All That Jazz: Talking Basketball with Georgian Court's Hall of Famer
by Karl Hech
Herb Magee isn’t the only Basketball Hall of Fame member coaching in the East Region.
Jasmine (Jazz) Perazic, the head coach of CACC member Georgian Court University, is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Inducted in 2014, she starred at the University of Maryland, appearing in four Division I Elite Eights and having had her number retired by the Terapins while scoring 1,396 points and being the team’s first Kodak All-American. She is also a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 50th Anniversary team. Playing as a professional in Europe and the WNBA until she was 41, Perazic was the MVP of the 1983 European Championships and was also a two-time member of the Yugoslavian Olympic Team, leading them to a Bronze medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
“I didn’t think about coaching until I was 45,” said Perazic, who started the interview saying she was tending to her daughter’s dog before practice. Fitting all of life into a busy schedule and making things happen is her main goal in life. “I played until I was 41, and like so many other athletes, I wasn’t prepared for the real life on the other side,” said the former European and WNBA professional player.
After stints in business and teaching motorcycle and driving safety, Perazic decided to re-orient her life back to basketball and became a coach as her daughter entered high school. Winning coaching awards in the demanding Washington Catholic League with Elizabeth Seton High School in Maryland led to an assistant’s position with Division I Monmouth before taking the Georgian Court job in 2014.
“Money isn’t what motivates me,” said the former pro basketball star, noting that the business and not-for-profit world can be more lucrative financially than coaching. “Coaching talent with a work ethic to be the best you can be is the main reason I am coaching,” said Perazic. The former pro coach is always looking for talented players with the drive to truly maximize their success level on the court. “Having players do their best, experiment and grow with confidence is very important,” the Georgian Court coach added.
Georgian Court is the Mercy University of New Jersey, and was a women’s college for over 100 years before going co-educational in 2013. A Catholic university housed in the heavily Orthodox Jewish area of Lakewood Township, New Jersey, it’s long been based at the former estate of 19th Century financier George Jay Gould. The historic campus contains one of the few “real tennis” court in the United States. Lakewood has been one of the fastest-growing communities in the Northeast since 2000.
During her tenure at Georgian Court, Perazic also become living proof that Coaches vs. Cancer works. After surviving a six-centimeter tumor in her breast, she is now active with the Kay Yow cancer fund. Being able to tell these kinds of stories has helped the “life coach of 18-22 years old,” as the Yow fund described her, to better connect and guide her players.
Perazic’s approach to recruiting is very eclectic, and has roots in her native Serbia, which was part of Yugoslavia in her youth before the country broke up in the 1980s. “Having a Muslim player, Serbians, Croatians, Bosnians, all on the team is one way to show that everybody can work together over here, when they fight over religion over there,” said the Georgian Court coach. Doing things “the right way” and making sure academics as well as athletics are in order is another priority for Jazz. “It can take longer to do things the right way, but it’s ultimately the longest-lasting success,” pointed out the six-year coach of the Lions.
One other recruiting issue she spoke about is that many American players are pushed to go to Division I schools, when Division II programs can be more rewarding for the student/athlete. While many recruits think of power conference schools such as Maryland or UConn as the typical Division I experience, players at many lower level Division I schools have similar playing experiences, including similar levels of competition, as in Division II.
Having a young team is normally punishing in any conference, and this year’s Georgian Court team is no exception, having a 6-13 record and 4-8 in CACC with only one senior playing significant minutes. A recent upset win over then-11-2 (in-conference) Holy Family was a sign that the fortunes of the Lions are turning up, and the coach is very optimistic about next season, saying that she “expects our team to be really great” in the 2020-‘21 campaign. One major reason for that expectation is that the whole team will have another year of experience, and the new players that came in for the second semester this year that will have a full season under their belts.
“There is a major adjustment between playing in Europe and in college in the States,” the Georgian Court coach said. “At every level, playing in Europe is more like playing in the NBA than playing in college in the States,” said Perizac. “The level of defensive intensity, especially defending as a team, is more intense in the States than it is overseas. As a result, there is often a significant transition for players coming in from overseas.”
For Jazz Perizac, basketball is a platform to promote excellence, hard work and uniting players from diverse cultures with the common cause of performing your best and winning basketball games. With playing and coaching experience throughout the world and at practically every level of basketball, Jazz works every day to make Georgian Court basketball the best it can be.