City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
--

WORMLEYSBURG — Whether hoisting up one of his patented area-code jump shots or sitting in a classroom soaking up as much knowledge as possible or gathered with his family around some board game, Jalen Gabbidon is determined to get after it.

Hard.

Make that really hard.

And while the 16-year-old Harrisburg Academy junior may not prevail every time he wanders into some sort of competitive environment, Gabbidon is not about to back off without a scrap and let an adversary go unchallenged.

“Whatever it is, I’m all in it,” Gabbidon said following an exhausting workout at the tiny suburban Harrisburg school. “Winning isn’t everything, but I feel competing is everything. Even in life, you’ve got to compete. If you’re looking for a job, you’re competing for jobs. You’ve got to at least fight for it.

“You may not get the job, but you’ve got to try,” Gabbidon continued. “That’s my approach to life. That’s my approach to everything I do.”

Might be in some classroom setting or laboratory at the Academy, where the suburban Harrisburg resident carries a 4.0 grade-point average and tests himself daily against challenging subject matter (mathematics, physics, computer science and chemistry are among his favorites).

Or it might be on the basketball court, where the remarkably athletic 6-5, 185-pound guard is drawing attention from a number of Division I programs that covet his shooting range, his length and a game that just continues to develop.

Since late June, Mount St. Mary’s, Loyola (Md.), Lafayette, Colgate, Lehigh, Navy and Dartmouth have extended offers to a driven youngster who gets up anywhere from 700 to 1,000 shots on a daily basis — Gabbidon buried 21 of 30 rips from deep during one sequence — many from well beyond the 3-point arc.

And when it comes down to selecting his next destination — whenever that time comes — academics will be his No. 1 priority. Especially since both of his parents are professors at Harrisburg-area colleges.

“I won’t be satisfied until I have the opportunity to look at all of the schools that fit my profile,” said Gabbidon, who has made camp stops or taken unofficial visits to each of the aforementioned suitors. “I won’t be satisfied until I explore every opportunity.”

Each of those offers — the last three arrived at various times in September — has merely served to fuel Gabbidon’s unquenchable drive to work harder to improve his game. Other programs have stopped by the Academy to see Gabbidon work out. 

What’s neat is he’s designed many of the drills featured during one of his sessions.

“It’s the ultimate confidence boost,” Gabbidon said. “I’ve been at Harrisburg [Academy] forever. We’re all known as Harrisburg kids, but being on the circuit playing against all these high-major kids — we play against high-major kids all the time — these college coaches come and see and they say, ‘He’s got a lot of talent.’

“That means a lot to me.”

And while others may not have dangled offers just yet, they’re showing plenty of interest — especially since Gabbidon is proving to be more than just a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s able to get to the tin, flash post-up moves and display an improving handle.

Plus, he’s capable of defending taller players. Shorter ones, too.

A strong AAU season playing for Pat McGlynn’s York Ballers — his second in that program — is what really sparked Gabbidon’s recruiting rise.

“I can’t express [enough],” Gabbidon said of his AAU experience. “[McGlynn] has done so much for me. He turned me from what people classify as a Single-A player [into what I am now]. He’s helped me get used to playing against high-level competition. That’s been the story. I also can’t say enough about how my teammates from York Ballers have helped me.

“In a sense, I’m trying to be Jalen,” added Gabbidon, who admittedly hasn’t tried to pattern his game after any particular NBA player. “I pride myself on versatility because I would like to rebound, score. I can play big defender. I played 6-9 guys in AAU. I played 5-9 guys in AAU. That’s the beauty of my game. I can extend the floor. I can drive. I can do anything that coach needs me to do.”

More importantly, Gabbidon is willing to do anything his coach needs.

Just short of 1,000 career points — his 938 points in two seasons ranks him fifth at the Academy — Gabbidon as a sophomore averaged 24.1 points per outing as Steve Pancoski’s Spartans (15-10) collared the Midstate Athletic Conference’s regular-season championship and advanced to the District 3-A playoffs.

Gabbidon reached double figures in every game he played — he missed a handful of contests — collecting 20 or more points 15 times, 30 or more points four times and piling up 42 points in a season-ending loss to Lancaster Country Day.

A season earlier, Gabbidon scored at a 19.9 ppg clip for an Academy side (14-9) that reached the District 3-A quarterfinals. He cracked double figures in 22 of 23 games, surpassing 20 points on 10 occasions and bagging 30 or more points twice.

Yet even though Gabbidon could become his school’s all-time leading scorer sometime this season — he’s been at the Academy since kindergarten — that isn’t his primary objective heading into his junior campaign.

“State playoffs. … That’s my goal,” Gabbidon said of leading Pancoski’s Spartans to the state tournament for the first time. “We’ve come close. We’ve gotten to the second round. We lost last year in an upset game to LCD. We’ve been so close, but it’s time we get over the hump. And this is the year.”

“In my mind, I don’t worry about scoring points,” Gabbidon added. “I’ve done that. I could have scored more points last year, but points doesn’t necessarily equate to wins. I’ve already done my due diligence in scoring points and putting up numbers, this year I want to put up wins.”