He is a 6’7 senior on the UCLA men’s basketball team. She is a 5’11 freshman on the women’s team. Both will represent the UCLA Bruins in this year’s NCAA tournament – and their families.
Siblings Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Gabriela Jaquez are both enrolled at UCLA. Their parents, Jaime Sr. and Angela Jaquez, both also played in college, proving that maybe athletics is in their blood.
Jaquez, Jaquez Jr. and their younger brother Marco have all grown up playing multiple sports. Whatever they played, Jaquez and Jaquez Jr. dreamed of playing basketball at UCLA, just 45 minutes from where they grew up.
Jaquez Jr., who was a top recruit coming out of high school, said he still remembers the feeling when he first stepped onto the Bruins’ field.
CBS Saturday morning
“I was nervous. I was just in love with everything,” he told CBS News’ Dana Jacobson. “And then I remembered hearing the UCLA student section cheer for everyone’s name, and then they cheered my name. I didn’t realize what they were cheering for.”
During his first three seasons with the Bruins, he started all but six games, earning national recognition as the team progressed to the NCAA Final Four. Before his senior year, though, he had to think about his future: He could return to UCLA, or declare eligibility for the NBA draft and attempt to turn pro.
Jaquez said that while she wanted her brother to do “what was best for him”, she thought it would be “really, really cool” if he stayed at UCLA and they overlapped for a year.
“I was like, you know, ‘Do what’s best for you,’ and I knew it would all work out in the end,” Jaquez said. “But when he decided to come back, I thought, ‘This is going to be fun.'”
Jacques Jr. said it was “pretty special” to overlap with his little sister.
Jacques family
For their parents, it meant a lot of time watching their children’s games.
“This week I’m going to Pauley Pavilion four times,” said Jaime Jaquez Sr. “The kids play back to back to back to back to back. I think the ushers know our family and they know who I am.”
Keeping it all straight, he said, takes a lot of organization, including an Excel spreadsheet. But it’s all worth it, he said.
“You dream of your kids playing basketball and you don’t know what level they’re going to play at,” Jaquez Sr. said. “And then to see just two at UCLA is pretty incredible.”
CBS Saturday morning
Sharing the court also allows the siblings to continue learning from each other. They share some skills, and both say they have learned from each other: Jaquez Jr. has adopted his sister’s ruthless attitude and Jaquez said she picked up some of her brother’s favorite plays.
“I think it definitely makes it sweeter,” Jaquez Jr. said. “I think my experience here was great, even before she was here. And I think, you know, her experience right now… is great that I’m here. But once I leave, I think she’s still always will also have a nice time.”
“It’s just a really big plus that we’re both here together,” Jaquez added. “I think we’re still doing our own thing, you know, in different teams, chasing our own dreams. But it’s just really cool that we can share this experience together.”
