Jacob Orender is excited to play under Wyking Jones
After playing his freshman season at Lafayette, Jacob Orender transferred to Cal during the spring semester, giving him the chance to practice with the team during the second half of the season. Orender is in a somewhat unique situation in that he saw the transition from Cuonzo Martin to Wyking Jones without actually playing in a game. Now that he will be able to play having sat out a year, Orender is ready to get to work for the Golden Bears and play under his new head coach.
While some would be too intimidated by the jump from the Patriot League to the Pac-12, Orender embraced the opportunity and saw it as a new challenge. Both the level of competition and rigorous academics excited him after he took his first visit to the school last fall.
“I actually spent the past season there [at Cal],” Orender said. “So, I was as mid-year transfer. So I was able to practice with the team, learn as much as I could. When I initially became a transfer, Coach Martin called. My mom and I flew out for the first game of the season. I really loved the school. The rigorous academics and athletics in the Pac-12. After that we agreed to walk-on and the next semester I was over.”
What really appealed to Orender was the opportunity to transfer in when he did. By being a mid-year transfer, he got to get a feel for both the level of play and academics without having the pressures of having to play in a game. He liked the chance to focus more on the academic side and gradually ease into things.
“For the academic, it was cool being a student for the first half,” Orender said. “I went from a mid-major to a high-major. The athleticism and speed was something I noticed. The team did a good job acclimating me to the level of play. I’m a little nervous to experience it first hand, but I’m excited for the challenge.”
While he hasn’t yet had the chance to play in a game, Orender notices that the vibe is different with Wyking Jones now at the helm. Orender is excited about the direction of the program and really feels like Jones cares about each of his players individually.
“Being new to the program, I’ve never had the experience with being in a game,” Orender said. “But so far I’m excited for the direction of the program Coach Jones is bringing us. I’m excited for the stuff he’s going to implement. I couldn’t be more excited to play for Coach Jones. They’re already putting in some stuff and so far I’m really excited.
He [Coach Jones] really does value us apart from basketball. He had us over at his house to watch the national championship game. We met his family. That shows he cares about us. He puts his arm around you, makes us feel unified as a team. Those kinda things he does really beneficially impacts the team.”
As far as what exactly he notices that is different between Martin and Jones, Orender feels as though Jones is a little bit more flexible and not as stringent, though he admits it might be a bit too early to be able to give a full comparison.
“Coach Martin: He was very stringent,” Orender said. “This is how it’s done, this is how it’s gonna be. Coach Jones: He’s a little less intense in that regard. I haven’t gone through it for a full season yet, but we’ll see.”
As he prepares for this upcoming season, something that Orender wants to do is improve his basketball IQ and make sure he always makes the right play. He prides himself on his ability to shoot, but he wants to make sure he plays within himself and reacts to whatever the defenses give him.
“Definitely my playmaking ability, my shooting ability,” Orender said of what he does well. “In high school I was a combo guard and in college they made me switch to point guard. Defensively, bring energy to my teammates. Just basically in high school I was the only player on my team. Every night I had the responsibility to score. I ran off a lot of picks, ball screens, and that kinda stuff. In high school I came in with that mindset.
"In college, they needed me to be a point guard because of my size, I’m around 6’0”, 6’1”. I worked hard on my ball-handling, read defenses, reading mismatches of my teammates. Raising my basketball IQ. When to shoot, when not to shoot, but still have that mindset and that ability to come off screens and knock it down.”
When talking to Orender, it’s clear that he has a good understanding of the game. A major reason for this is the fact that he comes from a basketball family. His mother, Donna Orender, was an All-American in college who went on to play in the first women’s professional basketball league ever assembled. After her playing career, she continued to stay involved in the game, eventually becoming the second president of the WNBA.
“Growing up, it was hard to grasp how knowledgeable she was about the game because she was always ‘just my mom’,” Orender admitted. “But as I grew older I found out she played professionally and was an All-American collegiately as well. When she was able to watch me play, she would record it and after we would watch film together and go over the most minuscule details. From angles to cut, to which spots to sprint the floor, to run extra hard because it could set someone else for a shot, that the better screens I set actually helped me get better looks.”
While Orender is proud of all that his mom has accomplished, he doesn’t want to be defined by his parents’ occupations or success. He wants to be defined by his own achievements and contributions. His main goal is to make his teammates better and do whatever the team needs him to do.
“I think my goal is to do whatever I can to help our team win,” Orender said. “At the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. I try to set the bar as high as I can. That’s my goal. To look back on the season and not have one regret.”