Newsday Athlete of the Week is St. Mary's Jagger Bascombe

Jagger Bascombe may seem like a quiet kid, but when he steps onto the basketball court, he sure knows how to make his presence known.

The senior guard from St. Mary’s averaged 20.7 points per game, having a season-high of 39 points against Half Hollow Hills East on Nov. 29.

“He won’t be denied,” coach Ira Hunt said. “He’s quiet, but he’s slowly going to do a job on you. His incredible footwork allows him to get past defenders.”

Bascombe’s basketball career at St. Mary’s began his sophomore year, where he said he found it difficult transitioning onto the varsity team.

“When I first got on the team, it was hard, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I wasn’t playing much, but I knew that it’d be my time soon.”

It didn’t take long for Bascombe to become a key player in the team’s rotation.

“He earned his time on the court,” Hunt said. “He quickly became an integral part of our lineup his junior year.”

Now, as a senior, Bascombe was not only the Gaels' top scorer, but he was one of the highest scorers in the CHSAA.

“Other coaches know they have to prepare for him when they see us on their schedule,” Hunt said. “We have a good team, but they know when Jagger gets going and the other parts start working, forget it.”

Bascombe helped lead the Gaels to the CHSAA semifinals where they fell to Chaminade, 102-82. He led all scorers with 31 points.

“Nobody thought we would make it this far,” Bascombe said. “We proved a lot of people wrong, it was a fun season.”

Bascombe was awarded conference player of the year and was St. Mary’s Athlete of the Year for winter sports.

“It’s just a testament to what he’s able to do on the court,” Hunt said. “He’s such a powerful player.”

Hunt says that he’ll miss Bascombe’s timid personality disappearing when it’s game time.

“He’s very mature, a very good student, and just overall a great person,” Hunt said. “But, once he gets on the court, he’s a bad dude.”

Bascombe hopes to continue his basketball career at the collegiate level.

“I definitely want to play basketball in college,” he said. “Whenever the gym is available, I’m always going to be there working on becoming a better player.”

After three years on the team, Bascombe says he is thankful for coach Hunt for not only helping him grow as a player but as a person.

“He always believed in me,” Bascombe said. “It wasn’t always an easy journey, but in the end, I knew he’d always be there supporting me.”