#24 Jaime Jaquez Jr Profile, NBA Draft Scouting Report, Stats, Projections, Accolades & Latest News
Height: 6’ 7”
Weight: 225 lbs
School: UCLA
Class: Senior
Position: Guard/Forward
Hometown: Camarillo, California
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has established himself as one of the Pac-12’s best all-around players, enjoying an impressive senior season with the UCLA Bruins. Alternating between guard and forward, he is averaging 16 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.7 SPG, all while shooting 49% from the field.
Jaquez Jr.’s offensive versatility, defensive prowess, and good size give him the potential to have a decent NBA career. He will most likely be an early 2nd round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, with the potential to sneak into the end of the 1st round.
Recruitment and Early Career
Jaquez Jr. grew up in Camarillo, California and attended Camarillo High School, establishing himself as a successful 2-sport athlete in basketball and baseball. He had an impressive senior season, averaging 31.7 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 2.1 SPG and leading Camarillo to a 25-4 record.
Ranked in the top 100 for Rivals.com, 247Sports.com, and ESPN.com, Jaquez Jr. chose to attend UCLA under coach Steve Alford, who had recruited him heavily. Although Alford was fired during the 2018-2019 season, Jaquez Jr. remained committed to UCLA, noting that he wanted to be a part of UCLA’s rich basketball history established by the legendary coach John Wooden.
After coming off the bench for the early portion of the year his freshmen season, Jaquez Jr. soon earned new coach Mick Cronin’s trust with his solid play and eventually started 23 games. In addition to exhibiting great all-around play, he also improved his scoring average each of his first 3 seasons with the Bruins, from 8.9 PPG to 12.3 PPG to 13.9 PPG.
He established himself as a top defensive player and was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team during his sophomore and junior seasons. Jaquez Jr.’s greatest collegiate award to date occurred after his junior season when he was named First-Team All-Pac-12.
Jaime Jaquez Jr Parents
Jaquez Jr.’s parents, Jaime Jaquez Sr. and Angela, met at Concordia University in Irvine, California, where both were accomplished basketball players. Jaime Jacquez Sr. was a combo guard known for his defensive tenacity, while Angela earned All-American honors at Concordia partly as a result of her incredible hustle.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. Sister – Gabriela Jaquez
Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s sister, Gabriela Jaquez, is a very good basketball player as well and currently plays as a freshman for the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team. By all accounts, she is having a successful season, averaging 6.8 PPG and 3.8 RPG through 21 games in the 2022-2023 season.
Jaime Jaquez Jr Pronunciation
Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s name is pronounced HY-may, HAH-kez, with both of the “J” letters in his name having an “H” pronunciation. He is Mexican-American through his father and played for the Mexican national team during the 2019 Pan American games in Lima, Peru. If drafted, Jaquez Jr. would be just the 6th player of Mexican descent to play in the NBA.
What you will find on a Jaime Jaquez Jr. NBA Draft Prospect Scouting Report
Jaime Jaquez plays hard on both sides of the ball. As UCLA’s leading guard/forward an athletic Jaquez impacts the collegiate game with his scoring, rebounding and defense. The Bruins are 9-1 when Jaquez scores in double digits while shooting over 50% from the field.
Scoring
Jaquez is an efficient scorer. His points come by attacking off the dribble, knocking down elbow, midrange and the occasional long range jumper. Operating from the post and clean up put back buckets are two additional ways Jaquez puts points on the board.
Attacking off the dribble
Jaquez is a wing that relies on putting the ball on the deck. A variation of in & outs, crossovers, spin moves, behind the back, between the legs and change direction dribbles are used when he attacks into the paint or before backing his man down into the post.
After picking up his dribble Jaquez sets up field goal attempts and beats defenders with a mixture of head fakes and solid pivot footwork. Defenders are bested with drop steps, spin moves, step throughs and up & unders. Around the basket his finishes are executed with both hands.
There are also times when attacking off the dribble doesn’t go as planned for Jaquez. Overly aggressive attacks as he forces his way into the paint often lead to trouble and no where to go. The outcomes? Forced off balance shots, charges or turnovers.
Shooting
As a shooter Jaquez has the ability to knock down mid and long range jumpers off the catch or dribble. From downtown he’s not much of a threat (but has the potential to be reliable as seen in the 2020-2021 season). Iso action on the elbows are where Jaquez is most effective.
When attacking from the top of the arc Jaquez is looking to get to the elbow. In order to create space his shoulder often drops into the defender’s chest or a head fakes lifts them off their feet. Airborne shot contesters are whistled on the way down. Jaquez skillfully jumps into defenders to draw fouls on shot attempts.
Operating out of the post
Jaquez works hard while playing with his back to the basket. Taking defenders down into the post and muscling his way to the rim is how he operates from the low blocks. However, solid footwork also adds a touch of finesse to his approach.
Baseline drop steps, change of direction off the pivot and step-throughs set up fade aways, up & unders, layups and jump hook field goal attempts. Plus he’s far from being a black hole. His vision out of the post allows him to find cutters or shooters along the perimeter.
Rebounds well for a guard
Rebounding at his position is one of Jaquez’s strongest skill sets. He’s a solid rebounder for a wing. The offensive glass is where he excels.
A good offensive rebounder that crashes and works the offensive glass. He’s quick off his feet for 2nd chance opportunities. Missed shots are cleaned up with put back buckets or tapped out for reset extra possessions. Jaquez currently ranks thirds in Pac-12 offensive rebounds with 61 total.
On the defensive end Jaquez will box out and fight for potential rebound real estate. There’s no denying his efforts but he occasionally struggles to box out and keep bigger or stronger guys off the glass.
Will hold his own on defensive end
A competitor who holds his own on the defensive end. While most won’t classify Jaquez as a defensive stopper most will acknowledge that he does have a defensive irritant type of presence. He’s always “there” and he competes hard as he slides his feet, bodies up and contest shots with his hands straight up.
Plus he has quick hands for pick pocket steals and solid anticipation to get into the passing lanes. Jaquez is the type of defender that can turn defense into the start of a break and push after a steal.
At the next level
In the NBA Jaquez brings good size to the shooting guard slot and decent size to the three spot. His ability to slash, post up smaller defenders, work the offensive glass and continue to be a defensive irritant will translate at the next level.
If Jaquez develops his long range shooting he could potentially fill a 3&D role as well. But a role that only requires him to defend and knock down threes will sacrifice two significant advantage areas of his game such as slashing and posting up smaller defenders.
Two areas of improvement for Jaquez are his long range shooting, and his ability to create for others.
2022-2023 NCAA STATS
| GAMES PLAYED | 23 |
| MINUTES PER GAME | 32.3 |
| POINTS PER GAME | 16.3 |
| USAGE RATE | 26.9 |
| FIELD GOALS/ATTEMPTS | 6.7-13.7 |
| FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE | 49.1 |
| THREE POINTERS/ATTEMPTS | 0.8-2.4 |
| THREE POINT PERCENTAGE | 32.7 |
| FREE THROWS | 2.1-2.9 |
| FREE THROW PERCENTAGE | 72.7 |
| REBOUNDS PER GAME | 7.7 |
| ASSIST PER GAME | 2.5 |
| TURNOVERS PER GAME | 2.1 |
| STEALS PER GAME | 1.7 |
| BLOCKS PER GAME | 0.8 |
| PERSONAL FOULS | 1.9 |
2022-2023 Season and Beyond
While the Jaime Jaquez NBA draft stock may not be quite as high as some of the other top collegiate players, it has been steadily rising as his game continues to improve. His ability to play multiple offensive positions seamlessly combined with his defensive play could allow him to sneak into the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft. However, as of right now, he is most likely an early 2nd round pick that could have a decent NBA career as a role player off the bench.
A long tournament run, a very good possibility given the great overall talent of the Bruins roster, could also be a boost to Jaquez Jr.’s draft potential. Despite 2 straight losses, UCLA is currently having a very good season at 17-4 and will most likely be a very high seed in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
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