Head ahead of the class
Joppatowne High grad will leave Wilmington as the top name in several categories
Jermaine Head Jr. will graduate in May from Wilmington University, and in just three years. During that span, he has put his name all over the record books at the Delaware school.
The 6-foot point guard will depart as the school’s all-time leader in scoring, steals and assists.
“It was a like dream come true because when I got there my friend, [in] the year I redshirted, was the one that got the scoring title,” Head said.
A layup by Head in a Feb. 26 game pushed him past Tyaire Ponzo-Meek’s mark of 1,808 points set as a senior during the 2016-17 season.
“To see my growth and everything, it was a like a dream come true to see,” Head said. “I’m really the all-time leading scorer at a school? That was crazy.”
Head’s list of records is significant. Besides being the all-time leader in points (1,871), he also holds the career marks in steals (206) and assists (450). He is tied for most assists in a game (14) and scored the second-most points in a game (41).
He is also second in most steals in a game (eight) while setting a Wilmington mark for making 13 free throws without missing. Head was 13-for-13 in game this past season.
His 691 points this season were the most on team this year, and his 23 points per game average was a conference-best mark.
“We made the playoffs and made it to the final four but lost in semifinals,” Head said of his final season at Wilmington. “Winning [a] championship is the only thing I was missing. I got all-conference every year [and] rookie of the year my first year.”
Head was a second-team Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference selection his first year and a first-team selection the past two seasons. He was the CCAC Player of the Week twice this season.
Head played high school basketball at Joppatowne, coached by his father Jermaine Head Sr., and graduated in 2015.
Head left Joppatowne for Davis and
Elkins College, but he did not play there. He then transferred to Wilmington and, with a shortage of credits, had to redshirt that first year.
“I just felt comfortable when I went there,” Head said of his decision to transfer to Wilmington. “One of my dad’s friends knew the coach [Dan Burke] and told me he was a good coach.
“When I went on a visit, it was nice. I met the coach and we’ve had a good relationship ever since.”
An organization management business major, Head still has his eyes on playing more basketball.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” he said. “My coach has been talking with agents for me during the season. He said I couldn’t talk to them because we were in season, but now that were out of season I’m going to be able to talk to them, sign [with] an agent and get overseas.
“That’s exactly what I would love to do.” Head has been running camps in the summer in Wilmington and in Harford County the past couple of years.
Head Jr. says his dad “stopped coaching to watch me play my last couple of years.”