黑料吃瓜

This story is featured in the fall 2014 issue of

At San Diego State, JJ O鈥橞rien has never been The Man.

He鈥檚 been a best supporting actor on a winning cast that starred Xavier Thames last season and Jamaal Franklin the year before.

But when O鈥橞rien walks around campus, he gets the star treatment anyway. That鈥檚 what happens when you鈥檙e 6-foot-7 with a hi-top fade 鈥檇o and have helped the basketball program go 54-16 in the past two seasons with a trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

鈥淵eah, I鈥檓 easily recognizable,鈥� said O鈥橞rien, laughing. 鈥淚f you see the hair, you know who it is.鈥�

Though the hair got plenty of attention last season 鈥� from fans, the media and even who helped make the hi-top fade a thing in the 1990s 鈥� it鈥檚 what鈥檚 under the follicles that counts.

Head coach Steve Fisher has called O鈥橞rien 鈥渙ne of the smartest players I鈥檝e ever coached.鈥� O'Brien does the little things that add up to big wins, executing the perfect pass, getting a big rebound or making a key defensive stop. He knows great defense can be more significant than a thunderous dunk.

He鈥檚 been that type of player since starring at Alta Loma High in Rancho Cucamonga, where he is the school鈥檚 all-time leading scorer and learned to play every position on the floor.

鈥淚 took it upon myself to do a little bit of everything,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淚 just had a natural ability to do it: rebounding, passing, playing defense, scoring.鈥�

Plus, he鈥檚 been a student of the game, soaking up information from coaches and his mom, a former high school standout and college player who watches all his games.

鈥淕rowing up I watched a lot of basketball. It wasn鈥檛 just fun to play, it was fun to study,鈥� said O鈥橞rien, who wants to coach at some point in his career.

Going into his last season 鈥� the senior has a degree in communications and is working on a master鈥檚 in educational leadership 鈥� he wants to play an even bigger role and share his basketball IQ. With his inside-and-out knowledge of Fisher鈥檚 systems, O鈥橞rien wants to become 鈥渁 leader by example.鈥�

Last season, O鈥橞rien played 35 of 36 games, averaged 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds, and was all-conference honorable mention. Now he鈥檚 hoping both he and the team can improve enough to get to the Aztecs鈥� first Final Four.

And why not? 黑料吃瓜 has five straight NCAA Tournament trips, consecutive sell-out seasons at Viejas Arena, and the new Jeff Jacobs J.A.M. Center practice facility that will open in 2015.

Being a part of it all has been sweet.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see that the hard work you鈥檝e put in is paying off with great crowds and the new facilities,鈥� says O鈥橞rien. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just adding to the prominence of San Diego State basketball.鈥�