Jase Febres’s development at Texas resembles his ascension from under-the-radar recruit his final AAU summer to the nation’s No. 69 overall prospect. For Texas and Febres, that’s a good thing.
“Anywhere I go I’ve learned that I start off kind of slow and then I pick up things fast. When I get it, I skyrocket from there,” said Febres.
Coincidentally, Febres grabbed Shaka Smart’s attention when he buried 7-of-8 three-point attempts during a July AAU game while the Texas head coach watched. From that point, Febres, who had just one offer prior to July before his senior season, became one of the top rising prospects in the country.
Earlier in Big 12 play, Febres started a game for the first time in his career. On the road against Baylor, who finished second to Texas in his recruitment, the product of Westfield High School in the Houston area erupted for 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting (4-of-6 from three-point range) with four rebounds, one block, one steal, and two turnovers in 29 minutes.
“Yeah, he talks to me constantly, every day; tells me I’m doing well and what I need to work on, and before the Baylor game and I started and played well, he told me, ‘I’m going to start you. I want you to have a clear mind, go out there play your game and play hard.’ That’s what I did,” said Febres about the message from Smart prior to his scoring outburst versus Baylor. “If I feel like I’m uncomfortable, he gives me the confidence to believe in myself, do what got you here. After that, I feel like I had a really big confidence boost, and things have been going up from there."
Since then, the 6-5 freshman guard is starting to become more consistent and more comfortable on the floor, which showed against Ole Miss in the form of 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
“The day before I was telling myself I had these thoughts in my head I was going to have a great game. Just let it go. Let it fly,” recalled Febres about how he felt once Smart told him he’d start against Baylor. “When I started, the butterflies went away and started getting into the rhythm of the game and when I got the ball and let it go, I knew it was money. And after that I was like, ‘Okay, when I see it go in one time, I know it’s going to be good the rest of the day.’ I have that confidence that it’s going to be good. So when I saw it go through, it was a confidence-booster.”
Febres’s performance boosted his confidence. It also influenced the confidence his teammates have in him. Now, Febres hears from his teammates when he doesn’t shoot the ball.
“Coming here I knew he had confidence in me to let it go. I know when I did get here… I’m kind of a shy, laid-back guy. So, I wanted to fit in and fitting in isn’t always the best thing,” Febres stated about Smart giving him freedom and the acclimation process at Texas as a freshman player. “How I’ve been playing lately is just knowing that okay, my teammates know that when I let it go, they have confidence it’s going in. Their confidence in me boosted my confidence. That’s how it’s been since the Baylor game. They get mad at me if I don’t shoot the ball when I’m open. I’m an unselfish guy also, but I know I’m one of the better shooters on the team, so I need to let it go.”
Sure, it’s a small sample size, but Febres is shooting 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from three-point range his last seven games. He’s made at least one three-pointer in five of seven games, and is starting to consistently show why Smart speaks so highly of him and his shooting ability.
“I’ve been on him because he’s a such a great kid and a laidback guy. I’ve been on him about you have to be more assertive and aggressive on the court,” Smart said after last Saturday’s win over Ole Miss. “You have to demonstrate to all those around you that you have a passion for this game and you really want to be good. I think he put in a couple really good deposits in practice, which helped him come into this game with an aggressive mindset. Every time he shoots, I think it’s going in. He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen. Obviously, he has a way to go with his shooting percentage in the game, but today for him to make four is not surprising to me.”
Like all freshmen, it took a while for Febres to fit in, and then stop worrying about fitting in and just play. As he’s grown more comfortable and aggressive, his performances have improved.
“I’ve learned when I’m aggressive I play a lot better. Coming here everyone that is here is really good. When you first get here, you kind of want to see how you fit in with the team and how your role is but at the same time you have to keep that aggressiveness you had before you came to college in the first place,” stated Febres. “That’s why I got here. Being aggressive, I know I need to do that to play my best game.”
Of course, learning on the fly during the Big 12 season is difficult, and it’s certainly a new galaxy of competition compared to district games at Westfield. However, Febres feels he’s on a steady, upward progression with the Baylor game being a jumping-off point. He’s not wrong.
Often, Smart discusses that he urges his young players to “run their own races.” Basically, it’s tempting for freshmen to look at other freshmen and want to make their progress, but no two freshmen are the same.
“I think I’m on a steady pace. I think I’m going up. Haven’t been taking too many steps down or backwards. I don’t want to compare myself to anybody. Comparison is the thief of joy, so if I’m comparing myself to let’s say Mo, I’m not going to get where I want to get,” Febres said. “I need to be on my own race and keep putting in plenty of work in the gym and work on my game. I think I’m on a steady pace getting better and better. I’m just trying to learn the game, learn the Big 12… it’s a crazy league, especially this year. I think I’m doing well, though.”
As for Febres’s potential, Smart has compared him multiple times to Troy Daniels, calling Febres the second-best shooter he’s seen behind the NBA sharpshooter and former VCU Ram. So, Daniels made a trip to Austin to check in on his old coaches. He and Febres talked, put up some shots, and have remained in touch ever since.
“A role model of mine,” Febres said about Daniels. "Anytime they’re playing, I’m watching him – how he comes off a ball-screen, his confidence. At the very beginning of the season, he came down here and visited. We were shooting [together] and he’s a really good guy. He saw how I kind of resemble him, and after that he’s kept in contact. At first, I was like man, comparing me to this guy. I learned it’s a really good comparison if I study my game and study his game. We have similar games and he’s at the level I want to be at.”
A career 39.1 percent shooter from three-point range at VCU (596 attempts), Daniels, now with the Phoenix Suns and a career 41.0 percent shooter from beyond the arc, needed some time before he truly showed his great shooting ability. Like Daniels, Febres gets his shot off extremely quickly and has a smooth, easy stroke. And like Daniels did initially, Febres has been shooting the ball great in practice since he arrived at UT, but it took time for that to begin to show in games.
Febres is more than just a shooter, though. He’s been active on the offensive glass, and utilizes his 6-5 frame and athleticism well in that area. He’s taken charges. He’s blocked shots, including a vicious one versus Ole Miss that was incorrectly called a foul because of how violent it looked. Statistically, he’s not blowing up the box score each night, but the glimpses of a well-rounded game have been present.
“We have a lot of playmakers on the team and a way to get myself going is crashing the boards, going in there and getting an offensive rebound, getting a defensive rebound,” the freshman guard said. “Getting myself involved in other things besides just shooting the ball. I know my game is a lot broader than that. If I don’t get a shot or two… let’s say we go through a four-minute stretch and I haven’t shot the ball. If I’m able to go in then get rebounds and take a charge or two, that gets me going.”
But make no mistake, he’s going to make his mark at Texas in large part because of how well he can shoot the ball from deep. Also, Febres is a key, young foundation piece at Texas that, along with his classmates that aren’t possible No. 1 overall picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, will have a chance to define the Texas program during their multiple years on campus.
“Here we’re in multiple group chats in our phone. We’re always together. Always doing something together. I love this team,” Febres said. “I love every guy on the team. That was something I wasn’t able to say on my high school team. Here, everyone loves each other. We’d do anything for each other. That culture part helps on the court.”
