San Diego State men’s basketball freshman guard Jordan Schakel is a proven winner.
Schakel set records as a four-year starter at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California, leading them to a school best 118 total wins and a victory in their first CIF State Open Division Championship during his senior season.
But it wasn’t all about basketball at first.
“I played football, that was my first sport that I really loved,” Schakel said. “In the third grade my mom made me choose between football and basketball. Well, she didn’t really make me choose, she made the decision for me.”
During his senior season at Bishop Montgomery, Schakel earned Daily Breeze all-area first-team accolades, first-team all-CIF honors, all-Del Rey League honors and all-CIF Southern Section Open Division recognition.
Bishop Montgomery head men’s basketball coach Doug Mitchell said that despite Schakel’s long list of awards, individual accolades were never a motivating factor for his former player.
“I think that, first and foremost, Jordan is a winner,” said Mitchell. “Jordan is always about the team, individual accolades do not mean that much to him. He is very talented but more importantly he is a great team player.”
Mitchell also praised Schakel for his sharp shooting skills to go along with his work ethic.
“Jordan has many special qualities but he is a great shooter. His ability to hit shots from all over the court serves to separate him as a player,” said Mitchell. “I think his work ethic is exceptional, he is constantly striving to improve and expand his game. He is never satisfied and consistently works, which is one of the reasons he improves every year. It’s something that I know will continue in college.”
One game that stood out to Schekel from his senior season was a 70-63 victory over Sierra Canyon School, which advanced his team to the Open Division Championship. Schekel scored 20 points in the game, and credited the win with putting his school on the map.
“The game versus Sierra Canyon was my favorite. I had a good game and also it was the game that started it all, that led to the championship win,” said Schakel. “There were radio shows all around the country, nobody even mentioned us or knew we were in the tournament so it just felt good.”
Schakel’s success at Bishop Montgomery drew attention from college scouts, but ultimately he chose San Diego State because he felt the program was the right fit for him.
“I had some Pac-12 interested, but I felt that San Diego State gave me the best chance to be successful and I really liked the program that they built here,” Schakel said.
Schakel is currently pursuing a business degree at SDSU. However, his goal is to play professionally and for his dream job, well, “I’d like to be a Laker,” he said with a chuckle.
