Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s impressive senior year with the UCLA Bruins likely raised his ranking in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023, becoming the first Bruins player since Kevin Love. . in 2008 to win the award. Jaime’s efforts earned him a spot on the Miami Heat roster.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. was born to a Mexican father and a white mother in Irvine, California.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. was born on February 18, 2001 to a Mexican father, Jaime Jaquez Sr., and a white mother, Angela Jaquez. He is Mexican-American. Jaime grew up in Camarillo with his younger siblings, Gabriella and Marcos.
Jaime Jáquez Sr. with his mother Gloria and his father Ezequiel.
Jaime’s grandfather, Ezequiel, moved from Mexico to Oxnard, California, as a child with his parents. Gloria, Jaime’s grandmother, grew up outside of Guadalajara and met Ezequiel during a trip to California to visit her sister. Ezequiel and Gloria fell in love, got married, and settled in Camarillo. “When my grandparents came to the United States and crossed the border, they came to improve their lives, to live the American dream,” Jaime said. USA Today.
Gloria moved to the United States despite not knowing English. However, she did establish a successful hair and nail salon business in Camarillo. Jáquez Sr. told Our corner:
“My mom and dad showed us kids, and I try to do the same, that you have to work hard. I have instilled it in my children, just as my mom and dad instilled it in me. Imagine my mom coming from Guadalajara without speaking any English, but she was able to be a successful businesswoman”.
Jaquez Sr. and Angela met at Concordia University in Irvine. Angela is white and hails from Minnesota.
Ezequiel and Gloria took their children to Guadalajara at least once a year to keep them in touch with their Mexican roots. Gloria has family in Mexico, where she held a reception for her family several years ago. She showed ESPN photos of more than 100 of her family members standing in the church she attended when she was young.
Gloria’s cooking keeps the family together: every Sunday she offers a home-cooked meal for her large family. She said USA Today:: “Food unites us all. When I cook, I tell all the (close) family members what time dinner is and they come because we have a big backyard. Jaime will come and ask me for his favorite dish. I’ll say, ‘Okay, boy.’”
Jaime Jáquez Jr. will become the sixth player of Mexican descent to play in the NBA
Jaime comes from a family with a rich sporting history. Ezequiel started playing basketball after his father built a hoop for him and his brother Dick to play. Compared to the regulation size hoop, the house hoop was considerably smaller, which ultimately worked to Ezequiel and Dick’s benefit. “When we got to a bigger edge, it was easy,” Ezequiel said. ESPN.
Ezequiel played at Ventura Community College and Northern Arizona before becoming a coach. Jaquez Sr. also played basketball and joined Concordia University. Jaime’s mother, Ángela, played basketball on the Concordia women’s team.
The sons of Angela and Jaquez Sr. inherited the family’s sporting genes. Jaime’s sister, Gabriela, is a promising basketball player from UCLA. Marcos, the younger brother, plays basketball and soccer but prefers soccer.
Jaime will become the sixth player of Mexican descent to play in the NBA since 1946. “I’m trying to represent the Mexican culture to the best of my ability,” Jaime said. USA Today. “It means a lot because there aren’t as many Mexican or Latino basketball players as soccer players or baseball players. I want to shed light and inspire kids to do the same as me.”
As a minority, Jaime has faced prejudice and racism. However, he told the outlet that his UCLA team treated everyone the same. “This is a way of recognizing the love that exists,” said Jaime. “My teammates, we are all brothers no matter what shape, size, color or culture we are.”
Jamie told him ESPN that while he values his representation of Mexican culture on the national stage, he does not want his ethnicity to be a factor in his achievements. The Miami Heat draft pick explained:
“I love representing a country and representing a culture of something bigger than myself too. But I also like to think that I want to be remembered as a great basketball player, and not just as a great Mexican basketball player. A lot of people get lost in that. So whether I’m Mexican or not, and I love embracing my culture and that’s who I am, I’m a person at the end of the day.”
Jaime plays for the Mexican national team. However, every time he plays, he represents two cultures: the Mexican and the American. “He is making two countries proud,” Gloria told USA Today.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn