Jaala Campbell '24 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing basketball since I was 5 years old. My dad was my first coach, and it is sad but true that I was more than likely the worst player on his team when I was that age. My dad always told me to have fun and that's exactly what I did during the ages of 5 to 10. My dad was a junior high girls' basketball coach of a team that won district every year and I would attend practice with them at the age of 5 to 10. Each year, I improved my skill set by always playing with the older girls, but I really just played because I loved the game of basketball and it was a way for me to spend time with my dad. At the age of 10, I started to realize what I was really capable of when my dad suffered a bad knee injury and he was no longer able to coach basketball for a while. I started playing for other coaches, and that is when I started realizing that I had a nice skill set. My dad is big on every player being able to handle the ball no matter if you are the tallest girl on the team or the shortest because he always told all of us that you never know what position you might have to play. When I went to junior high school, I became a guard instantly and this is when I realized that I had a skill set like no other. I also learned to see the whole basketball court and to take into consideration the other players on the court and their capabilities. 

My passion is basketball, but I am a 3-sport athlete. This year, I decided to not play varsity volleyball, but I ran cross country instead. I am currently running with the varsity track team at my high school. I enjoy participating in my other two sports and I think they make me a different kind of athlete for basketball. My ultimate goal is to play at the collegiate level for basketball and earn a degree in Law Studies and to one day become a lawyer.  I would love to have the opportunity to display my skill set at the collegiate level and to grow my skill set. I learned about Law as a freshman by taking a Law Studies class as an elective course. If you speak to any of my coaches, I go above and beyond to get improvement out of myself and I am always willing to do what is asked of me to get better. I am used to working and coming from behind because as I stated earlier that I wasn't the best player when I was younger, but through hard work and determination, I have passed up so many of my peers that I played with in the area where I live. I started as a freshmen basketball player on a varsity basketball team, so I know I can meet any challenge in college.