Jim Jabir – University of Dayton
Jim Jabir was my RA in college, Nazareth College of Rochester, in the early 80’s. I have known him since I was 17 years old. Jim truly cares for those around him more than he does himself. He is the epitome of “selflessness.” His ability to communicate with those around him, to get in touch with who they are and to connect with them is better than anyone I have been around. He is caring; he understands the total student-athlete experience and makes it a priority. He is genuine and real.
Graham Hays does an exceptional job of capturing “who” Jim is and what his relationship is with his players. As you read this one thing jumps off the page… the article is being written about him and all he talks about is his players, the university and how fortunate he is to be part of their existence. Humility. This isn’t just because Jim had a brush with death, it is who he has been since I met him in 1983.
There is no question that if Jim had stayed at Marquette they would be the “UConn” of the Big East as well. Jim has the plan and the process and Dayton is his vehicle. Enjoy this.
Jabir making most of second chance
Five seasons after dealing with cardiac issues, coach has Dayton on brink of NCAAs
By Graham Hays ESPN.com
HANOVER, N.H. — Kendel Ross embodies just about everything Jim Jabir believed Dayton women’s basketball could be when the school gave the veteran coach a second chance seven years ago. But for any of those plans to come to fruition, Jabir first needed to receive a second chance at something far more substantial than a profession.
Tim G. Zechar/Icon SMI Jim Jabir hasn't taken a team to the NCAA tournament since 1995 (Marquette), but his Flyers are 17-5 overall and 5-2 in the A-10.
Dayton’s coach admits he’s harder on Ross, now a senior, than just about any player on a Flyers team that remains in control of its postseason fate despite a loss last weekend at Atlantic 10 leader Xavier. Coming out of Canada four seasons ago, Ross was, in Jabir’s words, “the first kid we shouldn’t have got that we got.” He expects excellence out of her, and her mistakes pain him more.
For lack of a more accessible comparison, she is Dayton’s Shane Battier. She does everything that shows up in the box score and half a dozen things that don’t. For better and occasionally worse when stubborn will meets stubborn will, she has a motor and a competitive streak that will not shut off. Tell her you need 15 rebounds in a game and the result is predictable.
“She’s gonna get you 15,” Jabir said. “It’s like clockwork; she’s going to do what you ask her to do. Or she’ll die trying. So it’s this great intensity, it’s this intangible — this will is tremendous. I mean, she’s got this will — and sometimes it works against her, but for the most part it’s been beneficial to us. And I tell her this all the time, too, I love her and I hate her. I mean, she’s so stubborn, you know what I mean? I literally love her and I hate her. There are days I want to kill her and days I can’t get enough of her.”
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