As a young boy, Jonathan Harper would be glued to the television watching Ahmad Rashad on “NBA Inside Stuff” and SportsCenter on ESPN memorizing not only the player’s statistical data, but also their biographical information. Jonathan would practice his craft ad nauseam. It was not until he attended Xavier University of Louisiana that Jonathan had the outward desire to move beyond the television set and further develop this newly acquired skill set in a much more structured and sophisticated environment. While at Xavier, Jonathan walked on to the basketball team his freshman year and would go on to become a two-time all-conference performer in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
At Xavier, he found the time to co-host a show on XU-TV that mirrored ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.” Jonathan developed tapes for the show, but unfortunately the entire communication studio was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region in 2005. Harper then went on to work at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut as a production assistant before returning home to southern California to be closer to family and explore the possibility of playing professionally. Harper would go on to earn a roster spot at the Gary Steelheads open tryout of the Continental Basketball Association after completing his stint at ESPN.
Jonathan also earned a master's in broadcast and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Newhouse has a long-standing history of producing outstanding media alumni and it was an honor for him to have been a part of this rigorous curriculum.
Upon graduation, Harper went on to serve as a multimedia journalist at KSPR in Springfield, Missouri in media market 74 followed by freelancing as a sports reporter WAFB in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Cox Sports Television in New Orleans, Louisiana. Some of his assignments included covering the LSU Tigers, Southern University Jaguars and New Orleans Saints. While covering hard news and an array of sports over the years, Jonathan always knew he would return to the sideline and get back to his first love and that's basketball. After a coaching stint in West Palm Beach, Florida at Royal Palm Beach High School, Coach Harper decided to move back to southern California and work with the Wasserman Sports Agency in their basketball division to prepare college and international basketball players for the NBA Draft. In addition to pre-draft training, Harper worked with countless high school, college and NBA veteran players each summer. Jonathan coached the 16U "Team Truth" on the Nike EYBL circuit based out of Los Angeles. The Xavier University and Syracuse University graduate has served as an assistant coach and head coach on multiple high school boys basketball staffs in Los Angeles, California. He is currently co-hosting a sports related podcast called "J and J Radio" and working as a Director of Marketing and Communications at a private high school in Los Angeles.
At Xavier, he found the time to co-host a show on XU-TV that mirrored ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.” Jonathan developed tapes for the show, but unfortunately the entire communication studio was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region in 2005. Harper then went on to work at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut as a production assistant before returning home to southern California to be closer to family and explore the possibility of playing professionally. Harper would go on to earn a roster spot at the Gary Steelheads open tryout of the Continental Basketball Association after completing his stint at ESPN.
Jonathan also earned a master's in broadcast and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Newhouse has a long-standing history of producing outstanding media alumni and it was an honor for him to have been a part of this rigorous curriculum.
Upon graduation, Harper went on to serve as a multimedia journalist at KSPR in Springfield, Missouri in media market 74 followed by freelancing as a sports reporter WAFB in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Cox Sports Television in New Orleans, Louisiana. Some of his assignments included covering the LSU Tigers, Southern University Jaguars and New Orleans Saints. While covering hard news and an array of sports over the years, Jonathan always knew he would return to the sideline and get back to his first love and that's basketball. After a coaching stint in West Palm Beach, Florida at Royal Palm Beach High School, Coach Harper decided to move back to southern California and work with the Wasserman Sports Agency in their basketball division to prepare college and international basketball players for the NBA Draft. In addition to pre-draft training, Harper worked with countless high school, college and NBA veteran players each summer. Jonathan coached the 16U "Team Truth" on the Nike EYBL circuit based out of Los Angeles. The Xavier University and Syracuse University graduate has served as an assistant coach and head coach on multiple high school boys basketball staffs in Los Angeles, California. He is currently co-hosting a sports related podcast called "J and J Radio" and working as a Director of Marketing and Communications at a private high school in Los Angeles.
© Copyright 2013 Jonathan Harper