University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Jailyn Ingram
January 09, 2023 | Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Georgia's 25-year-old quarterback Stetson Bennett isn't the only older-than-average player in action these days. Men's basketball's Jailyn Ingram is now participating in his seventh collegiate season after returning from a major knee injury sustained in the ninth game of last season.
A 6-foot-7 forward from Madison, Ga., Ingram started 105 games and scored 1,334 points over five years at Florida Atlantic, where he earned a degree in Criminal Justice. After transferring to Georgia for the 2021-22 season, Ingram averaged 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds before he had his season cut short by injury.
On Nov. 27, Ingram returned to action with four minutes during Georgia's win over East Tennessee State. He scored 14 points in 20 minutes a few days later against Hampton. It was a long road back, during which Ingram learned a lot about patience and how to be a good teammate even when you can't take the floor.
During a recent Quick Chat, Ingram, who is pursuing a master's in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, talked about returning from injury, leading from the sideline, enjoying family time, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What does it feel like to be back playing again?
Ingram: It feels surreal. Going out last year, your head is everywhere thinking about everything. Once you kind of process what happens, you've got to go through the actual process of rehabbing — going through bad days and good days. Just to know that all of that is behind me now and I'm actually able to play the game that I love, it's amazing.
Frierson: What have you learned about patience through all of this?
Ingram: You've got to have patience every day. Some days you feel like you can do something, other days you feel like you can't. It's easy to get frustrated with it, and I've just got to know that as long as I follow the trainers say, I'll be ready to come back and play.
Frierson: Did you see the kind of leader you are evolve over the past year?
Ingram: When you're limited physically, you've got to be more vocal. I basically challenged myself to be more vocal, and to lead from the side instead of being a leader by example. It's tough because sometimes you feel like if you were there to lead by example, it would be a little bit easier.
When it comes to leading vocally from the side, it's kind of hard because I can tell these guys what they need to with this or that, but if I'm not out there myself, it's kind of hard. It's challenging, but I think it helped us along.
Frierson: Was that even harder going into this season because of all of the new players on the team? You were a veteran and a leader, but these guys didn't know you and for a while you couldn't be out there with them.
Ingram: That definitely was a concern for me, from my standpoint, because I know there are lot of guys coming from well-respected programs, so them not really knowing me, would they listen to me? I know if it was different and I was out there on the court with them, I could lead by example and say something — more so than, you need to do this or you need to pick this up, coming from someone they don't know.
Frierson: We're doing this a few days before Christmas, so do you have a favorite family holiday tradition?
Ingram: Around holiday time, we all get together, whether it's cook a big meal or meet at one spot and just do something. It's nothing too crazy, it's just being together and being in each other's company is pretty much what we do every holiday. ...
With basketball being a sport that's in both semesters, we miss a lot of time on the breaks. Any little time that you get with your family, you try to cherish it and make the most of it.
Frierson: What has it been like bringing together this group of players, a lot of them new, with a new coach in Mike White?
Ingram: Coach did a good job of recruiting guys; he recruited guys that wanted to win and compete at a high level. Coming in, everybody had the same goal: we all want to win and change the culture around Georgia. It's kind of easy to jell when you've got so many of the same mindsets in the same place.
We're just competing and fine-tuning the little things each and every day. I think that's what's gotten us to this point so far.
Frierson: If you could play with or against any player in history, who would it be?
Ingram: I think I would want to play either Charles Mann or Kenny Gaines (two former Bulldogs now on the staff, with Mann as the director of recruiting and Gaines as a graduate manager). Just seeing those locker room, on the court, on the sideline, they're full of life and good energy.
They're guys that had success when they were here, so they know what it takes. Just for them to bring me up under their wings and show me the way, I would have loved to do that.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
