Teen basketball Phenom Jada Mohan fulfilling her family legacy

AT just 14-years-old, Jada Mohan is, arguably, Guyana’s best female basketball player– which is unsurprising, since basketball is rich in her DNA

Jada is the daughter of Lugard Mohan, a former national point guard who is considered by

many the best player Guyana has ever produced.

Lugard made a name for himself as a hot-shot ball handler with a mean aim in the 1990s. In his prime, he played for the Ravens Basketball Club and represented Guyana in many tournaments.

He would reign supreme in the ‘back court’ until the mid-2000s, when he hung up his sneakers and turned his attention to refereeing, becoming an International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Certified official and later national coach for both the senior and junior teams with a considerable degree of success.

Now, following in his footsteps as a player worthy of recognition in her talent for the game, Jada says, however, that she aims to create a path of her own. “I don’t want to be known as just ‘Lugard’s daughter’,” Jada told the Pepperpot Magazine, adding that this unique path will see her heading off to hopefully play for one of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) most decorated Division One women’s basketball teams – the  University of Connecticut (UCONN) Huskies.

And don’t be fooled by her charming smile; one that could warm a cold heart and light up a dark room, Jada is mean with the ball in her hands and isn’t afraid of a challenge, even if it is against her fiercest rival – her father.

Last year, a 13-year-old Jada got to match her skills against other female players in the Caribbean when she represented Guyana at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) U16 Tournament which was hosted at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Guyana failed to pick up a win in their three games played, but, Mohan, despite being one of the youngest players in the tournament, turned heads and wowed the crowd with her ball-handling skills and fearlessness.

She scored 11 points in her first game, 18 in the second and 15 in her third; all of which were team-high points, finishing with an average of 14.7 points. Mohan also had an average of nine rebounds per game (a team-high) in the tournament and had a total of 21 steals.

Opposing coaches applauded her ‘hustle’ and a year later, she has improved, has grown taller and now stamps her authority amongst her peers. “I started basketball watching Daddy play. I started playing when I went into Form One (7th Grade) at Marian Academy with Mr. [Chris] Bowman. I had to actually help him get up a girls team because they didn’t really have a girls team at the school,” Jada said. “Basketball is the only sport I could play properly, I mean I’ve tried out other sports but I don’t succeed like how I have in basketball.”

Basketball is truly a family pastime for the Mohans.“My family and I would watch the WNBA games or whatever basketball game is on TV. We would sit and watch as a family and then we would discuss plays, defence and those stuff,” Jada explained.

“Playing a game where there isn’t much female participation gives me motivation, because some males might feel because I’m a girl they can take advantage of me or go easy on me. So I would show them that they could come at me as tough as they want.”

COLLEGE DREAMS
Jada has undoubtedly proven that she is the best female player in the country, unmatched by many, especially in the ‘back court.’ And even with the school basketball season being closed, the point guard still works overtime on her craft with her father as her mentor and coach, since she hopes to one day land a scholarship.

“I actually want to go to college in the U.S., because in Guyana, if you look at it, they only focus on high school games here and probably CBC, Inter-Guiana Games (IGG), but then no one can’t really see your skills here,” Jada said. “I know to reach to college is a lot of work and dedication, but I hope to go to UCONN or some other top college…on a scholarship, I mean it will be less money for my parents to pay; it will be easier for them and they’ll be proud after all of daddy’s hard work; and my mom, all my family members who push me and encourage me.”

NO PRESSURE
Carrying the Mohan name and being the daughter of a legend in the sport, according to Jada is no pressure, since, in fact, she uses it as a stimulus to excel.

“I don’t see it as a pressure, I see it as a motivation, because most persons think that because you’re Lugard’s daughter, you should be skilled, but I don’t think I shouldn’t have to be skilled because I’m his daughter. I could be his daughter, but I don’t have to play basketball. It’s about motivation and determination and about how much you love the sport,” Jada said. “Not because he’s a past basketball player it means I have to play the game, I could’ve been something else; I just picked up the sport by looking at him. I mean he started it and then ‘Luggy’ [my brother] started too, so I just decided to give it a try.”

From the look of things, there’s no stopping Jada Mohan from achieving her dream. The point guard can be found in the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on the floor with her father, while her mother would sit in the stands paying keen attention, maybe hoping to see her daughter one day becoming the first Guyanese- born and raised player in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).