This year was the first time in four years that I have been able to take part in my family traditions during the holiday season. I’ve missed a couple of Thanksgiving dinners, a few holiday gift exchanges, and missed seeing some family members. Each year I had some sort of practice, film, or game that would prevent me from coming home for the scheduled days. One year removed from my basketball career, I found myself thinking about basketball even while I sat around the Thanksgiving dinner table. After spending time on the subject, I realized I wouldn’t change a thing about my last four years as a college player.
Especially around the holidays, I often lose myself in memories and get pretty emotional. I spent my Thanksgiving this year watching the Battle for Atlantis basketball tournament instead of NFL football and began to reminisce on the times when I spent Thanksgiving in the Bahamas with my teammates. Those memories got me thinking about how Michigan basketball has changed me and provided me with lessons that I will carry for the rest of my life. I wanted to share with everyone the three things that I cherish most about my experience as an athlete and how I will apply these lessons to my professional and personal life.
Sports Bring Everyone Together
This phrase has been prominent in the last few years with the issues that our country has endured. I found out how true this statement was as I began my career at Michigan. I learned so much about other cultures, different upbringings, and unique interests as I began to move through my basketball career. As a kid from Novi, I hadn’t been exposed to many different lifestyles, but once I went to Michigan I knew that would change. A former walk-on, Rico Ozuna Harrison, came from Detroit, Michigan and even with our different backgrounds, we bonded immediately through basketball. I spent most days after practice shooting with Rico where we discussed our academic challenges, basketball skills, and dreams after college. Basketball helped us realize that we weren’t so different after all. Both of us enjoyed working hard and we played similar roles on our team. We bonded over those facts and I learned so much about myself as well as others with this experience. Throughout my career, my coaches and teammates taught me this fact which allowed me to develop into a confident and caring leader.
As a recently retired athlete, my advice to current parents and future coaches would be to create an environment that allows your kids to learn about themselves through connecting with others. It doesn’t matter if you go to Michigan to play basketball, this idea can be so impactful on young people who are trying to gain experience. Sports gave me an opportunity to do that; however, this idea need not be limited to sports. Robotics clubs, eSports, bands, reading, and many other things can help kids expand their horizons and become well-rounded members of society.
Playing a Role is Essential to Team Success
Coach Beilein first told me when I joined the team that I wouldn’t play much. As a walk-on, I had a role that focused on preparation and practice for the future NBA players that I worked with each and every day. At first, I had trouble accepting this change. I thought I was a pretty good high school player and believed I was overlooked by plenty of college coaches. As time went on, I competed for playing time, but not with the right mindset. I spent a lot of time on my personal success and sometimes I let it affect the way I came into practice. If I personally didn’t play well, the rest of practice became a wash for me. I’d like to think I wasn’t mean to others because of this, but I recognize now that I definitely had a selfish goal in mind. One day Coach Yaklich, a former assistant and now head coach at the University of Illinois Chicago, got frustrated with my attitude after a bad play. He told me, “You’ll never fully achieve your personal goals until you learn how to properly play a role.”
I learned even more about playing a role in my last two years at Michigan as a junior and senior. Coach Howard played and coached in the NBA for over 20 years and he taught all of us the importance of roles in the success of a championship team based on the staff he assembled. Coach Martelli, a head coach for over 30 years, decided to change his status and be an assistant to Coach Howard. Coach Eisley, an NBA point guard and coach for years, showed us how details and character can lead to success. Coach Washington, a head coaching candidate elsewhere for many years, stayed and continued to show us the importance of culture in teams. Whether through words or through example, these coaches inspired me to perfect my role as a walk-on and push others to be the best they can be. I began to truly appreciate what I did every day, even when I didn’t get to play in games.
These lessons will carry to my work life as well. As an entry-level employee, I know that I will not be able to do exactly what I want to do every day, but my work can still be meaningful if I work in the service of others. I truly believe that basketball has shaped me into a better person and more ready to contribute to my community.
Embrace the Struggle
Sometimes as a high school student, I caught myself daydreaming about the future. I always wondered where my life would take me and what my future holds. Once I got to Michigan basketball, I became so engrossed in the environment around me that sometimes I lost track of time. My four years as a college player passed so quickly that I did not really appreciate the little moments that I experienced until after my time on the team.
Enjoying every moment became more apparent as my time passed on the team. As a walk-on, I spent a lot of time practicing my shot, studying opposing teams’ plays, and providing other players some feedback. I was a part of some great Michigan team moments like Jordan Poole’s shot to beat Houston, the championship run in 2018, and the Big Ten regular-season championship in 2021. All of these moments serve as lifelong memories, but honestly, I miss working towards those big goals every day.
Coach Howard would always tell us to enjoy the struggle and embrace the tough moments we face. As a player, I experienced a lot of great moments, but I found it difficult to create a proper balance of academic, athletic, and social goals. My basketball career had a lot of failures with a couple of Big Ten championship losses, as well as losing the national championship game. These failures helped me learn more about myself and brought out the best in my character. Perseverance in those difficult times has made it easier for me to navigate the stresses that come from other sources. Now as I pursue my master’s degree, I have found that all of the struggles that I experienced have made me a more well-rounded person and more prepared to adapt to our ever-changing world.
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