BIO: Justinian Jessup was born in Longmont, Colorado (USA). Jessup and his family later moved to Boise around the fourth grades and attended Longmont High School. As a junior, he led the team in every major statistical category with averages of 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 3.2 steals per game while leading Longmont to the state title game. He was named the 2015 Colorado 4A Player of the Year, Northern League Athlete of the Year, and was selected to the all-state first team.

In his senior season, he was ranked the No. 8 prospect in Colorado. He signed his letter of intent to play for Boise State on September 12, 2015. He averaged 18.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and led Longmont to a 25–2 record, while once again being selected to the all-state first team and named the Northern League Athlete of the Year.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Justinian Jessup made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 22 years of age. He scored five points in his first game.

In April 2020, the Hawks’ season began tumultuously, with the team entering voluntary administration and creditors voting to liquidate the club one month later. The NBL, however, committed to keeping the club alive, and on 17 June 2020, announced that Dorry Kordahi, Bryan Colangelo, and Michael Proctor had been awarded the license for the team.

Under the new ownership agreement, the team was renamed The Hawks in an effort to broaden its appeal in New South Wales. Shortly after, Brian Goorjian was appointed as head coach. With all players needing to renew their contracts, Sam Froling and Emmett Naar were the only players from the previous season’s full-time roster to return, as the new ownership sought to build an almost entirely new roster. This rebuilding began with the signing of Deng Adel, who had just finished a stint with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, and Cam Bairstow, who had returned to Australia after a season in Lithuania cut short due to COVID-19; both were part of the Australian Boomers national squad. Justinian Jessup, who had signed a Next Star deal with the NBL, was placed with Illawarra on a two-year contract. Imports Tyler Harvey and Justin Simon were also brought in to be the focal points of the team’s offense and defense, respectively.

The Hawks’ season began with plenty of off-court drama. First was the omission of fan-favorite players AJ Ogilvy and Tim Coenraad, both key players from the previous season. Due to injuries, both were later added to the squad as injury replacements.

Next was the public outcry for the return of ‘Illawarra’ to the team’s name, which became front-page news in Wollongong, overshadowing the Hawks’ impressive 4-0 start to the season.

In early February, after a campaign by the new ownership that increased membership numbers and corporate support, the NBL reinstated the Illawarra name ahead of the club’s first home game.

While the Hawks fought for and retained their name, they faced further challenges. Cam Bairstow, after missing nine games with a minor hip issue, was ruled out for the rest of the season. Daniel Grida ruptured the ACL in his right knee while playing in the state league. Adding to that were the struggles of Deng Adel (5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was unable to make an impact in the NBL and requested a release from his contract midway through the season to avoid harming his future NBA prospects.

From Round 16, the Hawks soared, winning eight of their last 10 matches to secure a spot in the finals, qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Scoring didn’t come easy, as the Hawks dropped from averaging 90.5 over the first 10 games to finishing with the league’s lowest points average at 81.5. Only four Hawks players averaged double-digit points: Tyler Harvey (20 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals), Justinian Jessup (13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals), Cam Bairstow (11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists), and Sam Froling (11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks). The Hawks also had the worst field goal percentage in the league, sitting at 42.5% on the season (47.8% from two-point range and 33.2% from deep). Illawarra’s free-throw shooting also came in at 69.4%.

Despite the challenges, Illawarra never fell below fifth place all season, eventually finishing third with a 20-16 record. The club powered through to make their first finals series in four years, a semifinals matchup against defending champions Perth. In four regular-season meetings against the Wildcats, the Hawks won one game—in Round 21 by two points. Otherwise, Perth won by double-digit margins. Illawarra took Game 1 of the series by two points again, but unfortunately lost Games 2 and 3, each by eight-point margins, ending their playoff campaign.

Jessup notched a season-high of 26 points twice and returned to the Hawks for NBL22 after playing in the NBA Summer League.

2021/22

After nearly defeating the Perth Wildcats and advancing to the Finals in NBL21, the Illawarra Hawks looked ready to progress even further in the upcoming season.

Following a brilliant debut season, Tyler Harvey, the team’s leading scorer, was signed to a three-year deal and paired with import additions Antonius Cleveland and Travis Trice. Before the season began, Trice was released from his contract after refusing the COVID vaccine, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes was signed as his replacement. Other additions included Harry Froling (via Brisbane), joining his brother Sam in Hawks colors, and Duop Reath (via Serbia), who joined after an impressive Boomers campaign.

Entering the league off the back of a Bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and with ambitions to reach the NBA, Reath started the season on fire, averaging 19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game in his first four games. Star guard Tyler Harvey found his second year in the NBL more challenging, with his scoring dipping from 20.4 points per game to 16.1, but still led the team.

Club legend Tim Coenraad (3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds) was not included in the full roster but was later named as an injury replacement. He was elevated to the full roster once again due to a season-ending knee injury suffered by Daniel Grida.

After playing for the Golden State Warriors in the 2021 NBA Summer League, Justinian Jessup re-joined the Hawks for the second season of his NBL Next Stars contract. Illawarra saw significant improvements from Jessup (13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals) and Sam Froling (8.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks), who bounced back from an injury-plagued season to become key parts of the rotation.

Illawarra finished the season in second place (19-9) but suffered another disappointing exit in the semifinals, this time to cross-town rivals Sydney.

Reath (15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) received the Hawks’ MVP award, while Antonius Cleveland (14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks) was awarded the Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-NBL First Team.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2023/24

The primary focus of the Breakers’ off-season was re-signing promising guard William McDowell-White on a two-year deal. McDowell-White, who had a stellar NBL23 and was highly sought after in free agency, saw staying with the Breakers under coach Mody Maor as the best opportunity to elevate his game. Finn Delany, who spent the previous season playing in Germany, also returned to the club. The Breakers retained much of their core group, with Cameron Gliddon, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa, and captain Thomas Abercrombie returning. They added Mangok Mathiang (via Illawarra), Dane Pineau (via South East Melbourne), and Lithuanian prospect Mantas Rubštavičius under the NBL Next Stars Program. Coach Maor finalized the roster by replacing outgoing imports Barry Brown Jr. (to China), Jarrell Brantley (to France), and Dererk Pardon (to Italy) with Parker Jackson-Cartwright (via Turkey), Zylan Cheatham (via Germany), and Justinian Jessup, who returned to the NBL after a year in Spain.

New Zealand started their season with a win against Cairns (98–87) and a narrow loss to Brisbane (84–89) before heading to the USA to play against the Phoenix Suns in the NBLxNBA exhibition game. With several player injuries, including Jessup, former NBA forward Anthony Lamb was added to the squad. Despite being heavy underdogs, New Zealand pushed the Suns to the limit, making a late surge to cut the lead to four in the final minute before falling just short in a 91–86 loss. Corey Webster (27 points and 7 assists) and Tai Wesley (15 points and 7 rebounds) led the Breakers offensively. Phoenix, who were without star Devin Booker, relied on Deandre Ayton (21 points and 15 rebounds) and Trevor Ariza (16 points and 6 assists).

Returning from the USA, New Zealand faced injuries, roster changes, and inconsistent play, extending their losing streak to five games before a win over Cairns (91–81). Delany (11 games), Cheatham (11 games), McDowell-White (6 games), and Rubštavičius (5 games) all missed considerable time during the season, with Jessup being released after being unable to overcome his pelvis injury.

In January, New Zealand (8–12) fell to the bottom of the ladder following three consecutive losses before turning things around, winning five of their last seven games to finish with a 13–15 record, equal with Sydney and Brisbane. Due to points percentage, Sydney (fifth) and New Zealand (sixth) advanced to the play-in tournament, while Brisbane (seventh) was eliminated.

Justinian Jessup (9.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) returned to the NBL with the New Zealand Breakers, aiming to make a significant impact as a sharpshooter. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to a pelvic injury that sidelined him indefinitely after just two games. In those games, he averaged 9.5 points, contributing 13 points in his season debut against Cairns. Jessup’s ability to stretch the floor with his shooting was anticipated to be a crucial asset for the team. However, due to his injury, he was unable to fulfill this potential, leading to his release from the team as he sought to recover and continue his career elsewhere.

In the play-in tournament, New Zealand secured a hard-fought win against Sydney (83–76) but fell to Illawarra in the next round (85–88), ending their season.

Justinian Jessup played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Illawarra Hawks and the New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 70 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (832 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.