My High School Basketball Career

I'm in Parkway Junior High School's gymnasium with 18 other 9th graders. There's a coach. It's day one of practice. We are forming a team for the annual student/teacher game. The coach, a PE teacher, wants to pick first, second, and third teams but doesn't know who's good or not so he asks us players. I don't say anything. I think I'm good enough for second team and expect to get picked for third since no one really knows me. To my surprise, I get picked for the first team. Not for merit but because the boys who knew each other well were uncomfortable picking amongst themselves, so they picked the outsider. Something I recognized in the moment and is now filed away as a life lesson. By the third and final practice, I was on the third team. Not so much for my actual play but because I took some undisciplined shots (even if they went in). And because I came to one practice high. When game night came we were sure we would destroy the old and clumsy teachers. Riding the bench to start the game two things were clear - I was incredibly nervous and the teachers were way bigger and better than us. At some point in the second quarter the coach sent me into the game. I felt a bit of swagger (maybe like Frank Knight felt at St Mary's many years later). I was still very anxious. Throat incredibly dry. I had no real court vision. But I had a plan. Force contact and shoot free throws. It worked. When I got the ball, if there was a teacher nearby I drove into him. It sounds a lot clumsier in words than my memory. I was fouled three times and went 6-6 from the line. The teachers caught on to the plan and backed off me and I made two jumpers. Five touches in my two short stints on the floor and I led the team with 10 points. The teachers won easily. The players went to Fentons after the game along with some cheerleaders. A chance to be part of the cool crowd.

That was the highlight of my high school basketball career.

In 10th grade, I tried out for the high school freshman/sophomore basketball team. Tryouts went over maybe three days. I remember my legs had never been so sore as after those tryouts. Like rubber bands. We didn't play much actual basketball during those tryouts. A lot of drills. I remember the coach talking with the team's presumptive point guard in a creepy cool way. The presumptive point guard did not really participate in the tryouts. I only did so-so in the drills. My strength was games, at least that's what I told myself. I wanted to show the coach that I could handle and pass the ball better than the presumptive point guard and score when needed to. There was a scrimmage the last day of tryouts that I barely got into. The next day I was cut from the team. My best friend at time made the team. He was great at drills.

That was the end of my high school basketball career.

I did play a fair amount of pick up in high school. Sometimes against members of the school team. I went hard. They did not always appreciate it.