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‘I have a lot to give’: Wareham’s Rezendes goes from basketball player to coach

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6 months ago

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‘I have a lot to give’: Wareham’s Rezendes goes from basketball player to coach

WAREHAM — Jordan Rezendes is all about giving back.

That’s why the Wareham native became the boys basketball head coach at Mashpee High this past winter.

“I just feel like I have a lot to give — not only in basketball, but in life,” the 32-year-old Rezendes said. “I feel like I can be a mentor to these young kids. I could have went on to coach college, but I chose to coach high school so I can give back and give kids what I didn’t have. I didn’t have the right stuff around me, but I did what I had to do.”

Rezendes capped off his high school career by scoring 1,000 points and helping Wareham High capture its first state championship in 2010. 

He played one year at Dean College and then went to MassBay Community College for a year before arriving at UMass Dartmouth. 

Rezendes went on to have an impressive career with the Corsairs in which he surpassed 1,000 career points in just two seasons. 

In 2014-15, Rezendes started 23 games and averaged 23.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists as the Corsairs made it to the Little East Conference semifinals.

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The following season, Rezendes upped his game, averaging 29.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists to help the Corsairs reach their first conference title game since 2009, but they came up short, losing 86-81 to Eastern Connecticut State University in the LEC finals. Rezendes finished with 1,434 career points, which ranks 18th all-time in program history.

Since then Rezendes has remained active in the sport, playing in Germany, Hong Kong, Africa and France with the most recent stop being in Germany last year.

Rezendes got his first taste of coaching with the Bay State Jaguars AAU team. He also was the freshman coach and assistant varsity coach at Wareham

While Rezendes still plays competitively in tournaments in Boston, he’s transitioned into a coach’s mindset. 

“It’s different,” said Rezendes. “I went from playing. I was in Germany in September. I came home in October and I got the job (at Mashpee) a couple of weeks before the season started so it was a quick transition. I went from playing to coaching in a couple of weeks.”

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In a charity alumni game at Wareham last month, Rezendes led the 2010 State Champions to a 83-80 overtime win over the 2024 State Champions by scoring 34 points, including all six of his team’s points in overtime. 

“I’ve been in coach mode,” Rezendes said. “I don’t work out like I used to. I still play, but I’m not in shape like I used to.”

In his first year at the helm, Rezendes directed Mashpee’s boys basketball team to a 7-12 record. 

Determined to build up the program, Rezendes is offering a Co-Ed Skills Clinic along with Bob Catalini from June 24-28 at Mashpee High School. The registration fee is $135 for the week or $30 per day. It’s open for boys and girls in grades fourth through 12th. To register, contact Rezendes at rezendesjordan2@gmail.com. 

“I’m going to continue to work at the school,” said Rezendes, who is a paraprofessional at Mashpee, “and see what the future holds.”

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