Westmoore's Jackson Dyer – Character Counts presented by Eskridge Honda

 

Written by John Tranchina

For Jackson Dyer, there is no rest for the weary.

After finishing up the football season when his 8-3 Westmoore Jaguars squad lost in the Class 6A-I state quarterfinals to Owasso on Nov. 10, Dyer had to quickly shift gears and get into basketball mode in time for the season opener on Nov. 28.

The senior forward, who stands at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, has assumed more of a leadership role this season and it’s one he enjoys.

“I feel like I’m a big leader on the team,” Dyer said. “I feel like lots of the younger guys, mainly younger post guys, look up to me, because I’ve been on varsity for four years, so I feel like I can teach them and lead by example.”

Dyer, who averaged 8.1 points per game last year as the Jaguars went 21-6 before falling in the Class 6A state quarterfinals, believes his team is primed for another big season.

“I think we have a chance to be a really good team,” Dyer said. “We lost a couple of guys that were seniors last year, that were a big part of our team, but I feel like we have some younger guys that are going to need to step up because their roles have changed on the team. And I feel like if they can do that, we have a chance of being really, really good, because our starters will be good.

“I feel like to be a really good team, you need to have good guys coming off the bench, too, that can pick up the slack, so there’s no drop-off when our starters aren’t in the game.”

And as good as he is athletically, Dyer also acknowledges that his first commitment has to always be to his schoolwork.

“It’s very important,” said Dyer, who plays tight end in football. “You never know, an injury can make it to where you can’t play sports any more, so you have to make sure you have good grades to get into a good college. And someday, for everyone, basketball will be over, and I feel like you’ve got to have good grades in order to get a good job and provide for a family.”