Here we go: Heat’s star moved from ‘Grass to Grace’ through…….

Jaime Jaquez, a former small forward for the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team and an All-Pac-12 selection, is a name-getter and a kicker at the next level. The 6’6″ swingman, who is currently with the Miami Heat, won December’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month award.

He finished the month with the third-best scoring average among rookies, averaging 16.1 points on a shooting split of.481/.324/.849, behind only two players who were likely in the mix for Rookie of the Year: center Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and center Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In December, Jaquez also averaged 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.9 steals.

According to Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports, Jaquez’s improvement during a four-year career at UCLA equipped him to excel right away in the NBA. His new head coach, Erik Spoelstra, just discussed this.

“I just wanted to be open; I didn’t want to come in with any preconceived notions,” Spoelstra stated. It was evident from spending time with him throughout the summer that he possessed a distinct level of experience and boldness.

That’s to be expected after playing four years of collegiate basketball at a high level and numerous tournament games when winning meant that he had to perform well. These are excellent lessons to take away, and I believe it applies to this league in particular to us.