Jerome’s Confidence Soaring As ‘Hoos Begin March to Madness
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 21, 2019, 7:41 pm
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Ty Jerome, U.Va.’s leading scorer against Louisville, participates in post-game net-cutting.
When Mark Jerome put a basketball in his tike’s hands for the first time, he began preaching a never-ending sermon about the most important part of the game.
“Never let anyone take away your confidence,” Ty Jerome recited the message that is forever emblazoned in his memory bank.
Ty, now a junior guard for No. 1 seed Virginia, is chock-full of lessons from his dad, who coached him _ sometimes rather intensely _ while growing up in the New York suburbs. Intensely might be an understatement. Demeaning was a description Ty used, but not in the way one would perceive.
“He’s always been my biggest friend and my biggest critic,” Jerome said. “He’ll break down film for me. He’ll watch every game we play three or four times. He’ll send me notes, like at this minute mark you should have done this.”
Mark Jerome was a high school basketball coach when Ty was just a toddler, but when Ty reached four or five years old, he also become Ty’s coach and remained that way. Mark led the noted Riverside Church basketball program for a decade and watched as Ty helped win a national championship.
With both his mom and dad having been college basketball players it was almost predestined that he would become one, too. Mark, who has returned to high school coaching, makes it down to ACC country any time he gets a chance to watch his son perform.
Ty grew up in the highly competitive AAU leagues and playing for Iona Prep in the New York Catholic League. He spent his in-between time on the city’s famous, sometimes infamous outdoor courts such as Rucker Park.
Thursday afternoon the UVA guard will be pursuing a bigger prize, the ultimate prize for a college player. The Cavaliers will open the NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded Gardner-Webb, a Cinderella team making its first appearance in school history.
At the same time, Jerome and teammates will be attempting to wipe away last year’s nightmare against No. 16 UMBC. If you haven’t heard that story, you must have been living under a rock since the madness of last March.
Certainly, Jerome’s presence on the court will be a key, if not crucial element in Virginia advancing forward in pursuit of the school’s first Final Four appearance since 1984. Gardner-Webb coach Tim Craft believes Jerome is the key.
“I think Ty Jerome is the guy that kind of is the head of the snake in terms of he can score, can facilitate, has got size (6-foot-5), can make shots, can score it in the paint,” Craft said. “He’s just a multi-dimensional player.
“He can pick-and-roll, or he’s coming off those pin downs, down screens, where he just gets a little bit of an angle on a closeout. Now he gets into the paint, can make jumpers in those midrange areas, can make floaters, can draw defense and dump it off to their post players for layups or spray it out to shooters for threes. Or, he can just beat you one-on-one sometimes from the top.”
Then there’s Jerome’s own ability to deliver long-range daggers from Bonusphere with a bravado uncommon to most shooters.
“He can shoot it from about 22, 23 feet at a high level,” the G-W coach said. “He creates some problems for you defensively.”
That’s a mouthful but exhibits what a complete guard Jerome has become under Tony Bennett.
The New Yorker considered Craft’s description of him as head of the snake as a compliment, which it was intended as one.
“It’s a great compliment,” Jerome said before Virginia’s practice Thursday at Colonial Life Arena. “That says that I’m the leader of this team and kinda run the ship. It just speaks to my competitive edge. It comes with great responsibility, that this team is going to go how I go. It’s up to me to bring the energy every day.”
Jerome does just that except for his recent outing at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte when he came down with what he called a really bad virus the day before the tourney. He confirmed Thursday that he wasn’t himself for either the N.C. State or Florida State games, though he’s healthy now. He actually practiced for the first time Wednesday since the loss in the semifinals.
Kyle Guy, a McDonald’s All-American shooting guard who came in with the same recruiting class as Jerome, has become like a brother. The two can finish one another’s sentences because they’re on the same wavelength.
Jerome was kidding around in Thursday’s interviews when he said that shortly after he committed to Virginia that so did Guy, who then began following Jerome on every social media, drawing laughter from everyone in attendance.
The duo were a part of a recruiting class that also included De’Andre Hunter and Jay Huff, a class that was ranked No. 8 nationally by some recruiting services.
Guy believes Jerome is the best point guard he’s ever played with and loves to expound on the reasons why.
“It’s not only his vision, because I’ve played with some guys with good vision, but his ability to see things before they happen,” Guy said. “He’s two steps ahead of everybody else.”
All those factors, and Craft’s snake comments, haven’t gone unnoticed for more experienced eyes.
CBS basketball analyst Bill Raftery, who will be calling Thursday’s Virginia game alongside Jim Nance and added analyst Grant Hill, has seen Jerome in person and on video and has been more than impressed.
“I’ve never seen a kid that has the selection of passes [Jerome possesses],” said Raftery who has seen a lot of basketball. “Whether it’s a bounce pass, a hook pass, or a bowling pass, I just think he has a great feel and understanding of the game.”
Then there’s the deep shooting ability.
While maybe not as prolific as backcourt mate Guy, Mr. Jerome is just as fearless if not more so.
“[Jerome] is not afraid of the moment,” said Raftery, who usually describes that type of daring from behind the arc as a player having “onions.”
Guy knows all about that quality.
“I would say between the two of us and Dre’ [Hunter], we’re some pretty ballsy shooters,” Guy grinned. “We don’t really care about anything other than what’s right in front of us.
“I have faith in Ty shooting any shot he wants to shoot, even if he airballs a few, nobody gets mad because he’s hit them before and he’ll hit them again.”
Airballs are a rarity. Jerome is a career .421 percent 3-point shooter (.434 this season).
He’s definitely not shy when it comes to wanting the ball in his hands in big moments.
“When the moment comes, I try to seize it,” Jerome said unapologetically. “It doesn’t always go in but I can live with it.”
Wahoo fans would debate on their favorite Jerome bomb. Most would say the one at Cameron Indoor last year when he drained the life out of the Blue Devils with a huge and deep three late in the comeback win.
Others might pick the one at Syracuse this season when his back foot was only about a foot from the block ‘S’ at midcourt.
Jerome’s personal favorite was the leather rainbow he drilled in late in the ACC Tournament championship last year that sealed the fate of North Carolina.
“I could always shoot the ball but Coach Bennett really stressed the need to shoot off the move,” Jerome said about the evolution of his range.
Guy already had that when he arrived. Bennett was famous for that as a college sniper, then later in the NBA. Drills with both of them brought Jerome up to speed as well.
“I get so much inspiration from players like Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving, just watching them,” Jerome said. “You don’t necessarily have to have the same talent. Their mentalities and work ethic inspired me.”
Raftery said that Jerome has more of a complete game than Joe Harris did at the same stage at UVA. Harris has become one of, if not the best 3-point shooter in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets.
“Jerome has an NBA point guard’s mentality and size,” Raftery said. “Grant [Hill] and I were talking about it on the way [to Columbia]. He thought pretty much the same as me. I think [Jerome] will make a nice living (at the next level).”
It’s a shooter’s mentality for sure. Jerome believes that if he’s 0-for-12 and the game is on the line, he’s still going to want to take the shot. His confidence comes from all the work he puts in every single day, in season and out of season.
“With all the work, why would I shy away from the moment when it’s finally here,” Jerome posed.
Never allow anyone to take away for confidence. A sermon well learned.
