By Zachary Braziller January 20, 2009

 Kadeem Jack was walking through Cambria Heights Park three years ago one spring afternoon when a stranger stopped him. The man, Damien Lesley, asked Jack if he wanted to play basketball for a Catholic school.
 

A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Jack knew little about basketball. He played soccer growing up at home.
 

"I was confused," he said. "I didn't know what to say. I just said, ‘Yes.'"

Jack may remember that three-letter word the rest of his life.

That summer, Lesley taught him the game and brought him to Mo Hicks, the director of the Bronx-based Gauchos, one of the top AAU programs in the area, and head coach at Rice. Today, he is the starting center for the Raiders, yearly one of the nation's elite.

"It is kind of weird," the 6-foot-8 junior said, referring to his role and how quickly it has happened.

He didn't start playing the sport in an organized setting until the ninth grade, several years after many of his peers.  When he first got to Rice, Hicks' intense practices were difficult. He was still hazy on the basics of the game - how to box out, how to set a screen, how to defend.

"I didn't know what to do," he said. "I didn't know anything."

Hicks has constantly worked with him, basically preaching to him about his potential. If he has nothing to do, Hicks implores him to get in the weight room. He should always be working. The message finally got through last year, when he rarely got off the bench despite the Raiders' lack of size.  

"I didn't take it seriously until this past year," Jack said.

While the Raiders are again loaded in the backcourt, led by Miami-bound senior Durand Scott, not to mention talented sophomores Jermaine Sanders and Shamel Williams and skilled seniors James Stukes, Charles Fenner and Jonathan Williams, Jack's emergence had added a dimension to their attack. In a 71-45 win over Long Island Lutheran in the Big Apple Basketball High School Invitational at Hunter College, he scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, scoring in the paint and showing off a soft touch on a baby jumper.  

"It's great for our team if we can bring him along," Hicks said. " With his presence, it opens up the perimeter."

Scott said he could already see the differences between this year's club and the last two because of Jack. Rice was the favorite going into the postseason, but was upset in the intersectional semifinals last year when their perimeter-based attack went south. But Jack's offensive rebounding adds possessions and teams can't beat up Rice, previously undersized, on the low blocks nearly as much.

"He's starting to get confidence," Scott said.

"Kadeem's gonna be good," Hicks added. "He's a spirited kid. The sky's the limit for him."

Jack, although modest, is starting to see what the future may hold. There are precious few big men in the city, particularly ones with his length and agility. Jack, after all, was a goalkeeper growing up, a nod to his athleticism.

Still, he isn't satisfied. As Rice players exit their Hunter College locker room, they pat him on the back or the shoulder, noticing the big man's improvement. But Jack wants more.

"I can do better than this," he said. "I need to be more aggressive."