- 2021 Spotlight #2
Personal Statement
Since the day I was born, my father has embedded into me that the only way you can be the best at what you do is to work harder, hustle more, and be more humble than everyone else around you. This influence has moulded me into the person that I am and the man that I will grow up to be. When I was in 4th grade, I signed up for my first basketball team. From then on, I fell in love with the game. Through my 6 years of playing basketball, I learned many things about myself. One of these things that I learned is that I feed off competition. When I get on the court, whether it is a pickup or a playoff game, that becomes the most important task in my life. When I am on the court everything is drowned out except winning. I am known for being a pest on the defensive end, but I don't see it that way. In my mind, I am just the most focused on the task at hand. All of this comes back to what my father taught me all of those years ago. Those words will stick in my heart forever. My coach has also been a massive influence on me as he has taught me the ins and outs of both the skills and the mental game of basketball. My academic goals are to go into a field of education or history because one of my skills is helping people learn. I have had to overcome obstacles in my life. Ever since I started playing basketball, I was always getting insignificant minutes. I was doubted because I was "less athletic" or "unskilled" compared to the others. Those accusations and not playing in games fueled me to constantly improve. As my career progressed, I constantly moved up the bench. By my freshman year, I was playing almost two quarters a game for Varsity and was the 4th leading scorer and leading rebounder on the team. That summer, I worked every day and trained to become the best player I could be and ended up working my way into the starting lineup and become one of the important pieces on my team. Looking back now, I wouldn't change a thing. Those experiences taught me that as others look down upon you, that is when you rise above the rest and eventually bring them up with you. One unique thing about me is many college recruits were always the star player or do not understand what it is like to be a role player on a basketball team. Unlike them, I can fit into any role asked of me and have experience doing so.
