Revelation to Revolution

Sometimes, all it takes is one word that unlocks the door for a player realize who they are. As a high school senior, I had heard you guys aren’t going to win State Tournament again from people all throughout the city. A high school coach from another team was at our school for a different event while I was working out on the furthest court in the gym. He walked over to me and spoke these words: “Deonte, you do know that you are the best player in the state. None of these guys are better than you, go win another state championship!" Those words revealed to me that I believed in my heart others believe that too!

I was already working hard and wanted to desperately win another championship. But he poured gasoline on the fire. I stayed locked in from preseason to championship game. I played everyday as much as I could, I pushed my teammates everyday to play together and for each other. Although my goal was to win Mr. Basketball, I was taught winning is the most important thing. I had to sacrifice some of my scoring duties to become the best all around player that I could be. My family and friends would ridicule me for not shooting as much and say that I was to unselfish. They didn’t give me enough credit for what mattered most, winning.

When the school season ended, I was holding another state championship trophy and medal. The crazy thing was that I didn’t receive Mr. Basketball that year, but I did leave with MVP of the State Tournament and the pride of knowing we did what a lot people said we wouldn’t do. Sometimes we have to let things happen, change our approach, or shift our mindset to make things come full circle. The beauty is being able to see what sacrifices you made and how those sacrifices lead to success. Using those lessons to make you better everyday for the rest of your life.