If you’ve seen WSU guard Jabe Mullins on the court knocking down threes in Beasley Coliseum, it might be hard to imagine that it all started in a gym with carpeted floors. His rise to a Division I sharpshooter took far more than just skill.

Mullins, just like so many kids, used to shoot hoops outside his neighbor’s house before he decided to play organized basketball; yes, in a gym with a carpeted floor. For Mullins, he was following in the footsteps of his dad and his brother in playing the game, and it helped that he was good at it, too.

He began playing AAU basketball in third grade, but it was not until eighth grade that it became apparent to him that college basketball was a reality. 

The progress from that point on was so rapid that he received his first D-1 offer from Eastern Washington University as a high school freshman. Despite being the only one from his friend group getting offered, he knew he could not stop there.

“I knew I couldn’t stop working and I was like, ‘I want to have a lot of schools, a lot of options,’” Mullins said. “I got a couple [offers] my sophomore year and then I kind of blew up my junior year, started playing well, and it was a little tough navigating that because it’s like, I already got an offer, I don’t want to work today […] But you wanna work so you can be good in college, and go to the NBA and be good in the NBA.”

Mullins went to Mt. Si High School in Snoqualmie, Washington, but out of high school, he decided to go to St. Mary’s University. After two years he transferred to WSU in pursuit of an opportunity to secure more playing time, he said, but the lessons he learned in those two years helped shape the player he is now.

“In high school, I could shoot a little but I was more of a playmaker and more of a finisher. I got [to St. Mary’s] and they kind of stuck me at the three to just strictly shoot. All my workouts over there were just about shooting, shooting, shooting, so it kind of turned me into a good shooter,” Mullins said. “I also learned they’re strictly defense over there, so I learned how to play some defense.”

Despite becoming a great shooter, Mullins said he does not “really like being a good shooter at heart,” and prefers the ball in his hands where he can be a true playmaker. 

While he has improved defensively, there is still more work to do, he said. Defense is really what is going to keep him on the court, WSU head coach Kyle Smith said.

“Jabe plays a little cautiously sometimes, and I think he has kind of broken through in his confidence. He knows, ‘Hey I’m in there, I’m a veteran, I’ve been through some wars.’ I think that kicks in and it’s like ‘Hey I’ve done this.’ The better he gets defensively, the more he’ll play, he’s a really good offensive layer, but in guarding quicker perimeter guys, the better he gets there the more he’ll play,” Smith said.

The development defensively has taken time for Mullins, as he never had to work too hard on it in high school being the tallest and most athletic, he said. The goal was always to conserve energy there to use offensively, but since making his way to WSU, and improving his conditioning this offseason, this could be the year it clicks on both ends.

Since coming to WSU before last season, the goal for Mullins, more than just personal development, has been team development. Going into his second season as a Coug, his goal for the team is bigger than has been seen on the Palouse in some time.

“The team hasn’t been to the [NCAA] Tournament in a lot of years. So that’s our biggest goal, is to go to the Sweet 16 and go as far as we can. So working in the summer and working in the fall and developing that competitive edge,” Mullins said.

With a competitive edge comes the tendency for emotions to flare. For Mullins, he can occasionally get emotional and sometimes snap, he said. So the goal is to work to be a better, more level-headed teammate and leader and to build them up. 

A key in that process has been a result of Mullins’ identity as a Christian, he said, trying to “follow what Jesus would do,” and asking himself, “how would he talk to his teammates?” Regardless of the result on the court, he is always thanking God for the opportunity to do what he does.

“God’s given me a great platform to spread his word and be a good example. I try to hold my teammates accountable and they hold me accountable because we got other believers on the team. But also lead by example on the court and off, in the way that I’ve talked to people and love people, just trying to stand on the word, reading the Bible, if you do it every day it sticks in your mind,” Mullins said. “I can’t control how I’m gonna play, I can’t control how I’m gonna shoot. It’s more of, I’m gonna play as hard as I can and whatever the result, I’m gonna thank God.”

Mullins said he devotes every game he plays to Jesus because he would not be here without him.

He also plays for his dad, who introduced him to the game and has been a role model, always in his ear encouraging him. On top of that, he also plays for his mom, brother and his entire family, as well as his best friend Troy, who plays baseball at Tennessee Tech University.

In the time he’s been here, Mullins has developed special bonds with his coaches. All the coaches are willing, none are complacent and are always free to make sure he is right, he said. 

That relationship stretches to his teammates as well, despite having several new faces, he said.  Mullins has gotten close with transfers like Joe Yesufu and Isaac Jones and lives with teammates from last year Ben Oleson and Dylan Darling. While an occasional elbow may be thrown in practice, things always work out.

“You see each other every day so you better be close. Just having that good personality and loving each other is a huge, huge deal for us,” Mullins said. “Off the court, it’s all love, on the court it can get very chippy and very competitive.”

It can’t be basketball all the time of course. A typical day for Mullins consists of a morning lift, then a workout followed by some Bible study and prayer plus a meal and then a nap. Then later comes practice and treatment. The real fun, he said, comes on the weekends, when he can watch football, or go over to Jones’ house and play UFC 5, order pizza and watch Saturday UFC fight cards.

When there is a chance for some alone time, Mullins said he’s out on the links, combing two of his favorite things, golfing, and being outside. He also loves hiking, fishing and doing a range of things outside, whether alone or with friends.

Once the free time is up and it is gameday,  the schedule is a bit different. A typical gameday, he said, involves a walkthrough and a team-provided meal like chicken and rice pasta and some vegetables, then a potential nap before reading a chapter of the Bible and praying. While no longer superstitious, music is a must-have.

“My day one has been Lecrae. I’ve been listening to him since I was little. I think it’s one of the first artists I remember. And then I’ll say this dude named Hulvey. He’s kind of an up-and-coming young dude,” he said.

With so much to do, there is a balancing act to be done when it comes to being a student-athlete. Now in year four of college, however, he has started to figure out tricks to help buy and manage time. The biggest one is shaking off old habits of procrastination and getting school work done throughout the week, as well as trying to get online classes, he said.

 While the city life may not have been the reason he transferred to WSU, the atmosphere of a not-so-big city has made it easy to stay focused and not get distracted. And despite the brutal winters, “the summertime is great,” he said.

Similar to most within WSU Athletics, one of the best parts of the community has been the diehard Coug fans, he said. There has been a ton of love and support, which has been “really cool.”

“It means a lot because you’re a Coug for life. I’m gonna tell my kids I was a Washington State Cougar. So being able to give my all to God and to them and to the fans, it just means a lot because of the love that they’ve given me and the love they’ve shown and the support and the money they put into the program. Like why would I not give my all,” he said. “We haven’t been to the tournament in a while, so to do that for the fans, it’d be really special.

The next step in the journey of Jabe Mullins is team success, and making it to the next level. NBA teams, he said, could use a guy like him, considering the high emphasis on shooting. While there is certainly room to improve, the goal is to follow former teammates Mouhamed Gueye and Justin Powell into NBA camp next year.

“I look at myself, I need to get a lot better but a little Tyler Herro, he spaces the floor really well he shoots, defends decently and then he’s like a secondary ball handler. I’m not going to be a point guard that brings it up but I can rebound and push. I can be the secondary option for a team and hopefully, I am able to show that this year. But I just see the NBA as going into a game that fits my game, fits my style,” he said.

Pro intangibles for Mullins include his 6-foot, 6-inch, 200-pound frame at a position where such size is not overly common. Statistically, he led the Pac-12 a season ago shooting at a 43% clip from beyond the arc.

There is a full season ahead, and there is still plenty of work to do. While Jabe Mullins’ God-guided journey from carpeted courts to Beasley Coliseum has been one of triumph, the story has only just begun.