BY RAEJHON JOHNSON
Jevaughn Weber is a professional basketball player who formerly played for the Westchester Knicks. In this edition of Life after Sheridan, we cover the 2012 Sheridan grad who found guidance from his business program.
Weber, 26, found his passion for playing basketball at the age of 6 after seeing the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan play. In 2001, after seeing the crazy highlights Vince Carter was making with his electrifying dunks, Jevaughn, from Mississauga, finally convinced his mother to let him play on a team.
Sheridan Sun: “What inspired you to join a basketball team at a young age?”
“Definitely Vince Carter. In his prime, he had me going out to dunk on mini hoops trying to be like him,” said Weber “I had cousins who played ball almost religiously, so I had to always try and go over there to learn from them since my mom didn’t know anything. I definitely modelled my game after Vince though. I wanted to be as iconic as he was to Canada.”
Weber tried out for his high school basketball team at Notre Dame and didn’t make the cut at first. But the coach reconsidered and saw a work ethic in him that surpassed anyone else’s on the team. Weber had great success with Notre Dame until his senior year when he needed surgery on his MCL which should have only kept him out about six weeks, but he ended up tearing it again by playing on it too soon.
“I remember telling my coach ‘I’m fine, the doctor said I can play now, look I’ll dunk right now’ and for a while I was okay,” said Weber. “But then we have a game and I come down hard on a lay-up and I knew instantly like, oh man, I did it again.”
Weber had no scholarship offers coming out of high school but decided he would pursue business at Sheridan in Mississauga.
Sheridan Sun: “What made you pursue the business program?”
“I looked it up and saw a lot of NBA players took that program just so they could invest in themselves,” said Weber. “I didn’t wanna one day make a lot of money and then go broke. I didn’t want an agent to screw me over and not know my stuff and money disappears. I already knew I wanted to do basketball but this at least could help me out in the long run.”
Weber also tried out for the Sheridan Bruins basketball team where he thought he could finally begin his journey to the big leagues.
“I didn’t make the team,” said Weber. “I was so heartbroken, I thought I must be trash then, If I can’t make a college team then maybe this isn’t for me. Maybe I made a mistake but then I remembered the story of Jordan not making the team and he went home and cried. But we know him as the GOAT now. So this has to be another step of my story.”
Weber introduced himself to players who planned on trying out for the Sheridan Bruins basketball team, and he frequently ran games with them to help himself improve. If there was one way to show you belong, it was to frequently dominate the court which Weber did.
Finally, Weber caught his big break as a family relative, Briante Weber, who is a former NBA player, invited him to come to a Toronto basketball event with overseas scouts. Weber ended up signing a contract to play in Greece for a couple years and impressed, finally getting signed to play with the New York Knicks G-League team called the Westchester Knicks by 2015.
Sheridan Sun: What advice would you give to people trying to be a student athlete?
“School always comes first,” said Weber. “I can’t say I never skipped class but most of the time I was sore or just exhausted. It gets hard but unless you’re LeBron James you need to get an education and have a backup plan. Basketball or any sport, in general, can make you a lot of money but make it’s still a hobby. Getting your education is your job and you need to do your job if that makes sense.”
Weber is currently a free-agent and is hoping to return to the G-League or go back overseas. You can keep up to date on his social media here.