Iona Basketball Star Berrick JeanLouis ’22 is Driven to Succeed On and Off the Court
When Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino calls you out of the blue, it makes you seriously reconsider what you thought your next steps on the path of life would be.
That’s what happened to Berrick JeanLouis ’22, who was playing hoops at Florida Southwestern State College at the time.
“I was ready to commit to another school and then Rick Pitino called me and I was like oh shoot!” said Berrick, Iona’s senior guard. “I told my gym coach Rick Pitino is calling me and he was like, ‘You have to go there. No questions asked.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, definitely.’”
Playing for a leader as accomplished as Pitino is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What are some of the lessons Berrick will always keep with him?
“There’s always room to improve and losing should never be an option,” said Berrick, who wears No. 0. “That definitely factors in off the court, too. It makes you want to work harder. It shows you a different way of life – there are always other ways to see things.”
Born and raised in Florida, Berrick is the youngest of five sisters and three brothers, all of whom have college degrees. There was no question Berrick would get his, too. A Criminal Justice major, he completed his degree at Iona in 2022 and gets to play basketball an extra year because the NCAA extended eligibility for all athletes due to the pandemic.
“I had no choice but to get my degree,” Berrick said with a laugh, adding that he is ultra-competitive. “But it felt good. My dad was super proud.”
The path hasn’t always been easy, though, especially having to persevere through a pandemic. Frequent quarantines. Uncertain game schedules. No fans in the crowd. It was not how he envisioned his college experience, but it brought him even closer to his teammates, he said.
“It’s going to be a crazy story to tell your kids someday,” said Berrick. “The COVID years were super different – we had to make our own energy on the court. When we had our first home game back and it was packed, it was like, ‘Woah!’ It felt great. We feed off the crowd a lot. We need them. When they’re cheering us on, it’s like, ‘Ok, let’s go!’”
So, what’s it like being a star athlete? Remarkably, there’s no difference between him and any other student on campus, Berrick said.
“We’re all just students out there like anyone else. I just stay focused,” he said. “What I like at Iona is that you can make friends with other students – you have a little space. People can talk to you and get to know how you really are, as a person.”