It helped that University of Portland men’s basketball coach Eric Reveno was a longtime acquaintance of Jackson High School coach Steve Johnson. That friendship, going back to their years in Palo Alto, Calif. — Johnson was a high school player, Reveno at nearby Stanford University — gave Reveno an early glimpse of a promising Timberwolves player named Jason Todd.
But what helped even more in the recruiting process was something Reveno kept hearing in conversations with Johnson and others that knew Todd.
“You couldn’t bring up Jason’s name without hearing the word winner being mentioned in the same sentence,” Reveno said. “Everyone talked about that.”
In addition, Reveno could see for himself that Todd was “a very good basketball player. He was a versatile athlete with a very good skill level, and someone who had a great feel for the game and for making others better.”
What he heard and saw convinced Reveno that he needed Todd, a big part of four straight state-tournament teams at Jackson, in his program.
Two months into his freshman season at Portland, “I’m just trying to do what I’ve always done, which is to play my tail off and work hard,” said Todd, a 6-foot-4 guard-forward. “I don’t care about points, rebounds and other stats, just about winning. And whatever the team needs me to do to help us win, that’s fine.”
Known for his assortment of skills at Jackson, Todd says he is still willing to be “that do-it-all guy. Whatever my team needs, it doesn’t matter to me.
“My job is to be ready to play whenever the coach calls my number,” he said. “Mentally I have to stay focused, and I have to know the scouting reports and the tendencies (of the opposing team and players). I just have to be ready.”
Todd played sparingly early in the season, and not at all in two of the team’s first four games. But his minutes have increased significantly in recent weeks, and he has played more than 20 minutes in eight of the past nine games, including a season-high 30 minutes in a Dec. 6 overtime loss against Oregon State.
Through the team’s 17 games, he is averaging 4.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists a game while shooting .531 from the field (26-for-49) and a team-best .565 from the 3-point line (13-for-23). He led the team with eight rebounds in a Dec. 20 game against Montana State, and with seven assists in a Dec. 29 game against Brigham Young.
Reveno says his trust in Todd has grown in the season’s first two months, “and he’s earned that trust (with) his steady improvement. … He was challenged with the transition to college and he struggled at times (early in the season). Practice was tough, and he didn’t like not doing well. It wasn’t something he was used to. But he dealt with it, he kept working, he kept pushing, and we kept telling him, ‘You’re closer than you think.’”
When backcourt starter Kevin Bailey missed eight games with an injury, “Jason took full advantage of the opportunity to come in and show what he could do,” Reveno said. “His rebounding and his defense have not been a surprise, and his ability to make smart offensive plays has really been good. … He’s getting a good opportunity his freshman year and he’s making the most of it.”
Todd says the transition from high school to college “is huge. The size and the physicality of these guys is unmatched by anything you see in high school. In high school I was the biggest guy. I’d even play post sometimes. But I’m not even close to a post now. So the size, athleticism and strength is definitely one of the biggest adjustments I’ve had to deal with. And you have to adjust to how quick up and down (the court) the pace is. It’s definitely different from high school.”
Midway through the season, the Pilots are 11-6 with a 2-3 West Coast Conference record. One of those league losses was to Gonzaga 10 days ago, a game in which Todd entered early in the first half and played 27 minutes with four rebounds and nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“I really like this team,” he said. “We’re experienced, we have size, and we have athleticism at all positions. We realize it’s a very tough conference and that every game can go either way, so we have to take advantage of the games we should win, and then maybe try to steal some when we can.
“We connect so well off the court,” he added, “and I think that helps our chemistry on the court.”
Todd had “four or five” NCAA Division I scholarship offers by his senior season at Jackson, but took his only official recruiting visit to Portland. He was drawn by the family atmosphere among team members, his connection with the coaches, and his desire to stay in the Northwest.
“I’m happy and blessed that I get to keep playing basketball,” he said. “And I know Portland is the right place for me.”
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