Concord Christian’s Isaac Jarvis Wins Monitor’s Boys Basketball Athlete of the Season

Published: 07/04/2022 17:08:16

Modified: 07/04/2022 17:07:38

Concord Christian Academy is new blood in New Hampshire basketball.

The Kingsmen burst onto the scene last year, advancing to their first championship game in program history. Senior Isaac Jarvis led Concord Christian to a second-place Division IV finish; he was instrumental all season and played his best when the playoff lights were on him. He dropped 11 fourth-quarter points in the quarterfinals and had a 27-point, 16-rebound performance in the championship loss.

Jarvis was the star of the team that finished the season at 20-2. The 6-foot-8 center was dominant in the paint at both ends of the floor and earned D-IV Player of the Year and the Jack Ford Award. Now he can add to his trophy cabinet with the Tuning MonitorBoys’ Basketball Player of the Year Award.

Jarvis followed a similar progression as his team. Concord Christian was a perennial bottom dweller in the D-IV rankings. For Jarvis’ first two seasons, that remained the case, but when coach Eric Heizer arrived two years ago, that all changed.

“Coach Heizer, the knowledge he has, he really came out and helped transform the basketball program,” Jarvis said.

In the two years Heizer coached Jarvis, he said the progress the star player made was astounding.

“He improved in everything,” Heizer said.

At Jarvis’ height, Heizer said it would have been easy to stick him to the post and his teammates worry about everything else. But Jarvis has proven to be one of the most versatile players on the pitch.

“We tried to give him some freedom to do what he wants to do,” Heizer said. “It’s not often you have a 6-8 kid who can dribble and is quick and can play inside and outside. So we decided to let him expand his game and kind of learn by doing and kind of help and guide him along the way.

Jarvis was grateful for the opportunity to expand his skills.

“My best attribute is rim protection and rebounding just because of my size and instinct for getting rebounds and blocking shots,” Jarvis said. “But I think not many people notice in me – other than my coaches – it’s my ability to pass. I think that’s above average for a big man. And I think when the time comes and you’ll need a bucket in the clutch, I’m ready to step in and have no fear.

It took hours of work for Jarvis to get where he is. The star player is always working to improve. Even now, in the offseason, he practices right after school and then drives an hour to AAU practice.

“But it’s not a chore,” Jarvis said. “I love him. I love basketball.”

Loving basketball is something Jarvis and his teammates have in common. He repeatedly mentioned the bond the group shared. Jarvis said the camaraderie he gained made the season feel like a win even though it ended in a loss.

The perfect example for Jarvis and his teammates came on Super Bowl Sunday. The team gathered at the school for a viewing party. The game captivated the world but it failed to hold Kingsmen’s attention.

“We were so excited to watch the Super Bowl and everything,” Jarvis said. “But we ended up not really watching the Super Bowl. We went to the gym and got injections, we basically did our own workouts. It just showed that we really love basketball and were really committed to getting better because we refused to watch the Super Bowl to play basketball together and have pickup games.

The impromptu scrum was a special moment for Jarvis, who will now be leaving Concord for college. He heads to Gordon College to play D-III ball under coach Todd Murphy, who played in the NBA from 1987-1998.

Jarvis said he’s looking forward to learning from someone with so much knowledge about the game. At the same time, he’s not ready to give up on Concord Christian altogether.

“We (the team) still love each other,” he said. “We still stay in touch with each other. The seniors are cheering on the underclasses for next year and plan to come back to watch some games. I think they have a chance to repeat and do exactly what they did this year next year.

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