On Dec. 16, Olivet College gave up a game-tying 3 at the end of regulation to St. Mary’s (Maryland). It allowed a game-tying layup at the end of the first overtime. The Comets gave up two game-tying free throws with 20 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

In Olivet’s huddle between the second and third overtime, Jalen Adams felt a tap on his side from his backcourt mate, Tracy Edmond.

“We gotta end this now,” Edmond remembered saying.

The two were exhausted, having played more than 45 minutes to that point and accounting for 65 of their team’s 99 points. Without saying a word, Adams nodded in agreement and headed back onto the court. The backcourt then combined for 11 points — seven coming from Adams — in the third overtime, securing a 117-111 victory.

“It was such a crazy game, we should’ve won in regulation but sometimes things don’t go your way,” Edmond said. “As it went to overtime, and then another one, and then another one, we were just like ‘Wow.’ But we grinded it out.”

While the contest was one of the craziest games of Adams’ career, he won’t remember it because of its three overtimes, his 38 points or his 55 minutes played. Rather, he will look back on it as the first time in five years his health allowed him to be at the center of such an exciting basketball atmosphere.

In 17 games at Olivet, his fourth school in as many years, Adams averages 9.8 rebounds per game and 35.4 minutes per game, along with 26.5 points per game — the fifth-best in Division III. It’s the first chance he’s had to put up those numbers in a full season since high school.

Adams attended Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, where he gained statewide attention as one of Michigan’s top players. He landed at St. Bonaventure, where he chose to redshirt his freshman year after realizing most of his season would be spent on the bench.

During the summer after his redshirt season, Adams broke his foot. While he was able to start the season on the Bonnies’ roster, he struggled to break into the lineup. In his season debut against Dartmouth, he recorded a season-high 11 points in 13 minutes. His scoring and playing time soon faded, and he scored just 13 points in as many appearances for the remainder of the season. Soon after the season ended, Adams decided he was going to transfer.

“I was hurt, but not too much,” Adams said of his time at St. Bonaventure. “But it was definitely time for me to leave. It wasn’t the right place for me.”

Adams needed a landing spot where he was guaranteed playing time, so he chose Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan, a four-time National Junior College Athletic Association national champion, with its most recent title coming in 2012. Adams intended to play one season at Mott, make it to the NJCAA championship game, and then go back to a Division I program, he said. He enjoyed plenty of game time, starting 17 games and averaging 16.9 points per game, but with just two games left in the season, Adams tore a meniscus.

Adams’ injury severely set back his plans to join a Division I program. He left Mott after one season and joined Wayne State, a Division II school in Detroit.

His recovery lasted into his redshirt junior season, disallowing him from practicing and playing at full health for most of the year. Adams played in just 12 games, and as his frustration about his lack of health continued to build, he started looking for a new school. Once the season ended and word got out Adams wanted to transfer, Olivet head coach Steve Ernst phoned him.

“I saw Jalen play as a junior in high school, so I’ve known of him for quite some time. He was a tremendous high school talent,” Ernst said. “I heard he had withdrawn out of Wayne State, and so we called him. It ended up being a pretty good fit.”

All the stars had aligned for Adams. He had fully recovered from his meniscus injury, was thought highly of by his coach, and was joining a multi-talented guard in Edmond: his future roommate. Once he arrived at Olivet, he instantly became the team’s primary ball-handler and shot-taker.

Bouncing to and from four different schools, ranging from Division I to community college, in four years, Adams has struggled to find opportunities to thrive. Now, he is healthy and has a coach that trusts his ability and a supporting cast to compliment his talents.

“I’m stronger, healthier, and I’m finally getting opportunities to play,” Adams said. “And I’m taking advantage of it.”

Published on January 23, 2018 at 9:48 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu