handling capabilities who can shoot the ball extremely well and make plays for my teammates,” Ogungbemi-Jackson said.

“I rebound the ball particularly well for my size. I take tremendous pride in my ball handling and not allowing defenders to steal the ball from me and also my ability to knock down open shots. The defence must be aware of where I am on the court.”

In his first seven games as a pro, Ogungbemi-Jackson is averaging 8.6 points per game, 3.4 assists per game, 4.7 rebounds per game and 0.9 steals per game.

Ogungbemi-Jackson admits his pro career is a bit slow going, but said he’s starting to find his footing.

“At this level your opponents are much bigger, stronger and athletic, so you have to be able to make sound decisions in traffic to avoid committing unforced turnovers or making certain plays tougher than they need to be,” he said.

“To succeed at this level as a smaller guard, being able to read the game and make plays in the key will be vital to my success.”