A TRUE GLOBETROTTER
10/20/2021 10:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Part of ‘The Foundation,’ Jerrells Led Bears in Scoring and Assists All Four Years
(This is the 12th part in a series profiling the 2020 and 2021 inductees for the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and Wall of Honor. The features will be posted at baylorbears.com in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 29 induction ceremony. Also, listen for Hall of Fame interviews with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris on ESPN Central Texas each Thursday afternoon from 2-3 p.m.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
People can save for a lifetime to have just one European vacation.
Curtis Jerrells has spent more than a third of his life globetrotting around the world playing basketball in places like Belgrade, Serbia, Murcia, Spain, Istanbul Turkey, Milano and Sassari, Italy, Kazan, Russia, Jerusalem, Wloclawek, Poland and Cairo, Egypt.
"I've gotten to experience a lot of different cultures, a lot of different countries, a lot of different people," said Jerrells, who is part of "The Foundation" of Baylor men's basketball that make up the 2021 class for the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame, joining Aaron Bruce, Mamadou Diene, Henry Dugat and Kevin Rogers.
"You can make a good living here, and the people support you and appreciate you. Some people save up a lifetime just to make one trip over to Europe, and I get to hang out over here, free room and board, and play a little basketball while I'm at it."
The 6-foot-1 point guard signed with Zamalek of the Egyptian Basketball Super League on August 16, his 14th different club. In a 10-year pro career that started with the San Antonio Spurs' D-League team in Austin, Jerrells has won championships in Serbia, Spain and Turkey and was named the Israeli League Cup MVP five years ago with Hapoel Jerusalem.
"European basketball isn't for everybody," he said. "You have to be away from friends and family and just overall the norm. But for me, I have really enjoyed it. it's like an extended vacation for me, being able to play in different countries, to get to travel and see different things. Eventually, it feels like home, but then you have to move and start all over again."
Jerrells didn't have to move too far from home when he graduated from Del Valle High School in the Austin area. Part of Baylor coach Scott Drew's second recruiting class, he was a 4A all-state pick as a senior when he averaged 20.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in leading the Cardinals to the region championship game.
Signing with Rogers and Dugat, Jerrells was part of the group that took the Bears from the bottom of the Big 12 to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 20 years in 2008.
"That was one of the reasons why I chose Baylor, because I wanted to kind of pave my own way and sort of our own way with that group of guys," said Jerrells, the only player in program history to lead the Bears in scoring and assists for four years. "At the time, you don't realize how big of a change and how important it was to the school, to the community and even to yourself. Looking back on it now, I see how much that really meant to myself and the school."
A first-team All-Big 12 pick as a junior, when the Bears lost to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Jerrells averaged a career-high 16.3 points the next year in leading Baylor to the NIT championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
"Being able to go to Madison Square Garden and play there for the first time was a really pivotal moment for me," he said. "That's the basketball mecca. I really wanted to be playing in the NCAA Tournament, but the good times far outweighed the bad in my four years there in Waco."
Like so many of the former players, Curtis returns to Baylor in the summer to work out with the team and get game-ready for wherever the next stop may be.
"It's funny, because I was actually sitting in that same seat," he said. "And you have guys who were here before you that are talking to you. You listen, but at that point you think you've got it figured out, or you want to try your way. But when you get to the other side of the fence, you see where those guys were coming from and why they want to share their knowledge and try to get in your head some of those bumps and curves you're going to run into."
At least until winning the 2021 national championship, Baylor's most successful run began the year after Jerrells left, when the Bears made the first of two Elite Eight appearances. But, he said the Bears' rise to national prominence has not been surprising in the least.
"One thing about that group of coaches is they would never let us think or dwell on anything negative," he said. "Their energy is always positive, it was always about the next step – what are we going to do moving forward? When you're that positive, eventually you kind of speak things into existence, and then you pass that energy to the whole group. I could definitely see it coming, but Coach Drew and his staff have done an amazing job with that program."
Twelve years later, Jerrells ranks fourth in program history in scoring (1,820), second in assists (487), third in steals (159) and fifth in free throws made (401) and 3-pointers made (217).
Jerrells, now 34, said it's crazy to think that it's been 12 years since he finished his collegiate career. Two years ago, he was elected to the Hall of Fame as an individual in his first year of eligibility.
"The more I get calls from friends and family, the more I start to understand how important it is and how great of an achievement this really is," he said of his 2019 election.
This year's Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in the Brazos Room at the Waco Convention Center and will honor the 2020 and 2021 classes.
Banquet tickets cost $50 per person, with table sponsorships also available for $600 (green) and $800 (gold), and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at Tammy_Hardin@baylor.edu.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
People can save for a lifetime to have just one European vacation.
Curtis Jerrells has spent more than a third of his life globetrotting around the world playing basketball in places like Belgrade, Serbia, Murcia, Spain, Istanbul Turkey, Milano and Sassari, Italy, Kazan, Russia, Jerusalem, Wloclawek, Poland and Cairo, Egypt.
"I've gotten to experience a lot of different cultures, a lot of different countries, a lot of different people," said Jerrells, who is part of "The Foundation" of Baylor men's basketball that make up the 2021 class for the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame, joining Aaron Bruce, Mamadou Diene, Henry Dugat and Kevin Rogers.
"You can make a good living here, and the people support you and appreciate you. Some people save up a lifetime just to make one trip over to Europe, and I get to hang out over here, free room and board, and play a little basketball while I'm at it."
The 6-foot-1 point guard signed with Zamalek of the Egyptian Basketball Super League on August 16, his 14th different club. In a 10-year pro career that started with the San Antonio Spurs' D-League team in Austin, Jerrells has won championships in Serbia, Spain and Turkey and was named the Israeli League Cup MVP five years ago with Hapoel Jerusalem.
"European basketball isn't for everybody," he said. "You have to be away from friends and family and just overall the norm. But for me, I have really enjoyed it. it's like an extended vacation for me, being able to play in different countries, to get to travel and see different things. Eventually, it feels like home, but then you have to move and start all over again."
Jerrells didn't have to move too far from home when he graduated from Del Valle High School in the Austin area. Part of Baylor coach Scott Drew's second recruiting class, he was a 4A all-state pick as a senior when he averaged 20.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in leading the Cardinals to the region championship game.
Signing with Rogers and Dugat, Jerrells was part of the group that took the Bears from the bottom of the Big 12 to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 20 years in 2008.
"That was one of the reasons why I chose Baylor, because I wanted to kind of pave my own way and sort of our own way with that group of guys," said Jerrells, the only player in program history to lead the Bears in scoring and assists for four years. "At the time, you don't realize how big of a change and how important it was to the school, to the community and even to yourself. Looking back on it now, I see how much that really meant to myself and the school."
A first-team All-Big 12 pick as a junior, when the Bears lost to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Jerrells averaged a career-high 16.3 points the next year in leading Baylor to the NIT championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
"Being able to go to Madison Square Garden and play there for the first time was a really pivotal moment for me," he said. "That's the basketball mecca. I really wanted to be playing in the NCAA Tournament, but the good times far outweighed the bad in my four years there in Waco."
Like so many of the former players, Curtis returns to Baylor in the summer to work out with the team and get game-ready for wherever the next stop may be.
"It's funny, because I was actually sitting in that same seat," he said. "And you have guys who were here before you that are talking to you. You listen, but at that point you think you've got it figured out, or you want to try your way. But when you get to the other side of the fence, you see where those guys were coming from and why they want to share their knowledge and try to get in your head some of those bumps and curves you're going to run into."
At least until winning the 2021 national championship, Baylor's most successful run began the year after Jerrells left, when the Bears made the first of two Elite Eight appearances. But, he said the Bears' rise to national prominence has not been surprising in the least.
"One thing about that group of coaches is they would never let us think or dwell on anything negative," he said. "Their energy is always positive, it was always about the next step – what are we going to do moving forward? When you're that positive, eventually you kind of speak things into existence, and then you pass that energy to the whole group. I could definitely see it coming, but Coach Drew and his staff have done an amazing job with that program."
Twelve years later, Jerrells ranks fourth in program history in scoring (1,820), second in assists (487), third in steals (159) and fifth in free throws made (401) and 3-pointers made (217).
Jerrells, now 34, said it's crazy to think that it's been 12 years since he finished his collegiate career. Two years ago, he was elected to the Hall of Fame as an individual in his first year of eligibility.
"The more I get calls from friends and family, the more I start to understand how important it is and how great of an achievement this really is," he said of his 2019 election.
This year's Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in the Brazos Room at the Waco Convention Center and will honor the 2020 and 2021 classes.
Banquet tickets cost $50 per person, with table sponsorships also available for $600 (green) and $800 (gold), and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at Tammy_Hardin@baylor.edu.
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