ST. BONAVENTURE — His nickname is neither a nod to his basketball talent nor an homage to Julius Erving.
Rather, it was born from the coincidence of sharing the same surname.
In his freshman season at Triton College (Illinois), a teammate of Jalen Shaw’s suffered an ACL injury, forcing him to the hospital. The doctor treating the player had a familiar last name: Shaw.
“The same name as mine,” the Triton product said with a laugh, “and that’s when (Coach Steve Christiansen), he started calling me ‘The Doctor’ ever since.”
Shaw, the player, hasn’t been able to share that anecdote, as silly as it might be, with any of his new teammates. He hasn’t even met any of them yet; same with the coaching staff that helped guide him to his first Division I home: St. Bonaventure.
And that’s what makes Shaw’s recruiting story so different from all of the Schmidt signings that preceded him.
UNLIKE A typical prospect, the Elgin, Ill., native, who last month wrapped up a strong sophomore year with Triton, was unable to meet in person with the Bona coaching staff. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was denied an opportunity to make an official visit, see the campus, make a more informed decision about where he’d be playing basketball next.
Shaw’s only interaction with coach Mark Schmidt came in an online Zoom call a couple of weeks back.
The 6-foot-10 center acknowledged that the restrictions caused by the coronavirus made the recruiting process more challenging than he anticipated.
“But at the same time, you gotta go with your gut and do some research; that’s what I did,” he said. “Because I can’t go out there, I can’t take a visit, so you really don’t know what you’re getting yourself into unless you hear people talk about (the school), stuff like that …
“A lot of (us), we weren’t really expecting something like this; we were expecting to make visits, but we can’t. Basically, I went with my gut, I did research and made sure everything was okay.”
Shaw, though, didn’t need face-to-face contact to see that Bona has been a successful program, having reached the NCAA Tournament just two years earlier, in one of the best basketball-centric conferences in the country.
He was aware that with the graduation of center Amadi Ikpeze and only one true center, Osun Osunniyi, on the roster, there was a place for him.
And so, his gut told him: Bona is the right choice.
“They have a great league, and I can see myself playing for them, so that was probably the best decision I could have made,” he said. “They have a good team, and from what I hear, a good coaching staff and teammates, and they treat each other like family. That’s the most important stuff, the little stuff, so that’s what (put Bona over the top).”
ON PAPER, “The Doctor” is exactly the kind of player that next year’s Bonnies needed:
An experienced big man who has the ability to block shots (he ranked 11th among all juco players with 65 rejections last season), score inside and even provide some offense in the transition game.
Given that Bona is still a bit thin up front, he’ll almost certainly be expected to contribute, in some capacity, right away.
And that was the focus of the limited interaction he had with Schmidt.
“Definitely,” he said. “They needed a guy like me. I’m not going to say ‘need’, but they kind of needed … I don’t want to sound conceited or anything. I just feel like it was the perfect fit for their team.”
Shaw averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while shooting an impressive 66 percent from the field in only 17 minutes per game in 2019-20. He was one of the top players on a Triton team that went 26-7 and reached the NJCAA Region IV championship.
The big center looks like a player based on a four-minute and 18-second YouTube highlight video, but those kinds of clips can be misleading when you consider the competition level.
Shaw, though, believes he can be that same guy in the Atlantic 10.
“I hate losing, so I’ve got a high … competitive spirit,” he said. “I’m a post player, so I can make moves in the post, I can finish, I can finish fastbreaks, I can pass the ball with my size. I can shoot midis (mid-range jumpers), I can face up.
“I can do everything.”
Schmidt largely agreed with that sentiment.
“WE CAN’T wait to get Jalen on campus with us,” said the 14th-year coach when Shaw was announced officially last Wednesday. He’s not only a strong scorer on the low post, but has good agility that will serve him well at the A-10 level. He’s an outstanding shot-blocker and passer, and will also bring an ability to run the floor that will present challenges for opponents on both ends of the court.”
Shaw, who’s done any number of crunches, push-ups and planks to stay in the best possible shape until he’s able to take the floor again, is ready for the next step in his hoops career.
The former Larkin High standout held a “decent amount” of D-I offers coming out of high school in 2018, but was unable to entertain those proposals due to his grades.
Two years later, he’s getting his opportunity … even if his path to this point was more unusual than expected.
“It was tough,” he acknowledged. “I always wanted to go D-I back then, but I wasn’t able to, so I played juco. This will be the first time I ever go to a D-I college. It’s kind of sad, though, at the same time, because I always wanted to take a visit, but I never took a visit. Ever.
“But at the same time, it’s a blessing because I’m able to play out there in New York with the Bonnies.”
