Jaime Jaquez Jr. (, ; born February 18, 2001) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

of the Pac-12 Conference. He was named a consensus second-team All-American and voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2023. Jaquez has earned three All-Pac-12 selections, including first-team honors twice. He is also a two-time member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

Early life and high school career

Jaquez is the son of Angela and Jaime Jaquez Sr., who met while playing basketball at Concordia University. Jaime Jr. is the third generation of his family to have played college basketball; Jaime Sr.'s father, Ezequiel, who came to California with his family from Mexico as a child, played at Ventura Community College and Northern Arizona University. Jaime Jr. was born in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

, and has a younger brother Marcos and younger sister Gabriela. Jaquez grew up in

Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

and attended Camarillo High School. As a freshman, he averaged 15.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.6 steals per game and led the team to a 25–7 record and the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

(CIF) semifinals. As a sophomore, Jaquez earned all-

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

second-team honors, averaging 24.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, despite missing 12 games with an ankle injury. Jaquez averaged 31.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game as a senior and helped the team finish 25–4 and win its first Coastal Canyon League title. He earned first-team All-CIF Southern Section honors and finished his high school career with 2,653 points. Jaquez broke the school single-game scoring record with a 54-point outing against Royal High School. Jaquez was also a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

on the high school

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team.

College career

At the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, Jaquez became a starter for the Bruins during the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in November 2019. He scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds in a win against Chaminade on November 26. On December 1, he scored a season-high 18 points in a 93–64 win over

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

. He scored 18 points on February 27, 2020, and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining in a 75–72 win over

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. As a freshman, Jaquez averaged 8.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He was named honorable mention Pac-12 All-Freshman team. On February 18, 2021, Jaquez scored 25 points on his 20th birthday in a 74–60 win over

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, the Bruins' fifth straight in its rivalry with the Wildcats. For the season, he was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. In UCLA's

First Four The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field, and two games contested between the four lowest-seeded "a ...

play-in game of the 2021 NCAA tournament, he led the Bruins in scoring with a 27 points in a 86–80 overtime win against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. UCLA advanced to the Final Four, losing to Gonzaga. In 2021–22, Jaquez was restricted by ankle injuries throughout most of the season. He suffered from

synovitis Synovitis is the medical term for inflammation of the synovial membrane. This membrane lines joints that possess cavities, known as synovial joints. The condition is usually painful, particularly when the joint is moved. The joint usually swel ...

in one ankle and began wearing braces on both ankles as a preventative measure. He bounced back from a three-game stretch in mid-February 2022 in which he scored a combined 13 points. On February 28, Jaquez scored a career-high 30 points in a 77–66 win over

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In the following game, he scored 27 points in the regular-season finale against USC, helping UCLA end its five-game losing streak in their crosstown rivalry with the Trojans. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 28.5 points on 64 percent shooting along with 7.5 rebounds, as the Bruins clinched the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 tournament. Jaquez was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and was voted again to the conference's defensive team. He was one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, given to the top

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

in the country. In the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament, he scored 15 points in a 72–56 win over Saint Mary's, but exited the game and did not return after spraining his right ankle with seven minutes remaining in the second half. He was averaging 20.5 points in his last eight games, with the Bruins going 7–1. The stretch coincided with his being able to resume practicing, while UCLA's leading scorer, Johnny Juzang, was in a scoring slump. Jaquez recovered to play 38 minutes in the following game against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in the Sweet Sixteen, but the Bruins lost 73–66. He scored 10 points, shooting 1-for-11 in the second half and missing his final nine shots. Jaquez returned to UCLA for his senior year in 2022–23. For the second straight season, he was named to a finalist for the Julius Erving Award. On February 4, 2023, he had a game-high 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a 76–52 win over

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. That month, he scored late baskets in multiple games to help lead the team to victories, including seven points in minutes as the Bruins secured a win over

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He led UCLA to their first Pac-12 regular season title since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. The Bruins received a No. 2 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament. In the opener, Jaquez had 17 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high five steals in a 86–53 rout over No. 15-seed UNC Asheville. UCLA again reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing again in the tournament to Gonzaga. For the season, he averaged 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. He was named a consensus second-team All-American, and received the Lute Olson Award as the college player of the year. Jaquez was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year, becoming the first Bruin to win since

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star Game, All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and the first UCLA senior to capture the award since

Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins on their 1995 NCAA championship team. He was selecte ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. He also earned his second consecutive first-team all-conference selection. After the season, Jaquez declared for the 2023 NBA draft, forgoing the extra year of eligibility that was available due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He ended his career ranked eighth in UCLA history in career scoring (1,802) and career steals (178) and ninth in total games played (134).

National team career

Jaquez played for the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

in the

2019 Pan American Games ; ay, Taqinipuniw anatt’apxtanxa'' , nations participating = 41 , athletes participating = 6,680 , events = 419 in 38 sports , opening ceremony = July 26 , closing ceremony = August 11 , officially opened by = Martín Vizcarra , to ...

in Lima, Peru.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, 31 , , 23 , , 26.6 , , .454 , , .313 , , .761 , , 4.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 34.9 , , .486 , , .394 , , .655 , , 6.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 30.5 , , .472 , , .276 , , .761 , , 5.7 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 33.2 , , .481 , , .317 , , .770 , , 8.2 , , 2.4 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , 17.8 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 134 , , 126 , , 31.4 , , .475 , , .328 , , .737 , , 6.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 13.4 Source:

Personal life

Jaquez's sister Gabriela, who shared MVP honors at the 2022 McDonald's All-American Girls Game, committed to joining the UCLA women's basketball team as part of its 2022–23 freshman class. His brother Marcos became a defensive lineman for Camarillo High's football team.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaquez, Jaime Jr. 2001 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Basketball players from California Mexican men's basketball players People from Camarillo, California Shooting guards Small forwards UCLA Bruins men's basketball players