The Vanguard Sports Writer of the decade sits down with the basketball player of the decade

Written by: Dan Ryaboy

Winning has been synonymous with Men’s Basketball at Bentley ever since Coach Lawson took over the program 19 years ago, and the last four years have epitomized that winning tradition as the Falcons posted an unbelievable 118-16 mark over that stretch. There were many great players that donned a Falcon uniform over those four years, but none ended their career with the accolades of Jason Westrol.

I had the opportunity to talk to him about his amazing accomplishments in his four years as a Falcon.

Dan Ryaboy: How important has Coach Lawson and the rest of the staff been in your improvement as a player?
Jason Westrol: On the court he has the mentality of working extremely hard to get better every single day. He instilled in us the mentality of playing the same way every day, whether it is at practice or a tournament game. His great coaching led to our great success. He has helped us grow tremendously both on and off the court. He has had a tremendous impact on us as players, but much more importantly, he has helped us mature as individuals off the court and become better people.

DR: Who were some of the veteran players that helped you adjust to the college game your freshman year, and how important was their guidance?
JW: I looked up to all of the veteran players my freshman year. They had been in the system for four years, and I wanted to learn as much as possible. The veteran guys helped me tremendously in transitioning from high school. They all knew what it took to win and get to an elite level and I just wanted to learn from them as much as possible. Fortunately, some of us young guys had the opportunity to step up and play a role, and we helped to contribute to the success to the team.

DR: What were some of the things you worked on in the offseason to constantly improve?
JW: I approached each offseason looking to get better in every facet of the game. One aspect of my game that I was always working on was the outside shot so that I could become a more consistent shooter. Strength and conditioning were key components to work on every offseason in order to be a stronger physical mismatch for the guards I played against. My goal was to be as ready as possible and in top shape on the first day of pre-season.

DR: What is your most memorable game during your career?
JW: The game right after Sean Williams had passed away on January 13 against American International College. The tragedy helped us come together so much as a team and helped us get far in the tourney.
We found out about Sean’s passing when Coach called us into the locker room, and that was the last thing in the world that we thought would happen. We all broke down in tears. From that point on we dedicated the season to him and even though he wasn’t with us physically, he was definitely here with us emotionally. Sean’s passing helped us realize how close we are both on and off the court as a team, and it helped us to play inspired team basketball.

DR: What was the fiercest rivalry that the Falcons have had over the last four years?
JW: Over the course of the four years it had to be either Merrimack or Stonehill because, along with us, those teams were at the top of the Conference all four years, and they competed at a high level every time we took the court against them.

DR: What does it mean to you to be the main part of the class with the most wins in Bentley History?’
JW: Coming into college, you dream of winning as many games as possible and to be 102 games over the .500 mark; you can’t get a better experience than that. You have to put the streaks in the back of your head and approach every day one game at a time. We were just worried about winning at that point because we knew that the tournament was one and done.

DR: What are your feelings on being at the top of many offensive categories in Bentley history?
JW: Most important are the wins as a team. I was blessed to have the chance to stay healthy the whole time; I didn’t miss a single game my whole career and a lot of that was luck. I believe that my career here was an example of how hard work pays off and, as a class, all of us seniors worked so hard. Any of the individual accolades I received are icing on the cake.

DR: How were you able to step up your scoring so much in the second half of the season?
JW: With Tommy [Dowling] going down, I knew I had to look to be more aggressive and make as many plays as possible. At times the team looked for me to score, but the team basketball we played at the end of the year was what really got us to the Final Four. Everyone stepped up and did what they had to do for us to win.

DR: What is some advice that you have passed along to the younger Falcon players like Brian Tracey, Tom Dowling, and Greg Jacques?
JW: I would tell them to approach the sport every single day with the same mentality; you don’t want to take any days off because you will only be cheating yourself if you don’t work hard every day.

DR: Do you have any plans to follow in the footsteps of Nate Fritch and Lew Finnegan and continue your basketball career after college?
JW: I recently signed with  an agent and we are talking to a couple teams here for potential tryouts, and from these tryouts I am going to try to get my name out there and keep playing basketball as long as I can. I am currently working out every day with the team and playing pickup games because my agent says the tryout can come up at any time. I see this as the one opportunity left and I want to make the most of it. Now is not the time for me to take any days off.

DR: What will you take away from your experience of playing basketball at Bentley?
JW: This has probably been the best experience I have ever had. I wouldn’t trade this for anything, like the close friends I have made, especially the five seniors in Frank Parelli, John Brandt, Dan McKenna, Alex Hertz and Mike Quinn, who will be back next season. Also, to have a coach that cares about you a great deal made it a lot easier to come down to the gym every day and give it 100 percent effort.