'He always believed': Monmouth basketball walk-on from Toms River keys Hawks’ sudden rise

WEST LONG BRANCH – Jakari Spence believed, even when Division I basketball coaches begged to differ. And he worked, even when playing time was impossible to come by as a walk-on.

“My father always says, ‘always stay ready, so you don’t got to get ready,’ “ Spence said.

And ready he was.

Since taking over as Monmouth’s point guard, the Toms River native has helped pull Monmouth from its nosedive, with the Hawks having won three straight heading into Wednesday night’s game at Stony Brook, having played much better over the past three weeks.

The unlikely rise of Toms River North’s all-time leading scorer mirrors the Hawks’ recent resurgence after a 1-20 start, with Spence helping stabilize the situation with his steady play since moving into the starting lineup eight games ago.

“I always thought since a young age I was going to play Division I basketball, and never let anyone tell me different,” Spence said. “Every day try to prove why I should be here. And be ready. My first two years I didn’t get a chance, now you get thrown into the fire, so now it’s like, I got a chance, just seize my opportunity.”

During their winning streak, Spence is averaging 9.7 points, 5.7 assists and four rebounds, and has hit 15 of 16 free throws. Most importantly, he’s turned the ball over just three times, with Monmouth’s five turnovers against Drexel last Saturday its lowest total in three years.

“I think Jakari has been amazing,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “He’s a worker. He always believed he could play at this level. Jakari has done a great job for us and now he is having a lot of success. We’re very fortunate he’s with us.”

As a senior at Toms River North in 2019-20, Spence averaged 21.4 points-per-game for a team that went 24-5, with their only two losses to area teams coming against Manasquan, including in the Shore Conference Tournament final. Spence finished with 1,521 career points.

“I’ve coached a lot of hard-working players, but Jakari made himself a better basketball player with his hard work,” Toms River North coach Rory Caswell said. “He came in as a sophomore and was skilled, but he was scrawny, undersized and he transformed himself into a complete player in three years, adding the explosiveness, the vertical leap.”

Blueprint for success

After spending the 2020-21 season on the Robert Morris roster, Spence came to Monmouth last season. And while he only played six minutes, the experience of watching Shavar Reynolds, his longtime friend from Manchester, where Spence attended high school as a freshman, was invaluable.

Reynolds has provided the blueprint Spence is trying to follow, having gone to Seton Hall as a walk-on and become a starting point guard in the Big East, before playing his final season at Monmouth.

“Shavar is the reason I came here,” Spence said. “Me and him are big-time friends from back home, so I have known him for years now. He’s like a big brother to me. We do everything together. We work out all summer together. You can tell your future by the crowd you hang around. Shavar doesn’t think about anything but basketball. If you’re relaxing, you’ve got to watch game film. He keeps telling me the job is not finished.

“Working against him in practice every day. Seeing that every day and seeing what it takes to compete at this level, it’s like, ‘I’ve got to go hard every day to put myself in that position.’  We talk all the time, and he tells me to keep going, stay the course.”

Despite playing with a shoulder injury over the final six weeks, Reynolds averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and three assists for a 21-win Monmouth team that reached the MAAC Tournament championship game. Now Reynolds is thriving playing professionally in the Netherlands, averaging 18.1 points, 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds for Feyenoord.

“(Jakari) has had great mentors. Hanging out with Shavar Reynolds, it’s going to rub off on you,” Rice said. “Shavar texted me the other day. He said, ‘coach, do me a favor and stay on him extra so he can get where he’s trying to get.' And so that’s what I do.

“Jakari has been a great addition. And the part that I’m even more proud of he’s about a 3.7, 3.8 student. So his parents should be super proud, a kid who can do the school work at that level - he’s going to be a successful man.”

Pushing towards March

Spence has been solid since Rice put the ball in his hands, while producing some moments that have made a difference over the past three games.

There was the long 3-pointer he drained with the shot clock expiring that helped the Hawks’ maintain momentum during an 18-3 second-half-opening run against Drexel. And after a Jack Collins 3-pointer gave Monmouth a second-half lead against Delaware last Thursday, Spence’s steal and feed to Myles Foster for a score added fuel to the rally. And he was on the court for 37 minutes against North Carolina A&T in the program’s first-ever CAA win, scoring 14 points, to go with seven assists and five rebounds.

“I think Coach Rice is the best coach in the country for me. I don’t think I’d be better playing anywhere else,” Spence said. “He gives me the confidence to run his team. He says, ‘when I go, we go.’ “

It’s been building since Monmouth led then-No. 18 Charleston in the second half before falling back on Jan. 19, with a near-miss at UNC-Wilmington preceding their win at North Carolina A&T.

“I think our confidence has been building because we can see ourselves growing every game,” Spence said. “And against A&T we finally knocked the door down.

“Coach gives us the freedom, he gives us confidence. You shouldn’t be scared. Go play your game, because he believes in us. So there’s no reason we shouldn’t believe in each other.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River's Jakari Spence keys Monmouth NJ basketball sudden rise