07/10/2025
Watch the whole videos! *disclaimer* don’t mind the video quality I’m old 😂. “I just wanna play BASKETBALL… it’s a love.. it’s a passion” This video is from grade 9, fast forward many years this remains true. A lot of players today play basketball, but don’t care for doing the little things. Today a lot of kids feel like they deserve or are entitled to things, without putting in the work. When I was growing up I put in the utmost work and effort into trying to be the best player i could possibly be. Waking up at 4am to go to the park and train and work on new moves, watching videos of my favourite players trying to copy the things they did. I knew that if I wanted to go anywhere with basketball I had to work harder than anyone to get there. This work doesn’t just stop with the physical part of the sport, what about the intangibles? The things you can’t touch? As you hear coach .seeley say, I was a great leader and TEAMMATE! Being a great basketball player isn’t only what we do individually but how do we uplift others? How do we make those around us better? I prided myself on having a positive attitude, working hard, listening and being coachable. If basketball is something you want to do for a long time, you have to truly love the game and have a passion for it, you have to want to do all the little things that no one else is willing to do, put in work when no one is watching, challenge yourself everyday to be the best player and person you can. I say all this to say that someone can do all the right things and work as hard as they possibly can but may never make it to that “next level”. However you will make it to that next level as a Person. We are defined by who we are as people and our CHARACTER. I know some OCAA guys better than USports guys and ex USports guys better than pros. Just because you don’t make it somewhere doesn’t make you “not good”. If you worked your ass off you’ll be just fine for LIFE. 😎 - hopstep