By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Back at the beginning of January 2019, the UCLA Bruins were playing against the Oregon Ducks. Down 84-82 with a couple of minutes to play in overtime, Moses Brown received a pass in transition, stopped avoiding a traveling violation, and dished it out at his left.
However, the future NBA professional didn’t showcase the best of his passing abilities, as that ball couldn’t reach any of his teammates. He walked back to his half-court, desolate.
Jaylen Hands immediately reached him, aced his hand under Moses Brown’s chin, and tilted his head back up. That’s the sign of an absolute leader, recognizing the sense of urgency displayed in such a scenario. More than six years in the making, things may have changed, but he’s still providing leadership.
UCLA’s Jaylen Hands reminds Moses Brown to keep his head up. Real leaders bring out the best — not the worst — in those around them.pic.twitter.com/O4zkgCdK8V
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 13, 2019
After graduating from college, he was selected with the 56th overall pick in the following NBA Draft and immediately moved to the Brooklyn Nets, despite not making any official appearances in the league.
He ended up spending time with future EuroLeague players like Dzanan Musa, Justin Anderson, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot in the G-League with the Long Island Nets. From then on, an overseas journey with FMP Belgrade, Ludwigsburg, Antwerp, PAOK, Peristeri, and now Varese.
With the Italian team, Jaylen Hands is now fighting to avoid relegation to the second division. Following Rob Gray’s departure from Scafati, he became the leading scorer of the league at 19.3 points per game.
Why move to Italy? Why play for Varese?
After reaching the Play-Ins in the 2022-23 Basketball Champions League campaign with PAOK, last season, he chose to prolong his stay in Greece with Peristeri.
Things ultimately didn’t work out at best, also due to a three-month injury break, and he was forced to move away from the league to join Zunder Palencia in the ACB. Jaylen Hands tried his best, but the team fell short, finishing 18th and getting back to the Spanish second division.
It isn’t always easy to bounce back with the right motivation after coming off a relegation season, especially because in the meantime, Peristeri had reached the Basketball Champions League Final Four.
Varese looked ideal to restart his upward European trajectory. “Our initial plans were to compete at the highest level. They were also big on development, showing that the guards they have had here really had the chance to show their game. I thought I would fit into the system”, he opened to Eurohoops.
At the end of the day, the historic side from Northern Italy has had several prominent American guards on board in the past few years: Mike Green, Terran Pettaway, and recently Colbey Ross – among others.
“You can just see the proof in the pudding. A lot of people, a lot of guards, come to Italy. When you start thinking of the best leagues in Europe, it immediately comes to the forefront. When I was considering coming here, knowing that the team was in Italy and that I could compete, it was a big deal.”
“Seeing the long list of people that came here and did their thing, especially at the guard position, such as Colbey [Ross], made me think I could be one of those,” Hands continued.
Not only. Having around a former NBA and EuroLeague veteran, such as Luis Scola, president of the team, helped too. “I would say that Varese presented the entire project first in recruitment, and then [Luis] Scola was definitely mentioned within that. He’s been amazing.”
“He understands the pressure, the stress of a basketball player, the European system. He understands our goals. He’s been really helpful with maintaining a calm atmosphere within our program.”
JAYLEN HANDS ON FIRE 🔥🔥🔥
42 punti, 15 nel solo 4° periodo. E W per Varese ⚪🔴🎉#LBASerieA #Basket #Varese #Hands #LBA pic.twitter.com/hfNFmgA21C
— Eurosport IT (@Eurosport_IT) March 30, 2025
“I have nothing but good things to say about him. I think it was nice knowing that he was the leader because I definitely remember when I was in middle and high school, watching him play for the Rockets,” the 26-year-old American guard commented about the Argentinian legend.
While individually he has been living off the best personal campaigns of his professional career, if not the best, when thinking collectively, the same can’t be said about Pallacanestro Varese as a whole.
“I believed our team could get some wins. But getting into the season, it gets tough sometimes,” he said. Indeed, with four games left to be played – against Sassari, Virtus Bologna, Trieste, and Venezia -, they are four points (16) ahead of the relegation zone, occupied by Scafati (12) and Pistoia (10).
From January 19th to March 23rd, they lost eight games in a row, conceding more than 100 points on four occasions. However, they bounced back well, beating two direct opponents like Scafati and Napoli.
“That stretch was very difficult. [The way you react to it] goes back to your character, what kind of person you want to be, and what type of player you want to be. Do you want to be someone who caves in when it gets hard, or do you want to be someone who sticks your chest out coming to practice every day?”
“It works with the thought in mind that we can turn this around, with the thought in mind that I want to be a part of the group that turns this around. That’s how I look at it,” Jaylen Hands expressed.
“I want to be a fighter. I took pride in coming to work every day, continuing to have a good face for the team, working on my game individually, and keeping a strong base.” Words aren’t usually followed by facts, but his numbers prove it: Jaylen Hands has been unstoppable in recent weeks.
In the past three games, he has averaged 30.3 points, shooting 55.0% from deep over 9.7 attempts, and averaging 69.3% of True Shooting according to Hack a Stat. He had a 42-point career-high over Scafati.
“I’m in the groove right now, and I just try to maintain it. We won two of the last three games, so that’s super important. It’s a super challenging league. Especially for our team, there is no week off. Every game is important and I just try to go out there with my team and put my best my best moving forward.”
Could Jaylen Hands stick to the EuroLeague?
If you take a look at whatever highlights mixtape from Jaylen Hands’ games, you’ll immediately notice how smart he switches the changing pace from dribbling to collecting the ball and letting it fly. The shooting mechanics and the slow-paced maneuver of his jumper are pretty much unique.
“I used to watch a lot of NBA when I was younger, and I noticed that a lot of the top players would have an easy time getting to their spots, rising, and shooting,” he recalled.
“I love basketball, I was in my backyard for hours and hours after homework before the sun went down, working on my jumper. My dad was heavy on my jumper. That definitely has a role in me today. I know that a defender shouldn’t know when you’re shooting and when you’re driving.
“If you really know and believe that, you have faith in your skills, I feel that a shot should never be ‘rush’, because you’re in control. You should be in control at all times,” Hands added.
Moreover, being the league’s leading scorer brings an additional level of complexity to the equation. On any given weekend, Varese’s No.50 knows he will be the opposing defense’s main target. On the other hand – no pun intended -, he’s also conscious of how his defenders will react.
“When you play a team, you definitely want to know what kind of defense they have. Are they more physical? Are they a more packed defense? Are they more open?” he listed.
So you can envision what kind of opportunities you have from there based on the team’s philosophy and how they play. And from there, you go into the team: who are their defenders, who they’re going to put on you, and who on the team takes pride in defense.”
“From there, you can look at their movements, how hard they’re playing possession after possession. That gives you a good sense of what to expect. You can decipher what game is going to be,” he added.
That’s something offensive killers learn as their careers progress. Talking about somebody never satisfied with his career, even though he managed to establish himself as one of the most memorable players in European basketball’s history, Jaylen Hands was coached by none other than Kill Bill.
“Being coached by [Vassilis] Spanoulis is definitely something that helped me, even today. I got hurt last year, I was out for 3 months. It wasn’t fortunate that I didn’t get to play as long as I should have,” he said.
“But he’s amazing. He really showed me that there’s another level of drivenness, of locked in, of fight that all players must get to. Something I’ll never forget is that he told me he had a great career, but there were still things he wanted to get better at, that he wanted to do, that he felt he left on the table.”
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“To hear that from a guy like him just drives you to realize there is no end-goal. You should always be fighting. You should always be calling for more, more, and more. That’s what I took from him.”
“It’s no surprise to see that he’s having the success he has now,” Hands added on AS Monaco’s head coach. Alongside the Greek legend, in Peristeri, he was also around another basketball mastermind. “Joe [Ragland]’s a great player, he’s a legend in Europe,” he said about the experienced point guard.
“He’s done amazing things. He’s still going strong and has a lot of years ahead of him. I remember the first day I got there, we just got there, and we had our first practice. He was talking to his big, his wings, and the team, like that was his 10th month. I’ve never seen something like this.”
“I think he has great leadership. Coming to practice every day with him was great because he’s going to go at it, and he’s a great player. He let Peristeri do some great things last year,” Hands commented.
After adjusting to several environments and teams all throughout the Old Continent, with four seasons of experience in his tank, it might be time to land in the EuroLeague for the American guard, who has shown several teams at the highest level that he is ready for it.
“EuroLeague is the goal, it’s the highest level of basketball in Europe. My main goal in terms of the EuroLeague is to be someone who can stick. It’s super hard to get there. There’s a lot you have to prove.”
“I’m definitely someone who can test that. But when I get there, because I plan to get there, I want to be someone who sticks, someone who stays, someone who leaves an impact on the team, on the league, someone who wins,” he commented, eyeing his future in the competition.
“Right now, it’s just developing all the traits, habits, and tools needed. So when I get there, I could be someone whom some people compare themselves to. But that takes time, work, and dedication. It’s a journey that I’d love to be on. I’m currently on it right now.”
His first-ever overseas experience made him talk with someone who has turned that mentality into concreteness. “I appreciate certain journeys. When I first got to Europe, I went to FMP for like 3-4-5 months in Serbia. The player I got to talk to a little bit there was Jordan Loyd,” he remembered.
“He was starting out there, and I got to see how serious he took his craft; how serious he took a sense of stability in his game. I appreciate journeys like that, where he has a certain type of drive and focus.”
“Focus is the word. I love his focus. That got him to the place where he is now, where you look up, and he’s been in the EuroLeague for five-six years,” Jaylen Hands explained, pointing out the current AS Monaco guard as the perfect example for the kind of journey he wants to embrace.
Avoiding relegation with Varese, as the previously mentioned sense of urgency, Jaylen Hands could focus next on his future. By how he expresses himself on and off the court, however, it looks pretty bright.
PHOTO CREDIT: Alberto Ossola / Pallacanestro Varese