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The Gift
of Basketball
by
Kelly L. Martinez
 Prior
to every game the Stanford University men's basketball team plays,
a time for prayer and contemplation is afforded to the players as
they prepare themselves for 40 minutes of intense competition. It's
during these moments that All-American standout Casey Jacobsen
takes the time to give thanks to his Heavenly Father. "It's then
that I like to thank God for all that He has given me," says Jacobsen.
"I thank Him for me being here at Stanford. I thank Him for the
gift of basketball in my life. I think it's important how I use
that gift."
A gift for playing
basketball is definitely what this young man has. His name appears
in the Stanford record book and astounding 39 times. He's accomplished
just about every individual honor you can think of. "The funny thing
about individual awards," he says. "Is that they're completely out
of your control. You have to play well to earn them, but anyone
can have a great game once. But to keep that level of play....that's
the challenge."
Obviously, basketball
is a very important aspect of this young man's life. From the time
he was in the eighth grade, he forsook soccer and baseball to focus
his efforts on hoops. His prep accolades would take too much room
here, but suffice it to say; he's done about everything you can
imagine on a basketball court. If you MUST know more, visit
the Stanford web site.
BYU recruited
him hard, but he never was interested in playing in a Cougar uniform.
Instead, his list of finalists was Duke, Stanford and Utah. After
being pressured by Utah's Rick Majerus for a decision before he
was ready to make one, Jacobsen narrowed his choices to Duke and
Stanford. He liked both programs, but ultimately chose Stanford
because of its loyalty and commitment to him. It's a decision he's
been happy with ever since.
Currently
On Jan. 31, Jacobsen scored a collegiate career-high-second
most in Stanford history-49 points in a 90-81 win over Arizona State.
On Feb. 4, he was named the Pac-10 player of the week.
Scoring a lot
of points is not an anomaly for Jacobsen. Twice this season, he's
scored over 40 points, twice over 30 and eleven times over 20. In
fact, he leads his team and the Pac-10 in scoring, averaging 22.6
points a game. Only twice this season has he failed to score in
double digits. Scoring is not all that Jacobsen does well. He is
leading the team in assists (3.5) and has improved his rebounding
(4.3). As one would imagine, Jacobsen sees a lot of double- and
triple-team coverage from opposing defenses.
Stanford (17-8,
10-6) was ranked #10 in the AP and #11 in the ESPN/USA Today's most
recent polls (Feb. 18), but will probably drop due to losses to
USC, 77-58, on Feb. 21 and to UCLA, 95-92, on Feb. 23. In the Pac-10
standings, Stanford is-at press time-in third place. USC, California
and Arizona are all tied for second at 11-5 behind Oregon at 11-4.
Depending on the result of the Oregon-Washington game on Saturday
night, there may be a four-way tie atop the Pac-10 by the time this
column posts.
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Credit:
Gonzalesphoto.com
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Mission
Though he hasn't served a full-time mission, Jacobsen is very
mindful of whom he represents. "Being on the basketball court, I
feel, provides me with a lot of responsibility," he says. "Heavenly
Father has given me this gift to play basketball, and I think I
can use this gift to be a missionary as well. I may not serve the
Lord as a full-time missionary for two years, but I definitely feel
that I'm representing the Lord and the Church in all that I do."
Jacobsen feels
that former Stanford standout, Mark Madsen, set an example
at Stanford of what it means to be LDS. "Mark was very open about
his spirituality," says Jacobsen. "Everyone knew he was active in
the Church and a very spiritual guy." Jacobsen and Madsen remain
in contact, talking about once a month. "I don't want to bother
him any more than that," laughs Jacobsen.
Family
Jacobsen comes from a family of four boys. Older brothers, Adam
and Brock, played collegiate basketball as well. Adam played
at the University of the Pacific and Brock at UC San Diego. Adam
is presently the head varsity basketball coach at Crescenta Valley
High School in Glendale, Calif. Brock is an assistant at Glendora
High School in the family's home town of Glendora, Calif.-where
each of the Jacobsen boys prepped. Derek, the youngest at
14, is currently on the freshman basketball team at Glendora High.
With 619 career
three-point baskets between them, the Jacobsen boys hold the collegiate
record for most three-point conversions by a family-a distinction
previously held by Brendan (St. Anselm College) and Kevin McCarthy
(New Hampshire College) who combined for 597 treys between 1989
and 1996. The record-setting three-pointer was made by Casey in
a game against USC on Jan. 26.
Jacobsen's dad,
Von, played college hoops at San Diego State from 1969-71.
Jacobsen's mom, Becky, is a substitute teacher who returned
to school to get her college degree after years of being a stay-at-home
mom.
Teammates
On the Stanford roster, there are currently three LDS players:
Jacobsen, starting guard Julius Barnes and reserve forward
Nick Robinson. Barnes is currently averaging 11.1 points
a game while Robinson has seen limited action.
"I think Nick
will do well here," says Jacobsen. "He's one of the most athletic
guys on our team."
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Credit:
Gonzalesphoto.com
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What's next?
Has the NBA beckoned? Jacobsen has one year of eligibility left,
but is uncertain about his plans for the NBA. Whatever he decides,
the only surety is that his decision will be based on what's best
for him. Education, he says, is something very important to him.
"The one good thing is that if I go to the NBA before I graduate,
I'll still be able to keep working on my degree. I want very much
to graduate from college."
A communications
major, Jacobsen hopes to one day work in the sports broadcasting
field.
And should the
NBA's beckoning call be answered, Jacobsen has already seen the
level of talent awaiting him, having competed in summer games against
the Milwaukee Bucks' Ray Allen, who, as of this writing, is averaging
a nearly-identical 22.7 points a game this season.
Could this be
a case of nearly-identical-stat-by-association syndrome? At the
professional level, it's probably safe to say that Casey Jacobsen
hopes so.
If you
are aware of an LDS athlete that deserves recognition in Meridian
Sports, please e-mail the sports writer at sports@meridianmagazine.com
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