Donahue Makes Early Call
There hasn’t been a shot-maker in New England to have a better start to the AAU season than Northfield Mount Hermon and Middlesex Magic sniper Jackson Donahue, and yet just when his recruitment seemed on the verge of taking off, he’s called it quits with a verbal commitment to the University of Pennsylvania.
Donahue visited UPenn last Friday and made a commitment just six days later.
“It just felt right,” Donahue said. “The connections that I was hoping to make on the visit, I definitely made…with the college, the coaches, the city, the players that I met…everything just felt right.”
Both Donahue and NMH head coach John Carroll credited new Penn assistant coach Nat Graham for jumpstarting the Quakers’ pursuit of the Connecticut native. Graham previously coached Donahue’s older brother and former NMH product, Sam, at Boston College and quickly made Jackson a priority upon arriving in Philadelphia.
“I think he really got it going for me,” Donahue said of Graham, “and once I got down there it definitely took off.”
Donahue arrived at Northfield Mount Hermon this year with the reputation for being a guard who could make shots in bunches, but he has improved by leaps and bounds in the nine months since, becoming a more efficient shooter while also diversifying his game.
“I definitely have improved,” Donahue said. “Coming from public school where there wasn’t much discipline from what I was and wasn’t supposed to do, coming here has definitely changed my understanding of shot selection. I’ve gotten stronger and tougher. I’ve gotten in the weight room, which was something I really needed.”
Donahue has also become more of a consistent threat and decision maker to handle the ball in pick and roll while adding other new subtleties to his game.
“I think his versatility is undervalued and I think his defensive presence is undervalued,” NMH head coach John Carroll said. “He’s an unbelievable teammate and the highest level of competitor.”
“Just playing and being around these guys on a daily basis has been a privilege,” Donahue said of his teammates. “You can’t help but get better playing with these guys every day.”
Donahue played in all 34 games for NMH this season, knocking down 92 threes during that time while averaging over 11 points per game.
His commitment marks the 10th consecutive year that NMH has sent a player to the Ivy League and also their 12th in the last 5 years.
Here are some of Donahue’s highlights from his junior season:
Jackson Donahue