'Really special.' Franklin's Hansy Jacques embraces Haitian culture as Panthers head to finals
FRANKLIN – His father wanted to pass down his name. But didn’t want his son to be addressed as Junior.
Hans Jacques came up with a solution.
“He added the ‘Y’ to make it a little special,” said the son.
That’s Hansy: special.
When the Franklin boys basketball team traveled to Florida just after Christmas to play in the KSA Holiday Tournament, senior Hansy Jacques did not play due to injury. But he made an impact. All he had to do was smile.
“He was a superstar around the hotels,” said head coach CJ Neely. “He knows all the people and was shaking hands with everybody. Just getting the team together in a way that a lot of modern children can’t do.”
Hansy is unique in other ways.
His parents moved here from Haiti two decades ago, a country he has visited more than once. Hansy still enjoys eating joumou, a soup that many Haitians enjoy on New Year’s Day, which is that country’s Independence Day.
He gets a weekly reminder of his heritage at home.
“Sunday mornings I wake up to my mom singing Haitian songs,” Hansy says. “It stays in my head throughout the day.”
Hansy Jacques off to college after injury
Hansy, who has five older sisters, is the first in his family to take up basketball. He stands 6-foot-4 and is soon to choose between Clark, Emmanuel, UMass-Dartmouth, Dickinson (Penn.) and Keene State to continue his basketball career.
But this season started slowly. During practice after the first game, Hansy suffered a deep bone bruise in one of his thighs that calcified, and he missed nearly half of the regular season.
But his upbeat ways have helped get the Panthers through a long season, which ends Sunday night with an appearance in the Division 1 state championship game against undefeated and defending champion Worcester North.
“It’s a grind. The season is as long as it can possibly be this year,” Neely said. “When you hit those doldrums in mid-January it can be tough (practicing) at 5:30 (a.m.) and there’s snow outside. To walk in the door and have a guy like Hansy’s big smile and excitement – it just changes the whole vibe of the practice.”
Hansy returned midway through the season and helped the Panthers advance through the playoffs, culminating in a breakaway dunk against BC High in the quarterfinals.
“At first it was a relief because I hadn’t caught one all season,” he said of his right-handed slam late in the first half. “Started out the season injured. My legs – I felt like I didn’t have my bounce, but I had the crowd in front of me, my friends right there for it, so it was really special.”
Hansy also canned a 3-pointer and was the first to grab the Final Four trophy and hold it high after the game.
“He's been a huge key factor for us, just sparking the offense,” said fellow senior Henry DiGiorgio. “When he's playing confidently, he's a dangerous man and he can get going real fast. He’s a threat to opposing teams.”
Neely setting high standards, on and off the court
Hansy is one of seven seniors on a team that is riding a 21-game winning streak and seeking its first state title. His first experience on the varsity happened in his sophomore year and he relishes the challenges his teammates and coach provide him.
“It’s a very unique environment. Franklin does it different than other schools,” he said. “Coach Neely preaches things you won’t hear on many teams: toughness; you have to work for everything. I’ve been battling to get in the rotation and get minutes playing against skilled players each and every day.”
Hansy cited an example of Neely’s influence on the Panthers (25-1).
“One time when we were watching film, we were talking about, oh, we saw trash on the floor. Do you walk by it? How do you carry yourself as a person? How do you want to be seen, not just on the court by off it as well.”
Last year: 'I had a tough week mentally:' Jacques, Franklin boys hoop hold off Milford
Neely cited an example of Hansy’s positive attitude when the youngster returned from the injury that sidelined him while the wins continued to pile up - ending the description with that word again.
“He comes back and some of the guys that were playing in his absence are doing really well,” Neely said, “and his ability to be able to fit in with the group and not make it about him is what makes him really special.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached attdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Franklin's Hansy Jacques embraces Haitian culture, role with Panthers
