Leesburg (January 8, 2013) – High school is a period of time where students begin to transition into a more independent lifestyle. It’s a time where students get to choose, more frequently, who they want to hang out with, who they associate themselves with and what they get to do during their free time from school.
During Jesse Case’s freshman year of high school, his free time consisted of playing basketball and the roughly hour long drive back and forth from Leesburg to Fairfax County where he attended Paul VI Catholic High School. Case, now a sophomore and starting point guard for Heritage’s varsity boys basketball team said that he enjoys the opportunity the local public high school gives him because he gets to be closer to home with his friends.
His least favorite part about transferring to Heritage, “AP World History.”
Having your biggest complaint being an advanced placement class is not too bad for a student-athlete transferring to a public high school system from a private prep school, especially a school in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), “which is known to be the best high school basketball conference in the nation,” according to Case.
The WCAC has alumni to back up his claims including Georgetown University head coach John Thompson Jr. and former NBA head coach and now Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan, who both graduated from the WCAC’s Archbishop Carroll High School.
“The players in the WCAC all have aspirations to play in college at high Division One schools,” said Case. “WCAC schools are able to recruit players from [the DC metropolitan area], but Heritage, like other public schools, are limited to players in their (attendance) district.”
Heritage caught a break as the highly talented guard landed in Pride Territory and has helped Heritage to a 10-3 overall start and 6-3 start in the Dulles District. In his first game as a Loudoun high school student-athlete, Case dropped a game-high 16 points against his new crosstown rival Tuscarora High School. He is averaging just over 12 points a game, just shy of 12 points a game in district contests and has truly added a different dimension to the Pride’s offense.
“Growing up I was blessed with great AAU coaches that taught me the game and developed me as a point guard,” said Case.
His team first attitude has allowed him an easy transition to Heritage’s starting lineup. Case missed the Pride’s summer league games as he had an injury but through hard work and dedication earned the respect of his team as the every day point guard before the first game of the season.
Case unselfishly credits the Pride’s senior leadership: “We have good senior leaders on the team in Bryan and Erik Launi and Mister Lewis. [They] have been really supportive of me as a new sophomore on the team.”
Case is as poised a guard as you’ll see in Loudoun these days and a rare true point guard. He is a leader on the court and always puts his team first.
“A coach once told me if you have the choice of being a great player and being a winner, be a winner,” said Case, “that has stuck with me and translates into my game.”
