Jamal Mashburn Jr. has a familiar name, but a different path to college basketball success
They once ran a commercial here using various celebrities to try to persuade prospective students to come to the school. “He [or she] could’ve gone anywhere,” it went. “but he [she] chose Temple.“
Following a long and winding road that began in Miami and took him through Minnesota and New Mexico, so has Jamal Mashburn Jr.
Yes, he has set up shop at the school where Hall of Fame coach John Chaney guided the Owls to the Elite Eight on five occasions with future NBA players such as Eddie Jones, Aaron McKie, Mark Macon, Tim Perry and Rick Brunson (father of current NBA star Jalen). And Mashburn has done it so proficiently he’s currently the NCAA’s second-leading scorer, averaging 22.0 points per game, trailing only local rival Eric Dixon of Villanova.
Of course, when you’re the son of Jamal Mashburn, a 19.1-point career scorer over 11 NBA seasons, four with the Heat, it should come as no surprise the kid can score.
Especially to him. “It doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Jamal Jr., whose 19 points weren’t enough to keep the Owls from an 80-74 loss to Tulsa on Wednesday. “I’ve put in the work to put myself in this position.
“I’ve been scoring in bunches since I can remember.”
The younger Mashburn, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, also plays with the same mentality as his dad, who’s passed on a rather unique philosophy.
“I taught him all shots, make or miss, are feedback for the next shot,” explained his dad, who gets to as many Temple games as possible, just as he did when Junior played for the Gophers and Lobos. “I was a scorer by nature.
“If I miss right, I just don’t shoot it right again and try to move to the middle.”
Dad’s also been Jamal’s biggest booster off the court, helping him deal with the ups and downs of the game, including injuries, something that plagued Mashburn during his 11-year NBA career.
That’s come in handy this season, with Temple (14-12 overall, 6-7 American Athletic Conference) struggling, having lost four in a row after Sunday’s 83-81 home loss to Florida Atlantic on Sunday.
Junior has been hampered by turf toe, which sidelined him two games last week and Sunday’s game against FAU. Injuries affected him during two seasons at New Mexico.
“Last year I had two major injuries which kind of brought my play down,” said Mashburn, 23, who averaged 14.1 for Richard Pitino’s Lobos. “I sat out nine games with a thigh contusion and in the first exhibition game had ligament tears in my shooting hand in my right thumb, which really derailed and frustrated me.
“It was my first time dealing with a major injury. It’s tough having to play through and find your rhythm and confidence.”
With that backdrop, Jamal Jr. graduated from New Mexico with a degree in liberal arts and started looking for a graduate student landing spot, eventually choosing Temple. Not surprising, considering that Owls coach Adam Fisher spent six years as former Miami coach Jim Larrañaga’s assistant, which is where he first met Senior and got to see Junior play when he began his basketball career at Gulliver Prep.
“I’ve known Jamal and watched him since his high school days,” recalled Fisher, who is hoping to get the Owls back into the Big Dance for the first time since 2019. “Jamal is a player that can really score the ball, has a high basketball IQ and is a winner.
“I think he learned a lot through his dad.”
Turns out all this was news to Junior, who wasn’t initially aware of Fisher’s UM connection. “I didn’t know until I took my visit out there and Adam and I connected,” said Mashburn, two-time American Athletic Conference Player of the Week . “And [Temple assistant Michael] Huger was at Miami as well.
“[Huger] and my Dad go way back. They grew up in Harlem together and connected from an early age. It comes full circle. Just crazy.
“But it’s been great. I really have enjoyed the city of Philadelphia and the food here is phenomenal.”
While Mashburn Jr. insists he’s not looking beyond this Temple season, his dad is.
“He’s going to get paid to play basketball, as he’s done with NIL money, but more at the professional level,” said his father, who was the No 4 pick in the 1993 NBA draft after Chris Webber, cqShawn Bradley and Penny Hardaway, “I don’t project where.
“But sometimes you have to be in this mold of not worrying about tomorrow. Just worry about today. Enjoy the experience because you’re not going to get this opportunity again.”
Words of wisdom from his biggest fan. “He always going be there for me,” declared Junior. “He’s my best friend. My mentor. My everything. He’s helped me all along the way, teaching me not to get too high or too low, because I’m typically very hard on myself.”
But at the same time he’s pursuing his Masters in Entrepreneurship and devotes some to his passion for writing—ranging from poetry to his innermost thoughts—Jamal Mashburn Jr. can’t help to look back to where his journey all began.
“Miami is a place really shaped me for who I am,” he said proudly. “Down there at Gulliver Prep was an amazing experience and I remember all those people who supported me.
“I’m just grateful they’re in my corner. It’s somewhere that’s a part of me forever and I’ll take with me and represent wherever I go.”
Today that’s Temple. Tomorrow who knows?
But wherever that is count on one thing: Jamal Mashburn Jr. will be ready.