DORIAN GEIGER
Sports Editor

Brennan Jarrett’s memory has captivated the Huskies men’s basketball organization and the university community since the 19-year-old shooting guard died in December 2008.

A year later, a new commemoratory locker room was unveiled in Jarrett’s name at the Physical Activity Complex.

The newly furnished locker room was crowded with media, Huskies basketball executives and players, USSU executives and Jarrett’s parents, as men’s Huskies head coach Greg Jockims introduced the snazzy dressing room.

“We’re just very thankful we’ve been able to complete this project for the current team and as legacy for those that will come through in the future. And also to really put a memory and touch to remember Brennan Jarrett,” said Jockims.

“He meant so much to us and I can see Brennan sitting in here — he would love this room. He spent a lot of time in here as it was and before we got to this stage I know how much this team meant to him and I know he’s watching over us with a big smile,” added Jockims on a positive note.

Memorabilia of the kind of athlete Jarrett was sprinkled throughout the team’s space — Jarrett’s shoes, his framed jersey, newspaper clippings about his legacy, numerous pictures of Jarrett, including vibrant, life size pictures of him and other teammates in the dressing room’s corridor were just some of the locker room elements dedicated to Jarrett. Tiny “BJ” badges on every Huskies athletes jersey and new Huskies hoodies worn by athletes that features a neon green “Beej” graffiti pattern were also part of the commemoratory proceedings.

A Huskies logo woven into the carpet in the centre of the locker room surrounded by leather storage chests added a nice professional locker room touch that most university-level basketball teams would be honoured to have.

Jockims joked that anyone stepping foot on the spotless logo during the unveiling would be penalized with push-ups.

Jockims later paused while recalling the surreal moment of witnessing Jarrett’s mom initiate the renovation process by passionately smashing down an old wall with a sledge hammer. And that’s exactly what this process was for the Jarrett family — knocking down the mental wall of heartbreak and mourning on their path to healing through continued involvement in Huskies Athletics.

“We called it a labour of love for our son that we lost,” said Jarrett’s mother, Rita Jarrett, following the formal portion of the unveiling.

The unveiling of a Huskies locker room in their son’s name will undoubtedly bring some peace to the Jarrett family and will be a stepping stone to moving in a happy direction.

“We got a lot of therapy out of doing it and it was a bit of a distraction that we needed — the last year’s been pretty tough on us and he’s been with us along the way,” said Rita Jarrett.

“It’s pretty special. Although there are the emotions of sadness, I feel pretty good. It’s a great feeling and I can feel Beej’s presence in here when I came in and that’s what we were trying to accomplish,” she added.

She also admitted she slept little, if at all, the previous night in nervous anticipation of the unveiling.

Huskies sport and information director Nicole Betker said the approximate cost of the new dressing room was $20,000 and also announced that a new scholarship in Jarrett’s name will be available to Huskies athletes in fall 2010.

Huskies point guard Showron Glover joined the team just months prior to Jarrett’s passing and, regardless of the short time they knew each other, Glover evidently gained a lot of respect for Jarrett in their athletic relationship.

Glover was more than content with the renovations and said the addition of blown up game photos of himself and other Huskies players in the entrance serves a pre-game motivator.

“Right before you walk in and you see (the) big pictures, you’re fired up ”“ it’s like, ”˜oh man!’ ” said the 5’10 Huskies athlete, while also joking that the life-size stature of the pictures were actually larger than him.

Glover went on to collect 46 points in the Huskies Jan. 8 matchup against the Simon Fraser University Clan in Saskatchewan’s 102-81 win. Glover became the highest point scorer in a single game throughout Canada West this season and was awarded athlete of the week for his performance against SFU. Looks like Jarrett’s locker room did the trick and was just the remedy the Green and White needed during what is a critical point in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport season.

The Dogs now sit in second place behind Regina in the Canada West Prairie division with a 5-5 record.

The Huskies men’s basketball team resumes play against the Spartans when they travel to British Columbia for games on Jan. 15 and 16.

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photo: Robby Davis