CEDAR CITY, Utah - After only appearing in 14 games throughout his freshman season in 2020-21, Jason Spurgin arguably made the biggest improvement in his game of any player on the SUU roster last year, becoming a consistent presence for the Southern Utah University men's basketball team and making a massive leap in his production on the court for the Thunderbirds.
Spurgin was originally born in England and has lived in Tanzania and South Africa throughout his life; but, he spent most of his youth living in Toowoomba, Australia.
When Spurgin reached high school age, he signed on with an Australian talent agency, hoping to get noticed by college programs in America. After receiving limited interest, Spurgin's family was able to get in touch with one of their family friends who had a son playing at Mater Dei High School and had been receiving significant interest from Division I programs. Through their family friend, Spurgin managed to get into contact with fellow SUU player Harrison Butler, and eventually word of Spurgin reached Southern Utah coaching staff.
After seeing some film of Spurgin, the Thunderbirds brought him over from Australia for a visit and just a few days later, Spurgin committed to play college basketball for Southern Utah.
During his freshman season, he appeared in 14 contests throughout the year, scoring a season high four points against St. Katherine.
The 6-11 center made a massive leap in both playing time and production from his freshman to sophomore year, as Spurgin became a force to be reckoned with in the paint and a critical piece of Southern Utah's success.
This past season, Spurgin appeared in all 35 games for the Thunderbirds, amassing season averages of 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and a team-high .83 blocks per game. Spurgin scored a career-high 22 points on 8-9 shooting against Northern Colorado (2/14/22) and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in SUU's Third Round victory in The Basketball Classic against Portland (4/26/22).
Spurgin credited a number of factors to the massive improvement in his production, but one of the things he specifically mentioned was how former SUU basketball player Ivan Madunic mentored him and helped with his development.
"Obviously, I didn't play a ton my freshman year, because Ivan was a really good player; but, I learned a ton from him that season. I talked to him a lot, and we had some great conversations about the game of basketball. He really emphasized to me how important the summers are and how to use them as a building block for the next year. So, the summer after my freshman year, I was here working out twice a day in the weight room and once a day on the court, just grinding to become the best player I could be. I saw my skill level increase exponentially, and having the coaches here supporting me the whole time really helped me step into the role of filling Ivan's shoes. The coaches here really gave me the opportunity to succeed and continue to improve, and I took it in stride and just kept going with it."
Spurgin is excited for the upcoming season for a number of different reasons, but what he is most excited for is the opportunity to play with a new group of players combined with some strong returners from last year's team.
"This year, we have a ton of new transfers, and I think the most exciting part is figuring them out in a game situation and understanding how to play with them and how we are going to need to play as a team to succeed. I'm really excited for that challenge and for this group to really come together."
Spurgin thinks that the sky's the limit this season if the group is able to come together and develop strong chemistry on the court
"We have a lot of seniors this year, and they all came here to win, so our goal is to win the WAC Regular Season Championship and Conference Tournament Title and make it to the NCAA Tournament. We've been regular season winners, but we want to make that jump to winning not only the regular season title, but also the conference tournament."
Spurgin has also set some lofty standards and goals for himself this season, as he thinks his Junior year has the potential to be a serious breakthrough season for him.
"I want to prove that I am a force to be reckoned with. I know that last year in the Big Sky, not many people had me on their scouting reports, and I want to become one of the guys that other teams have to constantly worry about. Another goal that I really want to achieve is to be the Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. I've set the expectation for myself that I need to be a great defensive player. Coach always talks about how we have to play great defense to win, and I want to do everything I can to help this team win, so I've really worked on my defense."
Spurgin put a strong emphasis on how much of an impact the Southern Utah basketball program and school as a whole have had on him during his two years here thus far.
"I wouldn't be the player I am right now without the coaches here. As a player, without the opportunities I've received from this coaching staff, I don't even know if I would be in America playing college basketball, so I'm always going to be incredibly appreciative of them. From a character standpoint, I've grown a ton since I've gotten here. I was actually pretty shy when I first arrived here, and coming to a new country and having to do new things here that are out of my comfort zone have really helped me grow and blossom as a person, and this has helped shape my personality."
Spurgin has really enjoyed his time in Cedar City so far, and there are many reasons why he loves living here; but, he stated that if he had to pick a favorite aspect, it would be the community.
"Everyone here is really nice and happy. When I first came to America and I was in the airports, everyone was always distracted on their phones and nobody looked up at you. In Australia, if you are walking down the street, people will just talk to you and start a conversation, and I think the community in Cedar City is very similar to that. Everyone is really friendly and seems to have a smile on their face, so I enjoy that quite a lot."
In his free time, Spurgin enjoys playing beach volleyball, hitting golf balls as far as he can, and relaxing and hanging out with friends.
Spurgin is currently majoring in exercise science, and he has aspirations of playing professional basketball upon graduation from Southern Utah; but, he emphasized that he will finish his degree before he goes anywhere, because he promised his parents he would earn his degree. Down the road, Spurgin hopes to be involved with basketball in any way he can, whether that's as a coach, a strength coach, or a trainer.
For now, Spurgin is focused on doing everything he can to help the Southern Utah men's basketball team have the best possible season this year, as he seeks to continue his impressive development and become an impact player for the Thunderbirds night in and night out.
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