The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Higgins will be fueled as next step looms
VASJ’s Jerry Higgins signed his national letter of intent to play basketball at The Citadel. How long it took for the Vikings’ program staple to get a Division I look is puzzling, writes Nate Barnes.
Jerry Higgins cemented his college future April 24. Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s all-time winningest player signed to play Division I college basketball at The Citadel. The ink on Higgins’ letter of intent likewise put an end to an arduous recruiting process.
Recruitment can vex any student-athlete. Coaching changes, roster attrition and shifting attitudes number among the countless variables that play into decisions made by colleges.
From the outside looking in, what mystified most observers about Higgins’ recruitment was the doubt in a two-time state champion.
“I had a lot of coaches that told me they thought I would play well in D-II,” Higgins said. “They thought either I would have to wait a long time to play at the D-I level, basically saying that I should take the D-II offer now instead of waiting on something that may never come.”
When Higgins committed to The Citadel last week, he alluded to the idea there were some who didn’t think of him as a D-I player. The admission was noteworthy solely because Higgins, on and off the court, is well-spoken, composed and seemingly unconcerned with external perceptions — positive or negative.
From my perspective, any doubt in Higgins is ludicrous.
All Higgins did during his high school career was win.
His achievements as a two-time state champion are well-documented. Nothing says more about Higgins than his status as VASJ’s all-time winningest player. He won 87 games in a VASJ uniform, more than anyone else to play on Lake Shore Boulevard — a group that includes Clark Kellogg, David Lighty, Carlton Bragg, Dererk Pardon, Stan Kimbrough and Treg Lee.
Higgins worked to address his perceived weaknesses. He shot 34 percent from 3-point range this season and while there is still room for improvement, there was a noticeable difference in his shooting stroke with better rotation on the ball.
And rest assured if there was a way for the 5-foot-10 point guard to grow another inch or two, he’d find a way.
Off the court, Higgins is universally respected and liked by his peers, teachers and coaches. In the classroom, Higgins owns a 4.4 grade-point average and will pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
Higgins is as good an ambassador for high school student-athletes as one can find.
Yet, unlike his former teammates who finalized their commitment to D-I schools with fall signing ceremonies in recent years, it took until almost May for Higgins to find his future home. Ultimately, Higgins’ process was a symptom of college basketball’s recruiting cycle.
“He didn’t need a coach to believe in Gene,” Coach Babe Kwasniak said. “He needed a coach to believe in himself enough to take him.”
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Higgins feels he made the right decision, at the right time, for the right place. He never counted out offers from D-II and D-III institutions — nothing was assumed a guarantee — and Higgins did his due diligence on the programs who contacted him.
That said, Bulldogs coach Duggar Baucom made a decision he’ll likely reflect more than fondly upon in coming years.
The Citadel has never participated in the NCAA Tournament.
As Kwasniak was quick to point out April 24, the Vikings sent Pardon to Northwestern three years prior. As a sophomore, Pardon’s game-winning layup against Michigan booked the Wildcats’ firstever invitation to March Madness.
I can’t guarantee The Citadel will qualify for the NCAA Tournament in the next four or five years. But if the Bulldogs go dancing, don’t be surprised if Higgins is at the helm — still clad in white, blue and red.
“A lot of coaches held out, or chose someone else over me,” Higgins said. “I think in these next few years, I’ll make sure I give them something to regret.”