Cooper: Daniels, Teaneck ready to move forward

TEANECK — Jawaun Daniels isn’t sure where he’s going next, but he’s swears he’s not going back.

Daniels, 18, was part of an emotional Signing Day ceremony held at the Teaneck Media Center on Wednesday morning for five basketball players who have made commitments to play in college. There were pictures, proud parents and trophies aplenty.

It’s hard to remember the last time a North Jersey school, especially a public school, had five basketball players move on to college in the same class, but such is the story that the Highwaymen have written the past two years.

That story includes the last two Group 3 state titles and appearances in the Tournament of Champions semifinals, but a big part of it is what might have been if they'd had Daniels this season.

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“If we would have had him, we would have blown every team out by 20,” said Teaneck senior Adrian Baucum, who plans on playing at Kean next season. “We could have gone undefeated.”

“I can’t ... I can’t even put that into words what it was like [to watch],” said Daniels, who was the North Jersey Player of the Year after the 2015-16 season.

The backstory is complicated. Daniels attended two different high schools in New York City. One closed. He transferred to Teaneck and immediately provided a piece the Highwaymen were missing with his size (6-foot-6) and athleticism. Teaneck already had the guards, with Leondre Washington II and Ja’Quaye James.

Then things got even more convoluted.

Last summer, Daniels was arrested in New York City. According to a report in the New York Post, he was charged on four counts, the most serious a Class B felony for gang assault in the first degree.

As part of his probation, Daniels had to return to Teaneck High School and graduate, which he is on track to do next month.

“Once I graduate high school, I am off my monitoring; that was the terms of my release,” said Daniels. “If not, I go back to jail. My main focus is getting that diploma.”

Then there were issues with Daniels' high school transcripts. Remember, one school closed. Teaneck had trouble getting information from the second school. When they did, they discovered that Daniels was actually in his fifth year of high school.

Daniels was already sitting out in order to spend more time on his academics, which turned into a blessing in disguise, because had this been found out later, Teaneck’s entire season could have been forfeited.

Teaneck athletic director Todd Sinclair made two separate appeals to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to restore Daniels’ eligibility — he had played only one year in New York City — but Daniels lost both.

Through it all, Daniels stood by Teaneck.

“We didn’t miss him, because he was with us,” said Washington. “Him just being there made us play better. He didn’t have to say anything. I think with him on the bench, we played with a certain edge. We played for Jawaun.”

Washington has his college future mapped out. He signed with Robert Morris University, where he hopes they give him the ball and let him go. Teaneck center Pierre Sow is heading to Hampton. Korey Pettie to Rutgers-Newark.

And what about Daniels?

He has multiple options. On Wednesday, Daniels wore a Pratt (Kansas) Community College T-shirt. He seems to genuinely like Pratt, the solitude and the opportunity to work on his game there. However, there are other colleges still pursuing him. Daniels named Iona and St. Bonaventure. Teaneck coach Jerome Smart said there are several other four-year colleges interested. Daniels said he’s taking the SAT in June, but also knows the best option for him at this point is probably Pratt. Smart worries that with his transcripts, Daniels couldn’t get into a traditional four-year college and needs to get his information to the NCAA clearing house. Unfortunately, he lost his post-graduate year.

“I know it’s going to be different going to college, not having people help you out all the time,” said Daniels. “I am not going to say that I had no motivation to qualify, but I was so down from my situation over the summer and then being told I couldn’t play right away. I blame that on myself. I wasn’t striving for A's and B's.”

We focus a lot on high school athletes who get the beloved free ride to college. The truth is there are a lot more cases like Daniels out there. Teaneck has stood by him since he walked in the door. Hey, they could have had four players pose for pictures today, but Daniels is part of the team. He was there, front and center.

When asked if he’s surprised by his teammates' success and how they have their futures in place, Daniels said no, he knew they could do it. As for himself, he believes it will all work out.

“Whether I played [this year] or not, that was always my goal, to get a free education and a scholarship,” he said. “I’m not happy. I’m very happy.”