Hey Basketball World! How is everybody doing? I had a great week! It was extremely busy. Let’s start with last Sunday. I had two games; one in Allentown and one at King of Prussia Competitive Edge. I played well and with a lot of energy and most importantly my teams won both games. On Monday I had soccer practice and my parents picked me up and we went right to The Chester Boys and Girls Club for a Team Final game. Even though we lost, we got better since we played a much older and more physical team.
Tuesday morning my mom and I got up at 6:00 a.m. to workout with my trainer, Obe Roundtree in Bethlehem. We do full-circle training which means we do exercises to strengthen the entire body with an emphasis on core workouts. It is an extremely hard workout, but I love it and can see the positive results in just four weeks. As soon as the two fall basketball leagues are finished, I will be going to these workouts three times per week. After school, I had a soccer game. I had 12 saves in the game which was fantastic! Even though we lost, my coach was very happy with me and the progress I’m making. That night I worked out in a local gym with Derrick Mims who is one of my favorite coaches in Allentown. Coach “D” has been helping me develop my basketball skills since I was eight years old. He is very intense, a great teacher and mentor. Thank you, Coach “D” for always supporting me.
On Wednesday, my school had “Prayer at the Pole” at 7:15 a.m. It was great to see so many of my classmates there praying together. We are so blessed to be able to openly pray to our Lord in this country. Wednesday night I went to another Chester Game. We lost in overtime, with only four players. One of our players fouled out in the second half. We played very sloppy as a team. We need to be very sharp on every aspect of the game; even the little things when we play against bigger, stronger and older opponents.
On Thursday after school, I was invited to an open gym by The Haverford School’s assistant coach Leon Dales, III. It was a great workout and I got to compete against some very good high school talent. And thank God that I was playing great because Haverford’s head coach Henry Fairfax told me half-way through the practice that there was a major D-1 head coach watching. I shouldn’t name the coach just in case there is an NCAA ruling against this. It was an honor to play in front of such a prestigious college coach.
On Friday I had a lot of tests and did very well in all of them. I worked out by myself after school and then that night I attended a school social party which was a lot of fun. On Saturday my dad and I went to Muhlenberg College to watch a high school showcase. During the day I caught up with two previous Basketball Spotlight “Diary of a Baller” writers: Otis Livingston and Tyus Battle. That was cool because I have read their diaries and they told me that they read mine.
And I almost forgot, I was invited to play in the “Coaches vs. Cancer” All-Star game on October 30th. I was really excited about getting selected by Frank Murphy and look forward to playing against some of the top eighth and ninth graders in the country for a great cause. And remember our Team Final Motto: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
See you guys next week!
