Journey to Jadwin - Spencer Weisz

4/16/2020

1,000 points. 500 rebounds. 300 assists. 200 three-pointers. Only one player in the history of Princeton University men's basketball has accumulated those numbers and his Journey to Jadwin started just one hour away.

Born and raised in Florham Park, New Jersey, Spencer Weisz first experienced the game of basketball at his local Jewish Community Center (JCC) with his dad, Andy Weisz. Andy would wake Spencer up before 6 a.m. on weekends; they would quickly stop for breakfast then head straight to the JCC, arriving by 7 a.m. While the gym did not open for another hour, there was always over 20 people wanting to play and no one wanted to wait.

“I’d sit there and watch for an hour-and-a half, two hours,” proclaimed Weisz. “Once my dad got finished playing with them, he’d join me on the next court over and we’d play one-on-one full court for an hour.”

Those full court one-on-one games honed Weisz’s competitive drive, skillset and conditioning early.

“We’d have different rules,” explained Weisz. “I could only dribble with my left hand, I could only take jump shots, I could only go to the rim, things of that nature to get my mindset to where it could keep getting better and to challenge me.Those years of watching him and playing against him, I still remember them to this day. I remember being very exhausted and complaining that I was tired. He would continue to push me to get better and I appreciate that retrospectively."

Developing his game at the JCC with his dad isn’t the only basketball memory Weisz looks back on fondly. Weisz recalls one particular instance that got his adrenalin flowing playing rec ball as a six or seven-year-old

“We were doing a drill with the coaches and eventually they said we were about to run, for some reason,” articulated Weisz. “I don’t know why, but I think I called out the coach and challenged him. I said if I can make a free throw, we don’t have to run. In the picture you see all of my friends around the free throw line, standing around me. I made the shot, so that was very exciting."

Growing up in the state of New Jersey in the early 2000’s, it comes as no shock to hear Jason Kidd was another early influence on Weisz’s career.

“Growing up we had season tickets to go to the Nets games and I remember vividly wearing a Jason Kidd jersey one-month straight to school and my mom was not proud of it," explained Weisz. "I fell in love with the way he played and his style. He wasn't the most athletic player but his IQ, the way he led on the floor."

Kidd’s influence extended beyond fandom, as Weisz tried to replicate his playing style on the court.

“He was the ultimate triple-double point guard. It was unique in the game at the time and he’s why I play the way I do,” said Weisz. “During school I tried to be a be a balanced player, lead the team and be an extension of the coach on the floor. He’s a major reason why I am the player I am today.”

Weisz’s family had always attended public school, but all options were on the table when it came to determining his best fit for high school.

“We’re Jewish and public school was always the route my family had taken but with where I was athletically they talked to me and thought we should give Seton Hall Prep, a catholic school, an opportunity to test it out and see if it would fit. I went there and it was the greatest choice we could have made at that time."

Playing his first two years for legendary New Jersey high school basketball coach Bob Farrell and his last two for Kevin Williams, Weisz achieved much success in high school. He helped Seton Hall Prep win four conference titles, three county titles and two sectional titles.

It allowed me to really blossom as an athlete and in the classroom, I was fortunate enough to eventually get an offer to attend Princeton from it.

Spencer Weisz

Along with high school, Weisz also developed his game on the AAU circuit for SportsU.

“You learn a lot about yourself and grow up faster being on the road amongst your peers and having to navigate something you love, like basketball. It was a great experience," said Weisz. "Fortunately, I was on a very successful team. We had won numerous national tournaments, Vegas Fab 48, Rumble in the Bronx, NY2LA twice, iS8, Pitt Jam Fest and the Philly Invitational."

After making an impact on the high school and AAU scenes, the time to choose a college drew closer. Many expected that Weisz would attend Pennsylvania.

“My mom went to Penn and has Penn friends, I had even been at my cousin’s wedding with people trying to secretly push me to Penn,” explained Weisz. “It seemed like everything was pushing me toward Penn but I didn’t choose it. I wouldn’t let myself say yes to them and I felt so much more at ease and comfortable with the coaching staff at Princeton."

The overall university itself, you just can't say no to Princeton. It's the best decision I ever made.

Spencer Weisz

After then assistant coach Brian Earl attended Weisz’s Non-Public A North State Final game his junior year at the Rutgers Athletic Center against DePaul Catholic, Weisz attending Princeton started to become more of a reality.

“When I took this recruiting trip in almost August of my senior year in high school I went to Princeton and I fell in love,” said Weisz. “I was blown away by the coaches, the presentation, their vision for me as a player, the school, the academics. I took another week to think it over, let it mature and marinate in my mind and I was sitting on the couch one day. I called my parents and said I’ve got to go to Princeton, it’s a no-brainer. They came home, I called Coach Henderson, they were in Spain I believe at the time, to let them know I’d like to commit to the admissions process at Princeton”

It did not take long for Weisz to make an impact at the college level. On December 14, 2013, the Tigers overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat Penn State 81-79 in an improbable overtime victory inside Rec Hall. Princeton outscored Penn State 24-6 in the 6:34 to send the game into overtime. Weisz came off the bench with 13 points, three steals and made a number of key plays down the stretch.

“We were down 18-20 points with four-five minutes left and T.J. Bray and Will Barrett just put on an absolute show,” explained Weisz.

"It was in front of a packed arena, it was in their Rec Center so there were 5-6,000 people there really packed in," said Weisz. "I had hit two free throws late that put us into overtime which I’ll never forget. I was kind of nervous, but I wouldn’t tell anyone I was.”

Weisz also looks back on his senior as a “dream” that started with the team’s trip to Italy.

You're going on a trip with 20 of your best friends for 10 days seeing a beautiful country, playing some basketball and having the time of your life.

Spencer Weisz

The Tigers went on to win the Ivy League Tournament and earn an NCAA Tournament berth, a memory that Weisz looks back on fondly.

"To represent Princeton on a national scale and have friends and family watch was unlike anything," proclaimed Weisz. "You can’t describe the feeling, its everything any collegiate basketball player could ever want. Getting the texts, seeing people post on social media about us playing was such an unbelievable feeling to have other people feel prideful and joyful for Princeton and to be part of it with us.”

These days, Weisz plays professionally in Israel for Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Israeli Premier League, one of the top leagues in the world and he just completed his third season. During the 2019-20 season, he averaged 11.7 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. His 1.9 steals per game ranked third in the league.

“I still love the game and that’s where I’m at in life,” said Weisz. “I’ve been playing professionally in Israel for the past three seasons. It’s been an unbelievable experience, I’ve learned a new culture, learned some Hebrew, met some unbelievable people and I continue to fall in love with the game of basketball.

It may be more difficult for Weisz’s family to attend his games now, but their support during his time at Princeton is something he remains grateful for.

“Everyone knows my parents were at every single game I played apart from one or two for my entire career, home games, away games,” said Weisz. “My sister would come as often as she could, she was in college in the time working. Everyone knew the Weisz’s were somewhere to be seen."

I can't thank them enough for coming to watch me play, allowing me to do the thing I love.

Spencer Weisz

While Weisz and many of his former teammates now ply their trade all over the world, they remain best friends and stay in touch regularly. Weisz’s graduating class and the one above goes on an annual golf trip to catch up and reminisce on old times; the group has gone to Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, so far with Denver, Colorado, next on its schedule.

"The connections made with professors, people who attend the school, workers at the school," said Weisz. "It’s an experience that I’ll never take for granted, to be able to have conversations with top economists in the world. It opened my eyes to a world I almost didn’t know existed. I’m still best friends with most of the players that I played with.”