With 10 straight SUNYAC victories for the Oswego State Lakers men’s basketball team, there has been plenty to say for this team’s success.
Having almost an entire shake-up in the roster from last year, it would take some of the new comers to step up in a big way in order for the Lakers to be playoff contenders in the SUNYAC for yet another season.
There may have been some questions pertaining to the offense after the Lakers 4-2 start, but the scoring started to heat up in SUNYAC play and that played in large part due to junior-transfer Jamir Ferebee’s arrival as a primary scorer.
In the last eight games, Ferebee has scored efficiently in double figures, averaging 17.3 points on 54 percent shooting, as well as 54 percent from the three. His stellar play has boosted his minutes on the floor and put him in the starting lineup.
“I think of myself as a confident player, regardless of the role coach wants me to play,” Ferebee said. “I’m a good teammate; regardless from scoring the ball, I’ll be there for someone as positive support on and off the court.”
Transferring, and where to transfer, may not have been the easiest of decisions for Ferebee. Finding the best fit for him at an athletic and educational standpoint played towards his decision to come to Oswego State.
His career aspiration to become a teacher worked out with those opportunities being offered here, but seeing all the success from head Coach Jason Leone’s past teams, especially last year’s historic NCAA tournament run, just made it that much easier for Ferebee.
“It definitely influenced my decision, it’s ironic I actually remember watching them play against Delaware Valley, I saw Sortino play and the rest of those guys,” Ferebee said. “Just the Sweet Sixteen in general, you obviously want to play in an atmosphere like that.”
Ferebee resides in the Staten Island area, and one of the big reasons he ended up in Oswego State was thanks to the help from Lakers basketball alum and Staten Island resident Tommy Downing, who graduated in 2009.
“Jamir became highly recommended from Tommy, it was a really seamless process,” Leone said. “We really hit it off, he came up to visit the campus and it went well.”
It was a tough transition trying to fit in some of the rotations for Ferebee, the team all together was searching for their mojo, but the leadership from the senior class was beneficial to his development.
“They’re always positive, unselfish players, always think about everyone before themselves,” Ferebee said. “You learn a lot being a younger guy on the team, they kind of get on the younger guys in terms of the future.”
Despite his talent and upside being there, Leone has never seen a transfer like Ferebee develop this quickly into the players he has been.
“Jamir has progressed as well as any transfer we’ve ever had here, it’s very difficult to do that,” Leone said. “He deserves a lot of credit for his hard-work, and the results have started to come here at the right time of the year.”
One of Ferebee’s best performances came against SUNY Cortland on Jan. 21, he poured in a season-high 21 points on 8-13 shooting, including three triples from beyond the arc. He then followed up that performance with 18 and 17-point outings against the College at Brockport and SUNY Geneseo.
Staying confident has been his major asset, but his ability to score in a variety of ways has opened up opportunities for the entire offense.
“I’ve always thought free throws early in the game as a way to get your confidence going,” Ferebee said. “You see the ball go in a few times, and then step out and take a few threes. I can definitely improve defensively, coach gets on me a lot, in the beginning of the season I was messing up a lot in the defensive rotations.”
The Lakers have seem to go as Ferebee goes, he is been the crucial workload offensively, outside of Brian Sortino, and some of the other guards on the team. Stats have been impressive, but winning and improving is every Lakers’ mentality as playoff time inches closer.
“The fact he plays through his mistakes I think is an excellent quality,” Leone said. “I’m glad he’s on our team, he’s going to have an incredible two years here, he’s going to be a 1,000 point scorer, and an all-league player.”
Ferebee and the rest of the hot-handed Lakers will be back in action this weekend as they host SUNY Potsdam Friday at 5:30 p.m., and then SUNY Plattsburgh Saturday with 2:00 p.m. tip-off at Max Ziel Gymnasium here in Oswego.
