Wilcox High’s Jase Wickliffe, the section’s leading scorer, was taught to play basketball by his older sister Daryenne, whose main sport is track.
Or maybe “schooled” in basketball is a better way to put it.
“It made me competitive,” Wickliffe said. “She wouldn’t take it easy on me just because I was younger. I’d compete with her and try to beat her.”
Asked about the result, Wickliffe said: “She’d kick my butt and then I’d come back and try to beat her the next day.”
Now Wickliffe is the one kickin’ some tail and takin’ names as he leads the Chargers (16-7) into a CCS Division I playoff game at 6:15 p.m. Saturday against Fremont (10-14) at Piedmont Hills.
The 6-foot-5 guard is the unabashed leader of the Chargers, averaging 24.8 points per game, ranking him first in the CCS just ahead of Santa Cruz’s Kaijae Yee-Stephens (24.6) and Leland’s James Kelbert (23.5).
“He has a solid handle and doesn’t shoot like a point guard but can put the ball on the floor and attack the rim and finish,” said Leigh coach and crack talent assessor Patrick Judge. "He’s got a great motor and is very, very, very, very good.”
That’s a lot of verys, but Wickliffe is worth every last one, said his coach Robert Toloy.
“When talking to Jase you feel like you are talking to a very articulate adult,” Toloy said. “Always eye contact, always respectful. His teammates don’t talk to him like they do with each other. He’s been a solid leader.”
The maturity is no accident. In July of 2014, before Wickliffe’s junior year, his beloved father Kevin died of heart-related problems. It was a shock to the young phenom, one that could have made him or broke him.
“It was hard but it made me become my own man,” Wickliffe said. “It made me want to improve for myself instead of for his sense of approval.”
Wickliffe was playing for Top Flight Elite at the time, along with such stars as Noah Stapes of St. Francis. Saddened by his father’s passing, Wickliffe pressed on.
Asked if it made him grow up faster, he said: “I do – a lot faster because it was during the AAU season and I had to finish the season and couldn’t just shut down. I think I matured a lot in those few weeks of the summer.”
That maturity can now be seen in both Wickliffe’s game and his demeanor, the latter being off the charts according to Toloy.
“What makes him special is that despite how good he is, he’s very well-grounded, very humble and unlike many high school kids, he doesn’t carry himself above others,” Toloy said. “Somebody before I came into his basketball journey did a phenomenal job working with him.”
That would be the late Kevin Wickliffe, who would sit by the hour and watch college basketball with his son. A student of the game, the Wilcox star has studied Michael Jordan’s game and tries as best as he can to be “like Mike.”
“I just love to display athleticism,” Wickliffe said. “I emulate his moves and try to be athletic and jump around and steal the ball and block shots – those are some of my favorite parts of the game.”
The 18-year-old is also a Milwaukee Bucks fans because he says Jabbari Parker has “tons of skill and I mimic him.”
Wilcox has needed every bit of Wickliffe’s athleticism to go from nine wins (two in league) last year to a tie for second place finish in the SCVAL-De Anza this year and 16 victories in Toloy's first year. His contributions have been more than just of the high-flying variety, too.
“Our program’s unique success this year is a direct result of Jase’s choice to give up a part of his game to create opportunities for his teammates,” Toloy said. “We’ve had guys get strings of two, three, four 3-point shots in a row because opponents throw 2-3 defenders at him as soon as he gets the ball. He never forces a bad shot and he finds his teammates.”
It's no wonder Cal Bay East Bay, Notre Dame de Namur and San Francisco State are interested.
“What he does for his team makes him just as valuable as Eddie Stansberry for Riordan, Yee-Stephens for Santa Cruz or Kelbert for Leland,” Judge said.
But then being The Man is second nature now for Wickliffe. He’s been doing it for two-plus years now and is currently ensconced with his sister Daryenne and his mother, Sonja, a family law attorney. In her late husband’s absence, Sonja has kept an eye on her son’s formerly indifferent rebounding.
“We’re close because we have the same sense of humor,” Wickliffe said of his mom. “She also provides for me and I appreciate that and she pushes me to be a better student (B-plus average) and player, especially my rebounding.”
Payback as well all know is tough, and Wickliffe couldn’t help but chuckle when asked if he ever laces ‘em up with his sister anymore and plays a little one-one-one.
“Nah, when she was a freshman in college she’d come back and we’d play a little and I’d totally whip up on her and finally she just said one day ‘OK, I’m done.’”
