Part One of Four – Generation Next: Jason Conrad- Sophmore GHS
Basketball Player
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Life is great when you’re 6-foot-8.
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The saying on the white T-shirt that Jason Conrad wears while shooting around at a recent Gilroy basketball practice speaks the truth.
In his lifetime, Gilroy boys basketball head coach Bud Ogden has seen a lot of talented big men on the basketball court. As a college player at Santa Clara, as a pro with the Philadelphia 76ers and years as a high school coach.
But none have been quite like Conrad, the Mustangs’ sophomore starting center.
“He’s kind of unique,” Ogden said. “I expect big things out of him.”
Big. It’s definitely the word to describe Conrad. At 6-foot-8, the sophomore towers over teammates and most opponents. His feet require a size 17 shoe.
“Nike Outlet goes up to size 20. Other than that, it’s the Internet,” Conrad said.
His size, coupled with an aggressiveness around the basket not usually seen in a young player, has helped make Conrad the team’s leading rebounder (8.1 per game) and the second-leading scorer (8.1 PPG). But his most eye-popping stat is blocks. Through 16 games, Conrad has blocked 68 shots – nearly five per game. The sophomore’s season total is 52 more than the next-best shot blocker in the Monterey Bay area.
By playing in the offseason with the West Valley Basketball Club (WVBC) since last season, the hard-working sophomore has already caught the eye of Division I college programs and could become Gilroy’s best post player since Derek Bruton, who graduated in 1985 and went on to play college ball at Stanford.
All that, and Conrad has played organized basketball for just two years.
Before freshman year, basketball wasn’t really on Conrad’s radar. As an eighth-grader, the Morgan Hill native stood 5-foot-9. He played a variety of sports, including hockey, football, soccer and baseball. But Conrad didn’t specialize in any of them.
That was before his 11-inch growth spurt that happened over the course of a year. When Conrad started growing, basketball came into the picture. He began playing with a local club team, the South County Jammers and played in local tournaments. After that, Conrad had no doubt about what he’d be devoting his time to.
“I fell in love with the game and it’s all I’ve wanted to do since,” he said.
Conrad, who was home-schooled for most of junior high but attended Britton Middle School in Morgan Hill for part of eighth grade, moved to Gilroy last year for high school and played on the JV team as a freshman.
But it wasn’t until he started playing with WVBC after last season that Conrad started showing strong potential to become a serious player.
“He was still a huge question mark,” Ogden said. “It wasn’t until he started (with WVBC) that he had the time and the energy to work on his game.”
Conrad spent the summer working on his shot and his inside moves, both of which have improved dramatically. The sophomore has a consistent jumper from 10 feet.
But what really makes Conrad special are his intangible qualities. Ogden said he’s coached talented players the size of Conrad before, but none have had the same instincts for the game, especially so young.
“He’s got great instincts, a great disposition, he’s very coachable. He listens and rarely do you have to tell him more than once,” Ogden said. “He’s able to make split decisions.”
Conrad said he tries to model his game after the styles of Dallas Mavericks’ forward Dirk Nowitzki and Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison.
“They’re big men that can do everything. They can post up. They’re smart players and know when to take shots,” Conrad said.
It’s the sophomore’s ultimate goal to play in the NBA. Before that, he’d like to follow in the footsteps of Ogden and both his parents and be a student-athlete at Santa Clara.
“Nothing would make me happier. I know that program inside and out,” said Ogden, who was an All-American for the Broncos his senior year in 1968. “That’s a ways off and a lot can happen between now and when he makes his decision. But it tickles me that that would be his current choice.”
Athletics – and height – seem to run in the family. Conrad’s father, Bill (6-foot-4), played baseball at Santa Clara while his mother, Karin (6-foot-2), played volleyball there. The sophomore’s older sister, Kristina, plays volleyball for San Jose St. Conrad’s cousin, Tara, played volleyball at Stanford with former Cardinal standouts and Olympians Kerri Walsh and Logan Tom.
“Just seeing them play in college has just motivated me to keep that family tradition going,” Conrad said.
Before all is said and done, Conrad would like to help Gilroy basketball to a tradition of its own as high school powerhouse.
“I want to win CCS and go on to state. That would be nice,” Conrad said. “Just so people know where Gilroy is.”
