Basketball player Jules Vassallo commits to UMass Boston

When coach/teacher/mentor/ Vietnam veteran Jeff Jasper gives you a compliment you know that you are special.

“Jules has a number of great trends and the one that always sticks out to me is her incredible work ethic,” coach Jeff Jasper said. “She’s always working on her craft and takes every drill to its max. That’s why she’s made herself such a fine player. “

Jules Vassallo has always been a key player for PV and her work ethic proves that. From all the hard work she puts in during practice to the connections and leadership that she has shown Jasper recognizes her as one of the hardest workers he has ever coached.

Keep in mind Jasper is one of the few high school coaches with over 1,000 wins meaning that he knows his way around and has coached hundreds of players.

“I’ve only coached a handful of kids who over the course of their four years of playing basketball, never took the drill off and went hard all the time, and Jules is one of them.”

Vassallo’s journey has just begun and she looks to continue it as she goes to UMass Boston which stuck out to her in comparison to other schools that offered her to play.

“I was looking at another top choice in Suny Brockport and Suny Plattsburgh which are in upstate New York,” Vassallo said. “I had some other ones but those are my top three.

I like Boston [because it is] a great city and there’s so much to do there. Also [I liked] meeting the team and the coach, [resulting in] a great atmosphere for me. They were all so welcoming and I like the style of play that the coach was doing.”

She isn’t just excited for her commitment to UMass as she will be the leader of the Panthers girls basketball team.

This team isn’t just a normal group of girls they are very tight with one another as they are there for each other.

“They helped me a lot by just being by my side through all the ups and downs, and I think that especially with Valley basketball, the long gold line is something that is really important,” Vassallo said. “They are friends and teammates and they’re always there for you.”