Autographs now part of his game
Burnaby South’s Jermaine Haley knows what must be done — and does it
There’s nothing that can jiggle Jermaine Haley from the steady equilibrium he maintains in the face of constant defensive attention on the basketball court.
Yet last December, in an unseen moment off the court, something happened for which even the standout sensation with the Burnaby South Rebels was unprepared. He was asked for his autograph. “It’s happened a few times since, so it’s all good, but that day, I didn’t even have a real signature,” Haley admitted with a smile Friday, recollecting the wishes of a young fan who had approached him at the Langley Events Centre during the Tsumura Basketball Invitational.
“So I just scribbled my name on some paper.
“It’s a lot on my shoulders,” he continued of the adulation that accompanies his status as one of country’s top collegiate prospects.
“But I feel like I can come out and do what I do every night and put on a show for the young kids.”
Soft-spoken and humble, the 6-foot-6 senior is the kind of onein-a-million talent who transfixes us all, not because of machismo or bravado, but rather a purity of understanding, an ability to summon, in the moment, from his vast canon of skills, the precise thing that success deems most important.
On Friday night, in one of two semifinal games at Terry Fox Secondary’s Legal Beagle Invitational in Port Coquitlam, Haley’s Rebels were battling Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay Titans in a clash of two of the very best high school teams in Western Canada.
With about 30 seconds left in the third quarter, the lean and explosive Haley barrelled down the wing, matched stride for stride by the Titans’ talented point guard Marvin Washington.
Then, in the same kind of way we suspend disbelief to enjoy a Looney Tunes cartoon, Haley lapsed into a hesitation dribble off a dead sprint that lasted about a half-second.
So masterful was the change of speed, Washington simply crumpled to the floor while Haley continued, suddenly unguarded, all the way to the basket.
In the end, the Rebels would win 92-83 and set up a meeting with the host and No. 4-ranked Ravens in Saturday’s tournament championship final.
Haley scored 32 points in the game, grabbed nine rebounds and was credited with five assists when it looked like he had a whole lot more.
Owing to the tournament’s unique 10-team format, his team had also played a game Friday morning and in that contest, a tense 83-78 win over Port Moody’s Heritage Woods Kodiaks, Haley scored 35 points, including 22 in the fourth quarter of a game in which the situation deemed he become a scorer.
He does what needs to be done and that extends to a passion for passing.
“He sees the court better than anyone I’ve ever coached,” Burnaby South head coach Mike Bell says.
“He’s always been a pass-first player, but this year, I can see that he is taking a more determined role. He wants to take control. He wants big things. He wants to take big shots.”
Haley started Friday’s win over Ainlay by dropping home a catch-and-shoot three-pointer on his first touch of the game.
On at least three occasions in that game, his pinpoint, last-second dishes to teammates not only resulted in baskets, but sent teammates to the free throw line to complete three-point plays.
His three-point shot is a form-perfect exercise in round arc and ball spin.
His drives to the basket are so confident they resemble a ballerina playing hopscotch on the playground.
And when you watch him play off his check defensively and extend his long arms into the passing lanes, you almost get the feeling that he knows where the ball will be delivered before the passer does.
While offering his verbal commitment this past summer to join the Pac 12’s Washington Huskies, Haley has since pulled back and has told all the NCAA Div. 1 college programs courting him he will most likely make his final decision following the B.C. championships in March.
There is so much, as Haley said earlier, “on his shoulders” but as one sage observer whispered in my ear Friday, there is no rattling this kid.
“He just stays the same no matter what,” the observer said, “and he gets it done.”
His potential is so enormous — and he’s even getting used to signing autographs.