In the final moments of Jaxen Sladavic’s basketball career at San Dieguito Academy, he arrived full circle.
Down 40 against Vista in the Feb. 14 opening round of the San Diego Section Division II CIF playoffs, a game that punctuated the Mustangs’ frustrating 5-22 season, Sladavic had the ball in his hands, time slipping away like air leaking out of a punctured basketball.
One final possession.
“Jaxen passes the ball to a freshman I had just pulled up from the JV team,” Mustangs head coach Jason Stewart told The Coast News. “Defense collapses, so the ball comes back to Jaxen. We are in the winding minutes of Sladavic’s career. Defense comes back to Jaxen and now he gives the ball back so this freshman could try to get his opportunity to get the first varsity points of his career. That to me defines everything about his leadership, his vision, and his legacy.”
It was the mirror image of Sladavic’s lone varsity game as a freshman.
“I remember when Jaxen was a freshman, and I allowed him to play one game with his brother [then senior, Kobe],” said Stewart, who was named All-CIF Coach of the Year in 2022. “Our seniors were giving Jaxen the ball to try and get his first varsity points and he got on the board. Any program I am part of, we are trying to reach down and bring up another generation.”
Five days removed from the loss, Sladavic, an undersized but dogged guard, was given an All-Coastal League honorable mention.
“He’s one of the most competitive people I know,” said Justin Sladavic, Jaxen’s dad. “His effort has always been through the roof. Maybe he wasn’t always the most talented ball handler or shooter but there is nobody who is going to outwork him.”
“This kid is tough as nails,” Stewart added. “Someone of his stature can easily be overlooked because he’s not the tallest player on the team, but once you get in between those lines, Jaxen quickly demands your respect.”
Jaxen Sladavic isn’t exactly sure where that drive comes from, but he offered the most reasonable explanation over espresso at his family’s dinner table during a free period on Wednesday.
“It could come from having an older brother,” Jaxen said.
This season, San Dieguito Academy was reassigned from the Avocado League to the Coastal League two years after winning the lower division league outright, forcing them to punch above weight.
Going 0-10 in league play against Open Division juggernauts like Carlsbad and Torrey Pines, this was a particularly bittersweet season for both Sladavic and fellow SDA senior Brighton Kerkhoff, who were contributors on the ’22 Mustangs team that won the Division II San Diego CIF Championship, advancing to the state tournament.
“I’ve been on some really good teams, so being competitive, it’s hard to go from winning the whole thing to not having winning seasons back-to-back,” Jaxen said. “We didn’t really have time to complain about it; it was more like this is what we have to deal with, and we are going to do our best to compete.”
“When I think about this season, I am very proud the guys said, ‘Bring it on; I’m not going to shrink,’” Stewart added.
SDA lost by 38 points to Carlsbad and 47 to El Camino, with Torrey Pines holding the Mustangs to a season-low 29 points.
The losses piled up, but the team remained resilient, with the season’s focus shifting from wins to growth.
“In the beginning of the season, [the seniors] had that competitive mindset: ‘This is our time and we want to end up on top,’” Stewart said. “What I was really pleased with was the way they came to grips with the new focus being on legacy. Let’s try to help these young guys get better. That maturity involves patience, putting your pride to the side and leading differently than what they saw in 2022.”
“I always told him, ‘The game is going to be the game, and the outcome is going to be the outcome, but you are going to influence younger players by how you react in these games,’” said Justin Sladavic. “He took that and surpassed all of our expectations as parents on who he could influence.”
With half of the San Dieguito roster first- and second-year students, Justin Sladavic joked, “At one point, there were only four kids on the team who drove.”
“Becoming someone that the younger kids could look up to is something I really enjoyed that I didn’t think I’d enjoy as much as I do,” Jaxen added.
Justin Sladavic watched as Jaxen was the SDA ball boy as a sixth grader, pushing the mop during timeouts. After two sons and seven years with the basketball program, letting go is particularly difficult for Dad.
“I am really depressed,” Justin Sladavic said. “It’s about finding common ground with your kids. We share this passion together.”
“My brother and my dad are the main two that helped me find love for the game,” Jaxen said.
Once upon a time, Justin Sladavic was a hooper at Torrey Pines High School. With his love for the game passed down to his sons, the first order of business after moving into their Encinitas home in 2017 was constructing a full outdoor court — the site of many overly competitive inter-family one-on-ones.
Justin Sladavic joked that Jaxen is still looking for his first win against his older brother Kobe.
Jaxen Sladavic interjected with a laugh that, at 11, he once hit a next-basket-wins fade-away jumper while navigating a double-digit deficit.
“I’m going with the older sibling in that game,” said Stewart, who coached Jaxen and Kobe. “A brilliant family raised two very different people. Their morals and their ethics are what stand out more than anything else.”
