- 2013 Highlights
Personal Statement
Basketball is the best sport on this planet. I don't know what I would do without it. It’s the only sport where every play is different, and where extreme skill is required in order to excel. This is why I love basketball.
Currently as a senior, I accomplished a goal that many people never accomplish. This was to win a state championship. This goal was accomplished at the end of my junior season, and is something that I will never forget. But even after winning a state championship with my team, I’m still hungry. I am never satisfied when it comes to basketball. In games, when I do something spectacular, my coach will often compliment to me that I did a great job. Of course I thank him, but in my mind, I’m thinking how I could have done it better.
Lots of players envy the thought of practice. For me on the other hand, I love it. Practice is a time where I can better myself and my team so we can win games and get one more step closer to our dream. Like I said earlier, I’m never satisfied. The moment a player becomes satisfied, they give up and settle. Not me. At practice, I make it my mission to push myself harder than any of my teammates. I look at it as, the harder you push yourself the better you get.
My team this year, just as last year, is really good. We have lots of solid players, both on the court and on the bench, who know how to play basketball. As a captain, my role on our team is to create. It is what I’m best at and my coach knows it. There’s nothing I love more in the game of basketball than the assist. Sure, scoring points is great, but setting up a teammate for an easy layup or wide open shot... nothing beats it. I average the most assists on the team last year, as well as this year. My coach says I’m the most unselfish player he has ever coached.
Another aspect of the game I thrive on is defense. Defense is something I pride myself in. When we play games, I tell myself, “Nobody will shoot and make a shot from your wing." We play a zone defense where every person is forced to work hard at defending their spots and I don't want to be the guy coach is yelling at because I messed up my assignment on defense.
I will play college basketball... I will surround myself with other good players so I can pick up on things here and there to use for my own game. Dave Divenzio taught me something when I went to his PGC camp before my junior year. "If you play a one on one game and you didn’t learn anything new from your opponent, you just wasted you time"
It opened up my eyes and taught me to study players and their movements. Another thing I learned from PGC is that instead of saying "I want" say "I will". It packs a better punch and allows me to really show how determined I am to play at the next level. I am determined and I put in lots of work on my game which is going to help get me there.
