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PROVO - Senior Jackson Emery has made quite the name for himself while at BYU, but it was at Lone Peak High School that Emery learned his potential as a basketball player.
"I started to believe in myself and started to really work hard," Emery said.
Earlier this year, Emery received the honor of having his jersey retired at Lone Peak. Emery's number is only the second to be retired in the school's history.
"It meant a lot because to have your jersey retired you have to be a good player, but at the same time you have to be a good person," Emery said. "It was big because it meant I'm achieving something on the floor and off the floor."
While at BYU, Emery has been know as a major defensive presence, making a difference in the four years he's been with the team. Emery is currently nine steals away from surpassing Danny Ainge as BYU all-time steals leader.
"I've always had a knack for stealing the ball," Emery said. "As far as guarding someone and being an agitator and defending them, I didn't really develop that until I went to BYU."
Emery quickly realized that he didn't need to be a strong scorer so he turned his attention to developing his defensive skills.
"That's when I really learned and when I really tried harder," Emery said. "It helped me play a lot more."
Before the season began, Emery made the bold prediction that BYU basketball would go undefeated. Although the team has already lost a game, Emery remains confident that the team will win the rest of their games.
"Seeing the guys that we have, the schedule we have, I believe we could win every game," Emery said. "Whether we do that, we'll just have to see. That depends on how hard we work."
"It starts one game at a time and that's what we're working on."
