- 2020 Highlights
Personal Statement
Why do you want to be recruited to play sports in college?
I want to be recruited to play basketball in college because I know that I have a ton to contribute to the program that recognizes my talent. I'm extremely competitive but I'd like to think that I'm so dedicated to the sport purely off of the love of the game. I believe in always going the extra mile because at the end of the race, I know it'll all be worth it.
Athletes are often leaders on and off the field. Please provide one example of how you have demonstrated leadership in both areas.
I often demonstrate leadership on the court by being vocal on both offense and defense and always doing what I can to make sure that the players on the court and bench do the same. A key principle that my club coach Gerald Dottin in ingrained into me is the importance of communication just in life in general. Once an entire team communicates and are on the same page, then a practically unbeatable system is created as a result.
I demonstrate leadership all of the time off of the court by keeping up with my teammates and coaches old and new. As one of the captains of my club team and school team, I've always believed that I'm a closer extension of the coach and the program whether it's in the middle of the game or even in the classroom. I've always strived to lead by example which is a concept that I understood since becoming a captain on my middle school team. My effort and energy is naturally infectious because that's just a part of who I am. I'm also constantly reminded that other entities such as parents, staff/faculty, and other people not technically a part of the program, are watching to make sure that I represent them well too.
Please explain how you pursue "healthy athletic performance" as a student-athlete.
My idea of a "healthy athletic performance" as a student-athlete is to always bring forth the same effort in everything that I do. Personally, I don't really believe in the concept of perfection because my main endeavor is constant improvement. For example, it doesn't matter well I might play as individual because I'd be wondering if I tried my best to communicate with the team and make sure that everybody was on the same page to have their best game ever too. If not that, I would be picking my entire game apart in the film as well. I'd carry this attitude into school as well because fr the longest time, this is how I've maintained a balanced life as a student-athlete. I also have my parents and elders to thank for teaching me all of this from a young age.
Please describe how you are involved in service in your community and why these efforts are important to you.
My club AAU team is very involved in the servicing the community. We've participated in multiple fundraisers which I'm not afraid to admit, were unorthodox. We've gone canning and activities for the local community center. The community center has been so nice to us that we've been more than happy to do our part and have helped during many events with the community as well. Over quarantine, I stayed home making masks with my parents and we donated $500 to the community center. It was all a very humbling experience and enjoyable because it taught me the importance of giving back and was doing so amongst friends which was a bonus.
