University High’s Jarvis Is a Man for All Seasons : Preps: The standout baseball player is earning accolades for his play on the basketball team.

Doug Jarvis of University High would have a difficult time trying to persuade opponents that he is not one of the most versatile athletes in the City Section.

In the past three years, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Jarvis has been a standout in basketball and baseball.

As a baseball player, he has developed into one of the City’s top prospects. The pitcher and outfielder helped the Warriors to the top ranking among City schools for most of last season.

As a guard on the basketball team, Jarvis may be the City’s best-kept secret. He ranks among the City’s top scorers and rebounders with a 21.5-point and 10-rebound a game average.

Thanks in part to Jarvis, University may be the surprise team of the area.

“He is really playing fine and we rely on him a lot,” Coach Jim Nakabara said. “We rely on him for his outside shooting, and on top of that, we’ve been playing him inside also.”

Jarvis’ outside shooting distinguishes him from other players.

“I consider him the best outside shooter that I’ve ever coached,” said Nakabara, who has coached at University for 10 years. “There’s no question about that.”

Jarvis credits playing with his two older brothers, who also played at University, for helping him develop his basketball playing skills.

Before he ever played in an organized game, Jarvis used to tag along with his brothers, who are 10 and 12 years older, to their games.

“We would go out and play together and whenever I played with people my age, I was always one of the better players,” Jarvis said.

Nakabara used to see the younger Jarvis when he coached his brothers at a local recreation center.

“I had heard that he was a good player, but I had never seen him play,” Nakabara said. “The first time I saw him play was when he enrolled at University as a 10th-grader.”

It did not take long for Jarvis to have an impact with the Warriors. He started several games as a sophomore, and Nakabara knew that he had something special.

“He was a hard worker like his brothers, but was more of a natural athlete than they were,” Nakabara said.

Nakabara was impressed how quickly Jarvis adjusted to playing facing the basket. Before arriving at University, Jarvis had been primarily a post-up player.

“I had to work on my outside shot once I got to high school,” Jarvis said. “That’s when I really discovered that I could shoot.”

Since his sophomore season, Jarvis has steadily increased his shooting range. He has gone from being an adequate shooter from behind the high school three-point line to an accurate shooter from NBA three-point distance.

“Nothing is ever forced with him,” Nakabara said. “I would like to think that it was my coaching, but mostly it has to do with him. Jarvis is just a hard-working person who improved himself.”

Jarvis is undecided on which sport he would like to play in college, although he gives baseball an edge.

“I don’t know if I’m underrated or not as a basketball player,” said Jarvis, who has a 3.5 grade-point average. “But, I think that it hurt me when I didn’t play in any summer league camps because I was playing baseball.”

Jarvis is only concerned about basketball at the moment because of the success the Warriors have had. Nakabara says Jarvis’ interest shows.

“He has become a leader on the team,” Nakabara said. “He is not as talkative, but his demeanor on the court shows the way. He always plays to win and plays for the team. His confidence just rubs off on the other players.”