Journey To Jadwin - Jaelin Llewellyn
12/8/2020
In the 2018-19 season, he became the first Princeton University men's basketball freshman to lead the Tigers in assists since 2007. In 2019-20 he led Tigers in scoring and was an All-Ivy League honoree. Most exciting of all, the best is still to come for Jaelin Llewellyn.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Llewellyn and his family lived on the outskirts of the city until he was four when they moved to Mississauga, located in the greater Toronto area.
While some may associate Canada with ice hockey, it was a basketball, not a hockey stick, that Llewellyn grew up with in his hands.
I was very, very small, sub-five and I always had a little tikes hoop in my house. I remember having a really small one that was so small it fit in the living room and I remember playing on it with my dad.”Jaelin Llewellyn
Throughout those early years, Llewellyn didn’t have to look far for a basketball role model as his father, Cordell, played at Wake Forest University and the University of Rhode Island. He was also a member of the Canadian national team where he teamed up with the likes of Steve Nash and Rowan Barrett, father of R.J. Barrett.
He's been through a lot of what I hope to do.Jaelin Lllewellyn
“I hear stories all the time from people in Toronto saying that he would have made the NBA if not for breaking his hip his junior year of college, or if he was playing nowadays as it was harder to make it out of Canada back then," said Llewellyn. "I would definitely say he was my first inspiration.”
Along with his father, Llewellyn would draw inspiration from a pair of NBA greats; LeBron James and Tracy McGrady.
“Those are the two that I was obsessed with when I was younger,” proclaimed Llewellyn. “I’m still a big LeBron fan, but in the elementary school days I was pretty into T-Mac when he was on the Rockets. He was pretty deadly and a lot of it came from playing video games, I used to play a lot of NBA Live on the Game Cube, that was my early inspiration. Around 10th grade was when LeBron started to catch my eye, I think his Miami days were my favorite.”
Given that he grew up in the greater Toronto area, it is also fitting that the Raptors would serve as an early source of his inspiration for Llewellyn.
“I definitely did look up to them because I would go to a lot of Raptor games when I was younger, especially Raptors versus Clippers because at the time Cuttino Mobley played for the Clippers and my dad knew him from URI,” explained Llewellyn. “He would get us tickets and I would go meet the players afterwards."
I used to love Chris Bosh, my snapchat username is Chris Bosh-related.”Jaelin Llewellyn
Along with his role models, a series of early successes accelerated Llewellyn’s love for the game of basketball.
“During recess in elementary school there was a smaller basketball hoop outside in the school yard,” proclaimed Llewellyn. “By fifth grade I could dunk on it and I always wanted to be able to dunk. I spent a lot of time out there, I wanted to know what it actually felt like to be an elite basketball player.”
Dunking on that hoop as a fifth-grader was far from the only time Llewellyn would feel like an elite basketball player during his youth.
“In a rec league at the Mississauga Valley Community Center, it was for ages eight up to 13,” said Llewellyn. “They would do it NBA style, you'd be on the Celtics or the Lakers or whatever other team and try and win a championship throughout the course of eight weeks. I won two back-to-back at one point, they were defining moments.”
For his first two years of high school, Llewellyn would attend Father Michael Goetz Secondary School.
“I was there for two years and then I decided that I wanted to transfer to a different school because I wanted to further my development basketball-wise,” explained Llewellyn. “I went to Orangeville Prep, which was in Orangeville, Ontario. It’s probably an hour north of Mississauga, so a little bit colder and I was there for one year.”.
Llewellyn's housing at Orangeville Prep was the Rosebud Motel, a primary location where the popular program “Schitt’s Creek” was filmed. Along with Llewellyn, Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray, Thon Maker of the Detroit Pistons and Kyle Alexander of the Miami Heat also lived in the motel while attending Orangeville Prep.
After a year at Orangeville Prep, Llewellyn sought a greater challenge academically. This led him to Virginia Episcopal Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia. He had originally planned to attend a school in Vermont, but those plans fell through and left Llewellyn without a school in mid-August. Frantic scenes ensued for Llewellyn and his family.
My dad, my mom, my dog and I drove from Mississauga to Lynchburg on August 19, so it was a complete one-day turnaround. We just drove all the way, it was a 12-hour drive and I showed up in a city I’d never heard of and a school that I'd never heard of or been to.Jaelin Llewellyn
“It was a pretty crazy experience but I'm definitely thankful for that, very thankful because it gave me an opportunity to go where no one knew who I was,” said Llewellyn. "I kind of felt boxed into a personality trait at home, so it was an opportunity to reinvent who I wanted to be.”
At Virginia Episcopal, Llewellyn was coached by Curtis Staples, who held the all-time NCAA record in three-pointers made with 413 for eight years. Under Staples' tutelage, Llewellyn’s time there proved to be a transformative period filled with many memorable moments. None more memorable than beating Blue Ridge School his junior year.
We won and it was a really close game. It felt like the whole city was there. The student section was going crazy, they stormed the court after we won, I had never had that experience before.Jaelin Llewellyn
“Recently, maybe two weeks ago, I got my school email back now that I'm working here (Llewellyn has been working on campus throughout the fall) so I was able to get my google drive back and I have all the game film from my junior year now, I already had the senior year film, so I re-watched that game and just seeing moments like when Brent (teammate) blocked a shot or when Alex (teammate) blocked one of the final layups and seeing the crowd reaction and everyone getting all pumped up, I was almost crying because it was just such a powerful moment,” said Llewellyn. "That was definitely a moment where I thought ‘so this is what it's supposed to feel like playing high school basketball.’”
Llewellyn thrived at Virginia Episcopal and grew into the person he is today, both on and off the court.
“Of course, you should care about what you're doing but I was less worried about messing up or what the coaches were going to think of me," said Llewellyn. "I was able to focus on being me as well and that definitely helped on the court because it was a fresh start. I made some really close friends who helped me through a lot of things."
Along with high school basketball, Llewellyn also had a successful AAU career. Initially playing with Canadian powerhouse CIA Bounce, he would eventually play for Team Loaded VA following his move to Virginia.
“I started doing research on who Team Loaded was and I saw what Dennis Smith did there and what the program helped do for him and Bam Adebayo,” said Llewellyn. “They have a really nice documentary of that whole season where they won the Vegas Championship, they talked to me a lot about how their goal is to win the Vegas Championship and I was like ‘I think I want to be a part of that.’ I joined Team Loaded, there were a lot a lot of ups a lot of downs, a lot of long practices and a lot of hard work but we got it done, we won the Vegas Championship."
It was kind of surreal because it didn't feel l like we were going to do it and looking back at the start it seemed like a daunting task. We felt we had this pressure that we were expected to do it.Jaelin Llewellyn
Playing for such an elite program further built Llewellyn’s confidence as he showed he could dominate at such a high level. This confidence showed at the Adidas Nations camp he attended in the summer of 2017, right after winning the Vegas Championship.
“There were three American teams and one each from Latin America, Africa, Asia Pacific, there was Canada and I was on Team Canada,” explained Llewellyn. “There was talent everywhere you looked and I did really well, so that definitely gave me some confidence.”
At the camp, Llewellyn teamed up with the likes of Ignas Brazdeikis (New York Knicks), Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), A.J. Lawson (South Carolina), Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga) and Kaosi Ezeagu (Kansas State). None shined brighter than Llewellyn, who turned heads with his play. Taking on a Team USA Blue 2018 squad that featured Reggie Perry (Brooklyn Nets), Nassir Little (Portland Trail Blazers) and Joey Hauser (Michigan State), he exploded for 43 points on 13-for-17 shooting, a career-high at any level.
Other attendees included Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans), Cole Anthony (Orlando Magic), R.J. Hampton (Denver Nuggets), Vernon Carey Jr. (Charlotte Hornets), Romeo Langford (Boston Celtics), Immanuel Quickley (New York Knicks), Jalen Lecque (Indiana Pacers) and Onyeka Okongwu (Atlanta Hawks).
Of the loaded field of talent, Llewellyn would end the camp as its third-leading scorer.
While he received offers from the likes of the University of Virginia, the University of Tennessee, the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Purdue University and Wake Forest, Llewellyn ultimately chose Princeton the summer before his senior year at Virginia Episcopal.
“I definitely want something else other than only basketball because I’m more things than just basketball,” said Llewellyn. “I have a lot of other interests and things that I like to do when I'm not dribbling a ball and I think Princeton has a culture that creates a space for that, even if you don't do anything with it.”
The living arrangement at Princeton was of great appeal to Llewellyn.
“A lot of other schools make you live in a basketball dorm, but I was coming from Virginia Episcopal where athletes and non-athletes are so integrated," said Llewellyn. "Some of my best friends were just normal people because it’s so small. It's only 230 kids and we all lived together so I was interacting with all types of people, that definitely helped me come to my decision. I finally decided July 24, I was in Richmond, Virginia, in a hotel with Patrick Kelly (an AAU teammate) and his mom, it was in the middle of a Team Loaded Tournament and I just decided today's the day that I want to finally choose where I'm going and I chose Princeton.”
Getting the opportunity to live with people from all walks of live immediately paid dividends for Llewellyn.
“My roommate my freshman year (Jeb Carter) was from Georgia and he was so smart, he's probably the smartest kid ever,” said Llewellyn. “He does astrophysics, it was just a different perspective that I was getting every day as opposed to living with a teammate who I was already getting the same perspective from. He did chapel choir every Sunday morning, he liked to sing and it kind of reminded me of my junior year roommate, Scott Hong. He was a student from Ningbo, China, and ended up being one of my best friends.”
Since getting to Princeton, Llewellyn’s combination of athleticism and smarts have been a handful for opponents. Despite missing the first seven games of his freshman season (2018-19) due to injury and illness, he went on to have 10 double-digit scoring games and led the team with 55 assists, becoming the first Princeton freshman since 2007 to lead the team in assists.
As a sophomore in 2019-20, Llewellyn’s play elevated to an even higher level as he was an All-Ivy League honoree and led the Tigers in scoring with 15.3 points per game.
He would reset his single-game career-high in points on three occasions, culminating in a 30-point eruption against Cornell University on Saturday, March 7, 2020. Throughout the final seven games of the season Llewellyn exploded offensively as he averaged 20.0 points per game on .462 percent shooting from the field, .440 percent from three and .880 percent from the free throw line along with 4.4 rebounds per game with a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio.
Those who know Llewellyn know just how unselfish he is, a fact reflected in his best memories from his two years as a Tiger. On Friday, March 6, 2020 Colby Kyle, who had battled injuries all season, got into the game in the Tigers’ win over Columbia University and completed a three-point play. An iconic bench celebration came next.
That’s a very special one because of all that Colby's been through. To finally see him put that ball in the basket was just awesome.Jaelin Llewellyn
“At first I was so happy to just see him in there ,” said Llewellyn. "They ran that up and back to get him the ball and I was like ‘wait, is he about to get the ball right now in the paint?’ Then he got it and I was like ‘is he about to shoot it?’ Then he shot it, the ball, it bounced around, that's when I just started freaking out and then it went in and I jumped up and started screaming. Because I jumped up so fast and I was screaming, I literally almost passed out on the bench. I was so light-headed but it was it was the best feeling ever.”
His freshman year, the Tigers took down No. 17 Arizona State University 67-66 in an unforgettable trip to Tempe, Arizona.
“It was just so awesome to go in that environment and come out with such a crazy win,” proclaimed Llewellyn. “Even just that whole trip in general was something I think about a lot because it was just good vibes, it was right after Christmas, nice to be in the good weather, spending time on the little downtown strip just walking around with some of the team.”
Llewellyn has shared in those memories with his five classmates on the team; Drew Friberg, Max Johns, Ethan Wright and Colby Kyle. He views them as his biggest influence at Princeton.
“We're very close and even though we're mostly all the same age and going through the same things, they're pretty influential,” explained Llewellyn. “When I don't know what to do someone in that group might and they may be able to help me know what to do.”
Llewellyn also lists Amir Bell '18 as someone who has been of significant influence to his development.
“The summer before freshman year I was in Princeton and I would work out and come to the runs,” said Llewellyn. “He was always someone who was there for me. I would get up shots with him sometimes, he kind of helped me get introduced to the whole thing.”
His bonds with his teammates are strong and top of everything else, Llewellyn’s sense of humor is much appreciated by those around him. Throughout his sophomore year, he wrote down quotes everyday from his teammates and coaches.
I kept a small notebook and wrote down four quotes a day just from everyday life for my senior year of high school so that I could look back and have a list of parts of my life, so I did it again last year at Princeton.Jaelin Llewellyn
“I have quotes from the start of the year until March,” proclaimed Llewellyn. "It's one of the best things ever to look back on, because I have the whole year in chronological order.”
Post-graduation, Llewellyn has his sights set on professional basketball.
With how I improved last season I think I have an opportunity to play at the next level. As long as I keep progressing, learning and getting better it definitely seems like something that's possible.Jaelin Llewellyn
While he’s unsure of what his non-basketball post-graduation plans will be, Llewellyn has a wide array of interests and skills including music production and video editing.
“I like to watch a lot of film and create film,” proclaimed Llewellyn. “It's kind of dropped off since my freshman year because I stopped taking video production courses but I have still been taking cinema-related courses, it's just not on the creative side. I started doing that in 2016, I've done a few short films and documentaries, mockumentary style stuff.”
Princeton has been the perfect situation for Llewellyn, allowing him to thrive on the court and be himself off of it. He has met mentors and brothers for life.
“They're some of the most important people in my life, teammates and coaches,” said Llewellyn. “I've said it many, many times throughout the last year that we have the funniest team in the country from top to bottom.”
It gave me a place to be myself and not have to try and fit into any type of mold or type of person that people feel like I should be. I feel I'm embraced in that way for being myself and I'm also thankful because I never would have met the teammates that I've had so far.Jaelin Llewellyn
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