Landing scholarship 'even better' than UGA's Jaxon Etter dreamed. Here's how it went down.
Go ahead and call Jaxon Etter a former walk-on.
“Absolutely, I will embrace former walk-on a thousand percent,” Etter said Thursday.
The Georgia senior guard earlier this month got the news he was waiting to hear from first-year Bulldogs coach Mike White that he was going on scholarship. It came before the season tipped off.
“He’s a scholarship player in the SEC because he’s earned it,” White said.. “He’s a good player.”
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There’s a feel-good video of the moment that was recorded when Etter was informed he would be the 12th player on this year’s roster on scholarship.
“I was crying, I was laughing,” Etter said. “Every emotion on the board was available at the time. It was super awesome to see how joyed my teammates were for me. That was the coolest part.”
The moment came on what Etter said was a normal practice day. White asked the players to meet in the film room afterward for a meeting to set goals.
Etter went last.
“I said my little spiel about dreaming about being on a Georgia team," Etter said, "and then he said, ‘Alright, let’s do it. You’re on scholarship.’”
Etter said his teammates mobbed him in a scene he dreamed about the last couple of years but it was “even better.”
Said White: “I’ll always go back and watch. Maybe one day he puts it out. That’s on him. He was thrilled obviously. His teammates were even happier which made the staff ecstatic because everyone in the room knows the value he brings to the program in so many different ways.”
Etter sent the video to the people he’s closest with, not wanting to draw attention to himself.
“I’m not a huge spotlight guy,” he said. “I didn’t care for it to be thrown out there as soon as possible. As of now, enough people have found out to where the video is pretty cool. Our staff does a really good job putting that stuff together.”
The product of Etowah High in Woodstock started 22 games last season averaging 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds after playing a limited reserve role in 9 games in 2019-2020 and 20 in 2020 and 2021.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Etter went into the transfer portal last spring, but withdrew his name and decided to return to the Bulldogs.
Etter is known for being able to draw fouls—30 in 31 games last season and three in three games this season.
Entering Friday night's 7 p.m. home game against Bucknell, Etter is averaging 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds with 2 assists and 2 steals in 14 minutes a game off the bench this season for the 2-1 Bulldogs.
Bucknell was among schools that Etter drew interest from out of high school along with Colgate, Wofford and Furman but not scholarship offers.
The region player of the year his junior and senior seasons wanted to play at a Power Five school and got that opportunity at Georgia after catching the eye of the UGA staff at then coach Tom Crean's team camp in 2018.
“Jaxon is an accountable a player as I’ve ever coached,” White said. “If you asked him to try to run through a wall, he would run through a wall for Georgia basketball and his teammates.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Here's how UGA's Jaxon Etter reacted to being awarded a scholarship
