Personal Statement
I started playing basketball the summer of 2012. It seemed like my team just could not lose. Trophies after trophies, metals after metals we finally stumbled upon our first loss of the summer and it hurt. I was 12 years old and was sure that was the worst pain ever. I made a personal vow to never feel that pain again; a vow to never lose again. Even though that self proclaim promise had been broken so many times, I still remind myself of it before every game. That is what makes me such a good candidate for any team that chooses to recruit me. I stop at nothing and put 110% of my strength into not just winning, but bettering my team.
My character is one to be matched, because I began my quest and want to become a basketball player on the collegiate level, because of my father. He was on the road to becoming a professional soccer player for Nigeria, but those aspirations came to halt, because I was born. I want to follow in his footsteps as best as I can, wherever my journey takes me or stops, be it at the high school level or the collegiate level or if I am talented enough, the professional level; my dad will know it is my way of showing everlasting appreciation.
Most athletes focus in on their offensive game and I completely understand why: scoring is hypnotizing, but what makes me different is my love of defense. My AAU coach Dytanya "Coach D" Mixon stressed defense greatly that it soon became my favorite aspect of the game. Steals, blocks, shot clock violations, five and ten second calls are what make me giddy and excited on the inside. A million excuses can be made for offensive mistakes, ZERO for defense. Defense needs to be on point at all times, because one mistake could cost the game; that is what makes it so mesmerizing to watch and do.
Since my elementary school days, excellence was the only thing accepted in my house. If I came home with a 99%, my parents would always find an insulting reason to why I lost that one point, insults hurt always, but it bettered me, because it made me stride and push to be the academic student my parents wanted me to be. English and social studies come naturally to me, but math and science I had to work for and although math was a struggle, my 3.4 gpa is nothing to be ashamed of.