On Stockton’s senior night, Jax Baxter was recognized for his four years on the varsity basketball team. Just outside of that gymnasium, a table displayed all of his best moments from the sport. Including a photo of Baxter dribbling a basketball while riding a bike.
“I was still a little goofy at the time and wanting to have fun with it so I decided hey why not develop my ball handling by riding a bike and dribbling at the same time,” the senior forward said.
Jax was good at hoops from a young age, but no basketball star overnight.
“I’m going to put him on the spot here but in the seventh grade he was kind of one of those kids who struggled to shoot outside of 15 feet,” said Stockton Head Boys Basketball Coach Ryan Pate.
He kept to the hardwood for one sole reason.
“My biggest dream for a long time was just to be able to play with my brother, Jay,” Baxter said. “That was honestly the big motivation behind it all the way up to high school. I got to play with my brother. I wanna play with big bro.”
“Big bro” might not be completely accurate.
“I’ve got about an inch on my brother, so that feels really good,” Baxter said.
Baxter is 6-foot-6-inches and while his defense comes up clutch, the senior can score…a lot. Adding his own flare to his three pointers.
“We’ve always kind of joked about three point celebrations, I like to do the pistols,” Baxter said. “Like gun slingers or whatever. I pulled that one out a few weeks ago and it stuck since.”
From three point land to down low, Baxter does it all. Reaching 1,000 career points and surpassing the Stockton all-time scoring record this past January with 1682 points and counting.
There is one other record he has his eyes on.
“Trying to get my brother’s rebound record, I would say if I could get one it would be that one,” Baxter said.
Jax is over 50 boards shy of his brother’s record with just one regular season game to go.
“It’s coming to an end, but I’m looking forward to making the most of it and hopefully going on to the next level,” Baxter said.
Jax plans to play college basketball—the destination still unknown. For the Stockton basketball program, one thing is certain: Baxter’s legacy will last for years to come.
