Jake Dadika Jake Dadika is a point guard on the Spotswood High School boys basketball team, and it’s a position he thrives in.
“That’s really where I enjoy playing,” the senior said. “I like the fact I have the ball in my hands and can make plays for myself and the other guys on the team.”
That, in essence, describes what Dadika does on the court. Whether draining deadly accurate jump shots from the perimeter or firing passes down low in the pivot into the waiting hands of teammates, Dadika likes to be involved.
And he should be. Dadika comes from quality stock when it comes to the ability to execute on the court. His father, Rich, played for Rutgers University in the late-1980s and is seventh in school history among the alltime leaders in 3-point field goals (163). The younger Dadika proved the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when, as a junior, he sank 62 3-point attempts and led the Chargers with a 19.5 points-per-game average.
Bombing from the outside isn’t Dadika’s only focus when he’s on the court.
“If we’re on offense, I’m looking for my whole team to be involved in addition to getting good looks at the rim,” Dadika said. “Defensively, I’m thinking about being in position, playing hard and motivating my teammates to play equally hard so we make stops and transition into easy baskets going the other way.”
The Milltown native began his high school career at St. Joseph High School of Metuchen, where he looked to join the long list of Falcons who have enjoyed outstanding careers. After his freshman season, Dadika decided he didn’t want to remain at St. Joe’s.
“I just didn’t feel [St. Joseph] was the right fit for me,” he said. “Plus, I really wanted to play with the friends I grew up with in Milltown [who were now at Spotswood].”
With one season to go in his high school career, Dadika believes he made the right decision to transfer to Spotswood. He considers last year’s 21-8 season, including a run in the NJSIAA Group II playoffs, the most satisfying of his career.
“The best moment had to be our win over Carteret in the playoffs that advanced us to the semifinals [in Central Jersey Group II],” he said. “We lost two very close games [to them] during the regular season, which caused us to finish second in the Blue [Division]. So it was great to take them in the states and advance.”
Dadika said he and his teammates want to have similar success this season, but go further in the states. “We have definite goals about what we want to do this year,” Dadika said. “First, we want to win the Blue Division this time around and make it back to the quarterfinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, maybe even the semifinals. Our final goal is to win our state sectional tournament.”
Dadika’s ultimate goal is to duplicate what his father managed during his basketball career — play collegiately. He said a number of schools have expressed interest in him already, including Saint Anselm College, Assumption College, Franklin & Marshall College, the University of
Scranton and the University of
Rochester.
It’s natural to assume that Dadika gravitated to basketball because his father excelled in the sport, but he maintains that wasn’t the case.
“I actually played multiple sports growing up, but made the decision to focus just on basketball because I loved the game,” he said. “I was fortunate to have a father who understands the sport and could coach me on the finer points of the game.”
Support hasn’t only come from his father.
“My parents have been very involved in my life, both athletically and academically,” he said. “They both travel to my tournaments and games. My mom will always help me with my schoolwork when I need it and has always been there for me. My brother [Eric, a sophomore at Spotswood] and I work out together all the time and we’re very competitive, trying hard to stop each other. Plus, my dad works out with us and corrects things in our games to make us better.”
“I think I have a pretty good balance between my academics and athletics,” Dadika said regarding the challenge of playing a varsity sport and maintaining his grades. “I have an A average in all of my classes, which includes honors courses, and have been inducted into the National Honor Society. I try to work out with a basketball or do strength training six times a week, in addition to playing for an AAU team in the spring and summer.”
Dadika’s high school coach, Steve Mate, said the effort his standout player puts into making himself better has made his job easier.
“Jake is a hard worker who puts an enormous amount of time into his game,” Mate said. “He is a quiet leader who leads by example in practice and games. Recently, Jake showed his leadership ability by leading a practice this summer and showed his daily routine to the younger players on our team.
“Jake has accomplished a lot during his time here at Spotswood,” the coach added. “I have all the confidence in the world he’ll become a good college player when he reaches that level.”