Diamond In The Rough

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- In his first appearance in a Boston College uniform, Jaeden Zackery fouled out.

It was the season opener, but the first time wearing the maroon and gold lasted less than 15 minutes for the junior college newcomer. He sank his first shot attempt on a 3-pointer in the game's first 90 seconds, but after missing his other two attempts, the night against Dartmouth ended with as many turnovers as points.

It wasn't exactly a banner night.

The good news for Zackery is that what he lacked against the Big Green didn't stick around, and as the closing weeks of his first Division I season dawns, a player initially eyed as a reserve is now a breakout name on a team ready to make noise in the final week of the 2021-22 regular season.

"We thought he would have been a 10-minute backup to Makai Ashton-Langford," head coach Earl Grant said. "That's what we projected going into the season. But with injuries and different things, he's started every game and can play 35 minutes on any given night."

Zackery's performances have demonstrated that he is capable of anchoring the offense on any given night. Whether that means scoring - he's reached double-digits 14 times, including a season-high 18 on three occasions - or distributing - he has dished out 78 assists (2.8 assists per game), Zackery has efficiently and effectively produced as a playmaker.

"As time goes on, I know I've developed into a scorer or a shooter," Zackery said earlier this year. "When Makai and DeMarr are next to me, I can play off-guard, which allows for a lot of pick-and-roll on offense. It's been nice because a lot of offenses are designed for a point guard to score, but I can come off a lot of ball screens to look for options. I can try to go down low, but a lot of people around me are going to score, so it's also not something I have to totally worry about."

Succeeding within Earl Grant's system places Zackery first on the team in steals and second in assists, but not even a complete game prepared BC for the breakout performance from the junior college transfer. That's because he toiled away in relative obscurity during his year at Chipola College in Florida during a time when recruiting and the junior college circuit worked through the COVID-19 outbreak.

He started all 28 games for Chipola and scored in double figures on 18 different occasions, but not even winning the Panhandle Conference or the FCSAA State Tournament helped push the Third Team NJCAA All-American into the college basketball recruiting cycle. He led the Indians to the semifinals of the 2021 NJCAA Championship, but like his last year of high school basketball at home in Wisconsin, nobody really called because they didn't know anything about him.

"He's underappreciated," Grant said. "He didn't have a lot of scholarship opportunities coming out of prep school because of COVID, but he played for a really good coach in Chris Chaney, who sent four players from Laurinburg Prep to John Calipari when he was at Memphis. When I was at Winthrop, I watched those teams from Laurinburg. Then he left prep school to play for Donnie Tyndall, who coached at Tennessee and Morehead State, when he was at Chipola. Seeing he almost led them to the national championship meant he was battle-tested, and we were looking for a tough guy. That made him a building block for Boston College basketball."

"It's definitely a grind," Zackery said of his junior college road. "That's the easiest way to put it because going to Chipola, I didn't know what to expect. When I got there, I was told about the grind and how I had to work every single day. There's nothing given to you, and I was playing almost 40 minutes towards the end of the season because a lot of people got hurt. That got me ready to play at the Division I level because I knew I'd need that mentality to grind and fight through adversity."

That kind of diamond in the rough is nearly impossible to find, but landing Zackery was increasingly rare because he offered Grant a foundational piece for the full four years. Though he was technically a junior college athlete, he entered college with four years of eligibility and immediately bonded with the Eagles. He latched onto his veterans, learning the ropes from Ashton-Langford, a three-year guard who transferred from Providence and likewise didn't have the straightest path to playing in Chestnut Hill.

"It's just a blessing that we have two good guards like Jaeden and Makai," Grant said of his team this year. "I really like playing with two point guards and we're fortunate to have both of them. It's a luxury to have both of them."

"I wasn't expecting to come here and play this role," Zackery added. "There were a lot of guards on this team, and I thought I would come in and learn as a freshman, and develop from there. But obviously I stepped into a bigger role and I accepted that. I appreciate that Coach Grant was there for me and pushed me into this role. It's helped a lot."

There's now a bonded chemistry within the team's locker room, one that's added the right splash of grittiness from a player who rode the bus through the Florida junior college circuit after enduring an overlooked offseason after prep school. He's from the Wisconsin north but understands how to play from gym-to-gym after bleary-eyed bus trips. Now, he shines under the brightest lights, from the Thomas M. Ryan Center to the Dean E. Smith Center. He's simply not fazed, and with two games remaining, the selfless, gritty mentality is now focused on making the upperclassmen - the ones who welcomed him - go out with the best possible outcome.

"Our chemistry developed a crazy amount over the season," Zackery said. "Right now, I feel like it's just starting to show on the court, and we realize that, especially for our seniors, that's been a big thing. We realized that for the seniors, this is their last few games, so we have to come out and fight for them. We don't want their season to end."

BC and Miami tip off on Wednesday in the home finale from Conte Forum. Game time is set for 9 p.m. and can be seen live on ACC Network.

Players Mentioned

Makai Ashton-Langford

Jaeden Zackery

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