West's love affair with basketball rekindled at King

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Basketball has been a lifelong love affair for Jaelyn West, but that love was tested during her first two seasons at King University. The last two years have rekindled her love for the game. "It has been amazing," said West, who is second on the Tornado in scoring with 11.7 points per game this season. "I never want to come off the floor. I love it, I just feel like our team is so tight-knit and we play together, it is unselfish ball so it is fun. "It is not even that the basketball is enjoyable, it is just that everyone is fun, we all play together, we all encourage each other all the time. It is a lot of fun, it is like family for sure." West enjoyed a stellar high school career, spending three seasons at Sullivan Central before playing with her former rivals from Sullivan South at West Ridge. An all-conference and all-region performer, West's biggest regret was finishing with 999 career points. "I was at the line, I was shooting two free throws and I missed the first one and I made the second one," West said. "I knew it too because I had to get 16 points. I had 14, I got on that line, I shot one and I missed it and I was like 'dang.' That happens." A basketball lifer since third game, West also played softball and soccer, but she stuck with her first love, landing at King University. While she did contribute during her first two seasons, the Tornado managed just 12 wins and it wasn't a good time for West, who even considered walking away from the game. "Absolutely, my first two years, my confidence was super low. People were coming up and telling me 'why are you not playing'. I was just like 'my coach doesn't want to play me'," West said. "It was hard hearing people say that to me and it was frustrating because I loved basketball, I wanted to play. There was no reason for him not to play me, he just wasn't." That all changed last year when Josh Thompson, who led King to multiple 20-win seasons and a Conference Carolinas championship from 2011-21, returned to the Tornado after two seasons at Montreat. Suddenly, basketball was fun again. "My first two years I actually had a different coach. We were not very successful those years. It was pretty rough, we didn't really have a lot of chemistry. Some of our players would argue on the floor and off the floor, it wasn't very good," West said. "Coach Thompson came in and last year was really good and this year has been definitely been my favorites of all the years. "We have had great chemistry this year and I think that is what has brought us so far...Coach Thompson came in and my confidence got boosted a lot. He helped me out a lot because he knew what I went through in my first two years." Thompson has certainly been pleased with the contributions of West, so much so that he has offered her the opportunity to return next season as a graduate-assistant while completing her nursing degree. "She has been great. I am really, really proud of her, just how she has grown from last year to this year. Even this year. She has really grown in her leadership and she has grown as a player," Thompson said. "She has been very coachable. She has really embraced the things that we wanted her to improve on and she is seeing the benefits on the court. She is having her best year right now and it is just good to see her having fun and playing well." West stamped her name in the King record books earlier this season against rival Lees-McRae, connecting on 7-of-11 3-point attempts to finish with 33 points, the most points for a King woman since the Tornado became an NCAA Division II squad during the 2009-10 campaign. "I really didn't think about my points, I didn't think I was going to break any records. I was like I just want to win this game, Lees-McRae is like our rival. I was really wanting to win that game," said the 5-foot-10 inch West, who also had 10 rebounds, while playing the unfamilar position of center. "Coach put me at the 5 because we didn't have any 5s so I was like 'oh my, that is going to be hard, I have never played the 5 before. That is going to be rough.' "I got through it and I didn't really focus on scoring, I was focused on everything else, playing hard. Everything was falling and I definitely couldn't have done it without my teammates. They get as much out of this as I did." While the points and the record was nice, the Tornado lost that game. That stood out more than the points. "I was tore up after the game," West said. "People were coming up to me like 'good job, good job'. I was like 'no, I wanted to win. I was like I just wanted to win. I don't care about the points'." "It was a special game, I wish we could have won it. I know she wishes that too," added Thompson, who noted West has been slowed at times by a sprained ankle and illness. "She has really battled all year too. She has just really fought hard and she wants to be on the court and just play and win. As a coach you love to see that so I am really proud of her." West's college playing career is winding down, with six regular season games remaining, beginning on Thursday against Converse. West, who plans for a career in nursing and also as a coach, is confident the Tornado can also make a postseason run, possibly extending her playing career for a few extra games. Precious moments remain. Expect West to give it her all. "I am taking every second in," West said. "I am trying to spend the most time with all of my teammates, soak it all up because it will be over before I know it."