Lindsey moves from Bay Area to BU

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This article was published 02/10/2024 (593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It may be colder here than in West Oakland, but Jakarri Lindsey has found the people around him warm enough to make up for it.

“Everything here seems very peaceful, everyone’s so nice to each other, everyone’s looking out for each other,” said the new Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball player.

“Where I’m from, it was like crabs in a barrel. Everybody’s pulling each other down to try to get up and no one’s really moving anywhere.”

The six-foot-three guard is one of BU coach Gil Cheung’s last-minute import additions, along with Dewayne Thompson of St. Paul, Minn.

Lindsey said he had a few NCAA Division II offers late in the summer, but when he heard about Brandon and U Sports ball, he knew he had to take a chance and try something new, moving away from California for the first time. Back-to-back vehicle thefts in the summer certainly influenced the decision as well.

“I had to get up out of there, I’d been there too long,” Lindsey said. “It’s more dangerous because of where I’m from, the violence.

“I’m in the urban mix more than the average person so for me personally it wasn’t as cool as people think it is, all sunshine, rainbows, beaches, sunny days, it isn’t all that.”

Lindsey started playing at six years old and grew up immersed in basketball, whether it be with school teams or pickup ball. In every circumstance, competition is fierce.

“Everyone’s trying to prove themselves, everyone’s trying to make it out, so it’s really, really tough to get noticed. You have to be a dog … to get to the next level,” said Lindsey.

He played for McClymonds High, an urban school where he said drugs and weapons were commonplace. His basketball team had mismatched uniforms until a guy named Steph Curry, who plays for a nearby NBA team that shares its Warriors nickname, showed up at a December 2017 practice with new jerseys and shoes for the players.

Lindsey was an undersized guard most of his life, entering his senior year at five-foot-11 before a growth spurt. Athleticism came along with it and he landed in the junior college ranks in 2020 with Feather River College, about a four-hour drive northeast of Oakland.

Of course, that season didn’t happen due to COVID-19.

Lindsey transferred to Contra Costa College, less than 30 minutes away from home, and played two seasons for the Comets.

Lindsey came off the bench his freshman year, averaging 8.1 points per game. He started about half the time in 2022-23, dropping to 6.9 ppg while shifting his focus to the defensive end. He was one of five players named to the Bay Valley Conference all-defensive team after averaging nearly two steals per game while consistently matching up with opponents’ top perimeter players.

“I’m a pure hooper. I do whatever coach asks me to do. If coach wants me to play the one, two, three or four, I’ll do that,” Lindsey said.

“I’m not selfish at all. If coach wants me being the guard and setting other people up, I can do that. If coach wants me to be the guy being set up, I can also do that as well.”

Lindsey took last year off, but was one of the first names his coach Miguel Johnson had on his mind when Cheung called. Their connection goes back to 2012 when former Comet Kenonte Ramsey transferred to BU and averaged 13.8 ppg over the next three Canada West seasons.

Cheung isn’t putting that sort of scoring expectation on Lindsey off the bat. He’ll play more of the role Eli Ampofo did in his first few seasons, focused on perimeter defence.

“He’s a bit out of shape right now and he’s honest with you. But he shows glimpses of being a really good defender who can help us out,” Cheung said.

“He’s live and he’s switchable on the defensive end. That’s the big thing we wanted, someone to help us in transition and can help us on the defensive end. And he shoots the ball fairly well too. He checks a lot of boxes for us.

“It’s a big adjustment for him here, especially this past weekend he was OK at times but you could tell he’s a bit rusty and the physicality of the game up here’s different too.”

Lindsey didn’t score in his first pre-season game as BU fell 99-70 to the host Regina Cougars last Thursday. He recorded 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting with four steals in a 79-66 loss to Lethbridge the following day.

Lindsey said it was a lot more physical than he’s used to, but also a totally different style of play than juco.

As Lindsey said, it’s like “crabs in a barrel” as most guys are looking for their ticket to the NCAA DI ranks. The Comets were loaded with talent, going 14-2 and 11-5 in conference play in Lindsey’s two seasons. They survived on individual talent as few teams had enough one-on-one defenders to contain their scorers.

“We did lose in the playoffs because we started playing against real teams. We weren’t a real team, we were a bunch of really, really good hoopers … a bunch of individuals,” Lindsey said.

“Our practices and off the court, we weren’t that close. We were going at each other at practice, trying to kill each other, all that type of stuff because we’re trying to prove ourselves to the coach.”

Now he’s learning a totally different style as Cheung wants the ball to fly around. He wants to push the tempo and shoot a ton of three-pointers. Brandon has found success that way, going 12-8 the past two seasons and winning a playoff game each time.

“Out here in Canada, you guys shoot a lot — a lot — more than we do in the States,” Lindsey said. “We like to get to the rim, we like to spread the floor out and whoever your best penetrator is, you like to get him in the paint as much as possible just so he can make something happen.”

ROSTER TURNOVER

Lindsey’s part of a massive recruiting class, necessitated by some big departures.

Ampofo, Dominique Dennis, Malik Lewis and Silas Owusu-Acheaw graduated and opted not to stay for their fifth years. Khari Ojeda-Harvey and Ian Gasana moved on.

Canada West second-team all-star Sultan Bhatti is now even more instrumental on both ends of the floor. He averaged 19.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game last season and both those marks may rise.

Travis Hamberger and Jack McDonald are the two returning starters, though both are currently sidelined with injuries.

Some newcomers need to make immediate impacts if the Bobcats are to finish another season above .500. The first one who stands out is Thompson, who put up 22 points on 8-for-20 shooting against Lethbridge.

Rookie guard Darko Karac dropped 15 points in each game last week while CEGEP transfer Youri Cange has shown a ton of energy on both ends.

“I was really impressed with the young guys,” Cheung said. “Darko was really good, Youri was really good, [Nathan] Saldo wasn’t great but he did enough that you saw glimpses of what he could be. They’re all first-year guys. Our job’s to make sure they stick around long enough to develop.”

The Bobcats play the Calgary Dinos at home on Oct. 24, then head to Valley City State in North Dakota for a few games before opening the Canada West season at home on Nov. 1.

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