‘Always love’: Former Shocker Jaden Seymour cherished Roundhouse return as ETSU star
Not much of Jaden Seymour’s one season with the Wichita State men’s basketball team could be considered normal.
He signed to play for Gregg Marshall, hung through a coaching change to Isaac Brown just before the season and endured an entire season that was significantly altered by the coronavirus pandemic. He witnessed the power of camaraderie as the team won the program’s first and only American Athletic Conference championship to date.
Wichita State ended up not being the right fit for Seymour’s basketball career, but he still cherishes the friendships forged during that 2020-21 season. He is still particularly close to Ricky Council IV, who now plays in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Ricky is still one of my best friends,” Seymour said. “That whole group was just special. That’s what I always say every time when I talk about Wichita. That was just a special team to be on. We just had insane chemistry. We were a close group. I’ll always have love for those guys.”
All of his former teammates and coaches are long gone, but Seymour, now a star forward for East Tennessee State, still relished the chance to return to Wichita State for this past Saturday’s game. Not in the sense of revenge, rather an opportunity to showcase just how much he has improved and play in front of fans for the first time at Koch Arena.
Seymour looked right back at home in the Roundhouse this past Saturday, scoring a game-high 25 points and adding nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks. WSU won the game, 96-87, but Seymour left with the satisfaction of playing perhaps his best game at his former home.
“I really tried to not think about it too much, but it was for sure coming back and actually playing here,” Seymour said. “I really didn’t get too much of a chance to play when I was here, so it was cool to finally play in the Roundhouse.”
Seymour tallied 11 points and six rebounds in six appearances for the Shockers during their championship 2020-21 season.
The Charlotte native was formerly a highly-rated recruit until a severe knee injury in high school impacted his recruitment. The ability had always been there; he just needed a team where he could show it.
East Tennessee State was that program for Seymour, who is finishing his college career there in his fourth season with the Buccaneers. He has steadily improved throughout his career and has blossomed from a role player into a star. He averaged 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds to earn third team all-conference in the Southern Conference and helped ETSU reach the conference tournament championship game. In 10 games so far this season, Seymour is averaging 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
“Jaden has been instrumental in helping us get this thing turned around,” second-year ETSU head coach Brooks Savage said. “His work ethic is unmatched. He’s a great teammate, he’s high character, he’s tough as nails and he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached. He’s just a fantastic kid.”
Tales of Seymour’s work ethic date back to his days at WSU when he used to challenge Council to 1-on-1 games on the court following actual games.
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Another example of Seymour’s work in the gym is the consistent improvement in his 3-point shot. He only made three 3s in his first year at ETSU, but that figure rose to 10 and then 44 at a 29.5% clip last season. Through 10 games this season, Seymour has already knocked down 15 triples and is shooting 40.5% beyond the arc.
“What’s really impressive about him is his shooting percentages over the years,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “They’ve done nothing but go up. I’m told he’s a gym rat and that’s a tribute to him. He seems like he puts in a lot of time and that ETSU team is going to be really good in their league.”
Seymour said there were no hard feelings between him and WSU and while the time in Wichita was bizarre, he was grateful for the Shockers giving him an opportunity coming off the knee injury in high school.
While he wasn’t able to get the win over the Shockers, Seymour believes this ETSU team has a legitimate chance of winning its conference and heading back to the NCAA Tournament — just like his year at WSU.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym over the years trying to get better and get ready for this,” Seymour said. “I’m just trying to get better and stay focused and stay the course. I try to never get too low and never get too high. Just stay focused, stay working, stay ready.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 6:02 AM.
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