More than an athlete: Jason Landman
Photo by Reily Rogers, Lee Athletic Communications
When he’s not posting up on his opponents to score a point or rebounding the basketball, business administration master’s student and fifth-year senior Jason Landman often socializes with friends, works with the intramural program at Lee University or cheers on all of Lee’s athletic teams. Landman plays center for Lee’s basketball team and has been on the team since his freshman year.
Landman started playing basketball in seventh grade and has played for the Flames for five years. He has enjoyed the culture and experiences it has brought during his time at Lee.
Landman has an extra year of playing eligibility due to COVID-19 and has taken advantage of it. For him, the biggest reward is “having an extra year of opportunity to play the game [he] fell in love with and to spend another year with [his] friends and teammates, and build relationships for one more year.”
As a graduate student, time management looks far different for Landman than it did when he was an undergraduate.
“I’m waking up earlier and getting a faster start on the work during the week instead of waiting till the last few days to get it done,” said Landman. “[I’m] really just doing everything around our basketball work schedule.”
Despite Landman’s hectic schedule, he reserves time to have fun and spend time with friends.
“I’m a very social person, so I love just being around other people, whether it’s regular student friends that I have or my teammates,” said Landman. “We also work for an intramural program, so we’re around a lot of the student body every day of the week. I go to every sporting event; soccer, tennis, baseball, softball … ”
Alongside Landman, his teammate and friend Michael McGuirk joined him in the master’s program in business administration as a fifth-year senior. They have been playing together for their five years at Lee and are best friends.
“As a person, [Landman] is definitely outgoing. He’s very, very talkative, and he always demands the room wherever he’s at. He’s a really good teammate,” said McGuirk. “[We] have been together for five years, so we’re best friends. We’ve been roommates ever since we got here, too. He always tries to make everyone around him better, and I feel like that’s a good quality to have.”
McGuirk says Landman is vocal on the court, brings a lot of energy to the game and brings his teammates up to his energy level, whereas off the court, he is more laid back and always involved in something social.
“You can tell a lot of the younger guys really respect him in the locker room because every day he comes in, and he works, and, like I said, he always brings the energy,” said McGuirk.
Head Coach Ryan Smith has enjoyed getting to know Landman over the years and said Landman is a great example of what a consistent team player looks like.
“He’s a really, really good teammate. He really wants to get it right and help his team win,” said Smith. “He’s a true model student athlete for us. He handles his business in the classroom, he performs at a high level academically, he’s engaged on campus … and always has been that way since day one.”
For more information on the Flames basketball team, visit leeuflames.com. To learn more about Jason Landman, check out the Lee Clarion Instagram story on Nov. 29.
