Jabari Bird has been playing organized basketball since he was five years old when he was in a league in Fairfield. He then played with the Bay Area Trotters and the Vallejo Hustlers AAU teams. During middle school, he switched over to play with the Nor Cal Warriors, another Vallejo based AAU team where he teamed with Vallejo High's Tajai Johnson. This early AAU experience had him travelling every summer to play in tournaments in locations that include Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Reno, San Diego, among other cities. As a result, this Bird was getting his basketball training wings early.
When high school rolled around, Bird took his game to the Benicia High Panthers of the Solano County League where he was a varsity freshman starter who averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Unfortunately, the Panthers only mustered up four total wins. Bird says of his freshman experience, "I learned that you have to mature fast because the level of play is way different from pre-high school. The season was difficult for me since I was not use to losing so many games but I learned to always stay positive because there is always the next game."
This past October 2009 at the start of the freshman year, he attended an elite camp called the Super 100, which is basically an invitation tryout for the best Northern California high school players. Due to this tryout, he was able to make it to the Oakland Soldiers 16U team that is coached by Raymond Thomas. This 16U team includes Mitty High's Aaron Gordon (6-foot-7), St. Mary's College High's David Andoh (6-foot-8), De La Salle High's Amadi Udenyi (6-foot-0), and Franklin High's Ikenna Iroegbu (6-foot-1). At the end of the summer, he was promoted to the 17U team for next summer. When asked about playing with the Soldiers, Bird says, "It was a real fun experience and it got me a lot of exposure over the summer since I was virtually unknown until I performed well at the Super 100 camp." Bird works on his ball handling because he believes that he can still improve on that skill.
After a strong freshman year, Bird decided to transfer at the end of the summer to the Salesian High Pride of the Bay Shore League for basketball and academic reasons. At 6-foot-5 and 175 pounds, Bird considers himself to be a wing slasher who has a finesse game. As a result, he compares himself to former Texas star Kevin Durant because of his slashing ability and similar size. Bird believes that he will top out at a height of 6-foot-8, which will make him a difficult cover for opposing teams.
For his sophomore season, he will be a starter at the wing position on a Salesian team that includes Dominic Artis (5-foot-10), Mario Dunn (5-foot-10), Freddy Tagaloa (6-foot-8), Bryce Thompson (6-foot-2), and Markel Leonard (5-foot-11). On his new team, he expects to get a few more wins and would like to see the team make a run for state title in their division.
Despite only being a sophomore, Bird has the size and basketball potential that has captured the imagination of some college programs. Local schools that have been in the early stages of contact with him include Cal, St. Mary's, and Stanford. Birdman (basketball nickname) has not made any visits nor has he gotten any offers yet. Bird does not have any geographic restrictions.
Bird wants to play for a program that has an up tempo pace and that has a strong academic program. He has a 3.3 GPA and has not taken his SATs yet. His favorite subject is English as he would like to major in Journalism.
Watch for this Bird to soar the next few years on the high school level and into the NCAA.
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