Isaac Jack Q&A

Over the summer, UPLAY (Canada) was one of the more impressive teams on the Nike EYBL circuit. Apart from being led by the No. 1 ranked recruit in 2022, Shaedon Sharpe, who opted to early enroll at Kentucky, UPLAY’s success is attributed to its deep talent pool that includes scoring guard DJ Jackson, West Virginia commit Josiah Davis, floor general Jaden Clayton, and big man Isaac Jack. Jack, who hails from British Columbia, is a high motor center with touch around the rim. Having transferred from Alberni District Secondary School in British Columbia to Fort Erie International Academy in Ontario to finish high school, Jack’s play has continued to perk the interest of numerous programs, evident by receiving an offer from University of California-Santa Barbara in November.

As part of the Pro Insight Q&A series, Jack highlighted his strengths of rebounding and bringing energy on the court, his experiences with UPLAY and Fort Erie International Academy, his enjoyment of the BC outdoors, and more.

For the next installment of the Pro Insight Q&A series, we present 2022 prospect Isaac Jack, from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada:

Pro Insight: Talk a bit about your background.

Isaac Jack: Well, basically I come from a small town compared to most guys and I'm from Vancouver Island. It's just an island off Vancouver in [British Columbia] (BC). Yeah, I mean I grew up in a smaller city town. Same group of friends growing up. And I just enjoy being with family, and yeah.

PI: How did you get into basketball?

IJ: Yeah, I mean I got in because my mom played at BYU. She did I think maybe a year of basketball there before she switched to track, but she always thought that I should play basketball. Go, go, go. She introduced basketball to me and just kind of helped me get through the early stages and even now it's still when I'm back in BC, driving me to practices and whatnot, so she's definitely the reason.

PI: Would you say you got your height from your mom?

IJ: Yes, so both my parents are tall…so my mom is like six feet and my dad's like 6’4” so I got a lot of extra height, but I got my height from her, for sure.

PI: Did you play any other sports growing up?

IJ: Yeah, I grew up doing everything. I mean, I played hockey a lot, competitive hockey growing up. I did everything. I was in track [and field]. Did a little bit of middle school rugby. I rode my bike. I snowboarded. I was always active.

PI: Tough to beat the mountains in BC for snowboarding.

IJ: Yeah exactly. I mean, it’s a great place for it.

PI: What are your current measurements?

IJ: I don't know my wingspan. I'm 6’11” and about 230, 240 pounds.

PI: For those that aren’t familiar with your game, what are your greatest strengths and play style?

IJ: My greatest strength, probably just I got a motor. I mean, I like to go, go, go. Always got a lot of energy. You know, rebounding the ball, scoring down low. That’s what I’m probably best at and then my play style, just trying to be a dog. Win all 50/50 balls, get every rebound. Just play hard at all times.

PI: Who do you model your game after and try to study on film?

IJ: Yeah, I mean definitely I really look up to Giannis. I mean the same sort of thing like he's got a killer mentality. He always wants to win. Love how aggressive he is when attacking the rim. It’s for sure him, yeah.

PI: What do you feel you still need to improve on the most? What have you been working on?

IJ: Just shooting deeper shots, you know, taking more threes. Making them count, especially. Yeah, probably overall just shooting. Become a better ball handler, obviously.

PI: Do you have a training regimen?

IJ: No, I wouldn't say I don't have any regimens or whatnot. Yeah, I always obviously have to end on a make, but besides that, I don't usually do anything specific. It depends on when I get there, what we're doing.

PI: Who do you train with?

IJ: Yeah, the Fort Erie guys, Coach Charles, Coach Kav, Coach Scotty and Coach Handel. But back in BC, a lot of my training is with West Coast Training. So they have a little program out there and great stuff. They're in Vancouver so I gotta take a ferry ride over to get there, but I definitely try to get there one or two times a week 'cause we do great things. I also train with… there’s a local college near me, VIU - Vancouver Island University. I do a lot of scrimmages with them and their assistant coach will help me out a lot like coming up through living on the island and stuff.

PI: Talk a bit about the basketball culture in BC.

IJ: I mean basketball first of all in Canada I think is getting a lot better. I mean we have all these new people coming in, but BC itself, same thing like each year it seems like it's getting better and better. More people are coming out of BC. More people are just being seen from out there. I think each year the competition there gets better and better so you just love to see it.

PI: How has your experience at Fort Erie been so far?