Rowan is dancing deep into March Madness. This forward-thinking senior is a major reason why.
It took three years for Ja'Zere Noel to realize he controlled the ending to his budding basketball career. Now, Noel and the Profs are both reaping the rewards.
In this college landscape where more and more student-athletes are transferring from top schools in search for money and incentives, Ja’Zere Noel chose to leave two universities to find himself.
It took three years for the 25-year-old Rowan senior to realize he ultimately controlled the ending to his basketball career. After transferring from Jefferson following his freshman year and leaving Lincoln after his sophomore season, Noel saw his career come full-circle, back to the state where he was South Jersey player of the year in 2017 and led Woodbury to the brink of a state title.
By being closer to home with a program that allowed him to “be creative with the basketball,” it appears Noel and Rowan are mutually benefiting from the maturity he found and lessons learned from mistakes at previous stops.
After another banner season, Noel is now a two-time New Jersey Athletic Conference first-teamer and the conference’s player of the year. Noel’s leadership and skill set have the Profs (21-7) preparing to play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament on the road against No. 1 seed Hampden-Sydney College (28-2) on Friday (7 p.m., NCAA.com).
Rowan defeated Carnegie Mellon, 81-69, in the first round and celebrated an 89-85 win over Catholic University last weekend to set up Friday’s regional quarterfinal. Noel led all scorers with a 22-point, eight-rebound performance against Carnegie Mellon and followed it with a double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) against Catholic.
“I really can’t put into words how exciting all of this has been,” said the 6-foot-6 Noel, who is averaging 21.4 points and 9.8 rebounds this season. “Just being there for a second time, I feel like I’m ready for the experience. I know that there’s going to be down parts of it, and there’s going to be good parts of it. But I’m just trying to go out there and have fun.”
‘Don’t want to be that guy’
Noel’s story starts like many high-performing student-athletes unfamiliar with just how much more intense the college game is. His mindset was that his talents were what got him there and would be enough to earn significant playing time. But after averaging just 5.7 points in 24 games with Jefferson, Noel wanted out.
He’ll readily admit that his off-court behavior didn’t help.
“I didn’t want to be that player who sits on the bench, and I wasn’t used to that coming out of high school,” Noel said. “I never thought, though, in that time that my immaturity was holding me back. It just took me a while to understand that.”
Noel transferred to Lincoln the following year, although his playing time was only moderately better. It forced Noel take a hard look at how his progression declined so rapidly.
“I went into that [new year] at Lincoln thinking things were going to be so different, and then they just weren’t,” he said. “I was starting to look at it like ‘Whose fault is this? Is it me or is it the school?’ But I didn’t want to be that guy. I can’t keep blaming, so I took on a lot of self-blame. I put all that on myself.
[People] think it’s just a gift and I can tell you, it’s more a blessing; but one that only comes from the work you put in and how you carry yourself.”
“I took it all on personally. I spent that offseason working on myself, becoming a better person, improving my image. I also spent that entire summer working on my basketball game. It’s all I cared about. I didn’t want to lose this opportunity, and I needed a fresh start.”
Rowan became that clean slate — and that hard work and intrinsic self-reflection? It led to an National Association of Basketball Coaches All-America first-team selection, NJAC co-player of the year honors, and his first all-conference first-team selection, after he led the NJAC in points per game (19.9). That season, Rowan made a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA DIII Tournament, losing to Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
‘I’m finally free’
Today, basketball provides Noel with the joy he had while playing AAU ball and on the playground blacktop as a kid. Now, his refined sense of self comes with a purpose that wasn’t there at the beginning of his college journey. It’s also taught him the importance of understanding the pitfalls that can come with not being disciplined enough to deal with the rigors of college athletics. While Noel acknowledges the good coaches he had along the way, having a mentor is what he felt he lacked.
“Yeah, when the basketball finally stops bouncing for me, I want to get into coaching,” Noel said. “I want to give these kids coming up the knowledge that I didn’t have. I feel like people don’t understand how much it takes to earn a scholarship or even play for a college basketball team. They think it’s just a gift, and I can tell you, it’s more a blessing, but one that only comes from the work you put in and how you carry yourself.”
The ball hasn’t stopped bouncing for Noel just yet, and his visions beyond wearing a Rowan uniform are grand — now that he has finally figured out how to do it.
“When I’m on the basketball court, I feel like that’s where I’m finally free,” Noel said. “All the thinking stops, and I can just focus on my game. It’s a feeling that just comes naturally for me that I can now trust because of the amount of hours and the amount of work I put in — everything is just reading and reacting.
“I definitely see myself playing basketball professionally. I want to get the opportunity to play basketball professionally overseas, if possible. If not, at the highest level possible. It’s been a goal of mine, and now I know what I have to do if I really want to strive for it.”