Star guard and record holder for assists, Brandon Jacobs has a vision for Pace basketball much larger than himself.

Throughout his last three seasons, Jacobs focused on improving one major thing about himself: growing to become a leader.

“A big thing that I had to work on was my leadership skills,” Jacobs said. “I’m kind of a quiet person, being on the court it’s kind of hard to talk and scream.”

He stated that taking on this role has caused him to become more vocal on the court, allowing him to “lead with [his] voice.”

When on the court, he tries to involve everyone. Becoming the all-time assist leader for Pace men’s basketball has been a product of this selflessness. Never struggling to find the open man, Jacobs recorded 234 total assists during the 2019-20 season, almost eight per game.

He has also focused on building relationships with his talented teammates to continue the winning culture that he believes was created this past season.

“We actually have something to play for now. Everyone is locked in on being a winning program,” Jacobs said. “Now we are expected to win every game.”

From eight wins earned during his freshman year, to 19 his junior year, Jacobs feels a “hunger” for the team.

“We actually have something to play for now, I feel like other teams in the league respect us,” Jacobs said “…We changed the culture. I feel like everyone is just locked in and everyone has bought in to winning and being a winning culture.”

Evidently, Jacobs has much faith for the program’s future precedented by the team’s growing success.

Reflecting on his career, Jacobs knows the capability of his team and has high expectations for next season. When it is his time to perform next winter, he noted one teammate, Peyton Wejnert, a graduating forward, who played a huge role in Pace’s offense this year.

“I feel like losing Peyton, 23 points a game, it’s going to have to come from someone else and me and Austin Gilbertson, I think are very capable of scoring those points too,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs advises his teammates to continue being aggressive on the court in hopes of earning a high seed, as well as 20 wins, stating he wants to see the program in “the elite club.”

He also mentioned a key factor for many of Pace’s wins: defense. Finishing first in defense, Pace’s spectacular offense is merely a secondary tool to lead them to victory.

“We held a lot of teams below their average, so that was really our calling card,” Jacobs said.

He learned many lessons from his experience on the court that will lead him to success off of the court, as well. He states that building strong relationships and projecting his voice can be implemented in his career choice and everyday life.

“I want to be remembered for changing the program. I feel like that’s one thing I take pride in,” Jacobs said. “We have a goal. We want to be number one. We want to win a championship.”

As his final season approaches, he would like to be remembered as a true Setter. Not only as a record Setter, but a trend Setter, making the Pace Men’s Basketball program a winning culture.