Justinian Jessup

Justinian Jessup
Jessup with Boise State in 2020
No. 37 – New Zealand Breakers
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1998-05-23) May 23, 1998 (age 25)
Longmont, Colorado, U.S.
Listed height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Listed weight97 kg (214 lb)
Career information
High schoolLongmont
(Longmont, Colorado)
CollegeBoise State (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: 2nd round, 51st overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2022Illawarra Hawks
2022–2023Zaragoza
2023–presentNew Zealand Breakers
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-Mountain West (2020)
  • Third-team All-Mountain West (2019)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Justinian Jessup (born May 23, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Boise State Broncos and was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 51st overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

Early life and high school career

Jessup lived in Boise during fourth and fifth grades and played club basketball under former Bronco basketball player Roberto Bergersen.[1] He spent long hours in the gym as a small child improving his basketball game.[2]

Jessup lettered four years at Longmont High School. As a junior, he led the team in every major statistical category with averages of 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 3.2 steals per game while leading Longmont to the state title game. He was named the 2015 Colorado 4A Player of the Year, Northern League Athlete of the Year, and was selected to the all-state first team.[1]

In his senior season, he was ranked the No. 8 prospect in Colorado. He signed his letter of intent to play for Boise State on September 12, 2015.[3] He averaged 18.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and led Longmont to a 25–2 record, while once again being selected to the all-state first team and named the Northern League Athlete of the Year.[1]

College career

In his first nine games for Boise State, Jessup averaged 9.4 points per game. He scored 20 points in a win over Presbyterian, becoming the 11th Bronco freshman to score 20 points in a game. Jessup's play drew comparison to former Boise State player Anthony Drmic. “His feel for the game is so good, and he’s a worker,” coach Leon Rice said.[4]

Jessup averaged 15.0 points per game in the first nine games of his sophomore season and led the team to an 8–1 start.[5] Jessup was publicly reprimanded after his role in a court scuffle in a win against New Mexico on February 6, 2018.[6] He averaged 11.6 points per game as the second option behind Chandler Hutchison and hit 46 percent of his three-point attempts.[7]

As a junior, Jessup led the Broncos in scoring (14.0 points per game), rebounds (4.5 per game), assists (2.7 per game), steals and blocks.[8] Jessup was named to Third-Team All Mountain West following his junior season.[9] He played most of the season through knee pain and had surgery in April 2019.[10]

On December 7, 2019, Jessup set career highs with 27 points and seven 3-pointers, as Boise State defeated the Colorado State Rams 75–64.[11] Jessup made his 276th career three-pointer in a game against UNLV on January 8, 2020, breaking Anthony Drmic's Boise State record. He finished with 18 points to help the Broncos win 73–66.[12] On February 4, 2020 Jessup broke the Mountain West Conference record for career three-pointers when he passed BYU's Jimmer Fredette's mark of 296.[13] At the conclusion of the regular season, Jessup was named to the Second Team All-Mountain West.[14] He averaged 16.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.[15]

Professional career

Illawarra Hawks (2020–2022)

Jessup was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 51st pick in the 2020 NBA draft.[16] He joined the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2020–21 season as part of the league's Next Stars program.[17]

After playing for the Golden State Warriors in the 2021 NBA Summer League, Jessup re-joined the Illawarra Hawks for the 2021–22 NBL season for his second season of his NBL Next Stars contract.[18]

Zaragoza (2022–2023)

After playing for the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Summer League, Jessup joined Basket Zaragoza of the Spanish Liga ACB for the 2022–23 season.[19] He averaged 11.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists, across 28 games.[20]

New Zealand Breakers (2023–present)

On August 10, 2023, Jessup signed with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2023–24 NBL season, returning to the league for a second stint.[20] On October 9, 2023, he was ruled out indefinitely with a pelvic injury.[21]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Boise State 32 31 23.6 .377 .355 .767 2.8 1.4 1.0 .3 7.4
2017–18 Boise State 32 25 29.5 .465 .457 .795 4.7 1.8 1.3 .6 11.6
2018–19 Boise State 33 32 35.5 .445 .410 .731 4.5 2.7 1.1 .5 14.0
2019–20 Boise State 32 32 36.0 .426 .397 .959 4.4 2.1 1.4 .5 16.0
Career 129 120 31.2 .432 .408 .831 4.1 2.0 1.2 .5 12.3

NBL

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Illawarra 38 − 30.9 .420 .343 .750 3.7 1.7 1.2 .6 13.2
2021–22 Illawarra 28 − 31.84 .450 .360 .860 3.79 1.64 1.18 .5 13.33

References

  1. ^ a b c "Justinian Jessup". Boise State Broncos. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  2. ^ Lytle, Kevin (January 31, 2017). "Longmont's Jessup thriving as a freshman at Boise State". The Coloradoan. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "Justinian Jessup - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  4. ^ Rains, B.J. (December 8, 2016). "Freshman Justinian Jessup making early impact for Boise State Basketball". Idaho Press-Tribune. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Rains, B.J. (December 8, 2017). "Jessup's hot shooting not a surprise to Boise State coach Leon Rice". Idaho Press-Tribune. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "New Mexico's Furstinger suspended, Jessup issued public reprimand after altercation". Idaho News. February 7, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "Pokes Wrap Up Regular Season on Saturday at Boise State". Wyoming Cowboys. March 1, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  8. ^ "#83 Boise State Men's Basketball 2019-2020 Preview". College Sports Madness. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "Mountain West announces 2018-2019 men's basketball All-conference team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 12, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Roberts, Rachel (April 9, 2019). "After playing through 'a lot of pain,' Boise State's top scorer has surgery". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  11. ^ "Jessup leads Boise State over Colorado State 75–64". Associated Press. December 7, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  12. ^ Roberts, Rachel (January 8, 2020). "Boise State men's basketball crowns new 3-point king; women's game decided on last shot". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  13. ^ Roberts, Rachel (February 4, 2020). "Hobbs goes off, Jessup bests Jimmer and Boise State men keep it rolling at Wyoming". The Idaho Statesman. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  14. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2019-20 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  15. ^ White, Marcus (November 19, 2020). "What Warriors drafted in second-rounders Mannion, Jessup". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  16. ^ "Warriors Select James Wiseman, Nico Mannion & Justinian Jessup in 2020 NBA Draft". NBA.com. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  17. ^ "NBA Prospect Justinian Jessup Becomes NBL Next Star". NBL.com.au. August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "Jessup to Soar Again With Hawks". NBL.com.au. November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  19. ^ Castillo, Jarrod (July 27, 2022). "Warriors' 2020 draft pick Jessup to play in Spain next season". nbcsportsbayarea.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Breakers sign elite shooter, former Next Star". NBL.com.au. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  21. ^ Uluc, Olgun (October 9, 2023). "Sources: New Zealand Breakers sign NBA forward Anthony Lamb". ESPN.com.au. Retrieved October 9, 2023.

External links