What is your record as a team right now? How far do you see yourselves going this year?

Right now, we are 15-0. We have seven games left, and then we start playoffs. I am hoping we will make it all the way to the state championship.

What do you think has made the program so strong the past two years?
Our team. We work so well together, and I think other teams have problems with that. Our team is just so close, and nothing really gets in between that. We are all friends, and I think that helps.

Do you think that losing only three players in the last two years has helped your team bond and success?
Definitely. Since freshman year, I have played with everybody that is playing now basically. It really helps the team chemistry.

As a team, do you do a lot of training during the offseason in the summer and fall?
Yes, we do a lot of stuff to get us prepared for the season. It is not all training, we like to have fun with it too. We have open gyms in the summer to come in and play pickup games.

What is the hardest part about playing/training?
The offseason and getting ready for the games. Your teammates have to be so connected, and carry it throughout the season. If you are not, then it will not be a good year. But I love our team, we do pretty good with that stuff.

What do you think the team will have to accomplish to win it all this year? Is there anything you think you need to improve on as a team?
I think we have a really good shot, but we have to keep our head in it. I think we will be okay. I think we are best at defense, so as long as we keep that up, we are really hard to beat.

What is your favorite game in your 10 years of playing basketball?
The WPIAL game last year against Bethel Park. We won by eight points, but throughout the game the score was really close.

What is your favorite memory from basketball?
The PIAA semi-final game last year. We played Souderton. It was a really close game, and it was intense the whole time.

Aside from school ball, and the many accomplishments that accompany it, do you play travel basketball, too?
Yes, for WPA Bruins. It is a competitive team to make, and we travel all over the country. We have been to Atlanta, New York, Florida, etc., and most of the tournaments we go to are showcases. We play and travel out of school season, spring through August.

Besides basketball, you play softball as well. I understand you de-committed from playing softball at the University of Pittsburgh.
Yes.

What caused you to make this decision? Was it hard?
Once I finished AAU softball on the Ohio Outlaws. This year I got back into open gyms for basketball. It made me realize how much I missed it. I started going to more open gyms, and I realized I needed to go tell Pitt that I miss basketball and want to play in college. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It was really hard going there and telling them I was not going to play anymore. They really had no idea this was coming.

How did Pitt handle your decision?
They were upset, but they were really supportive. They wanted what was best for me, and that really helped a lot.

Will you be done with softball forever, or do you plan on playing softball your last two years of high school?
Yes, I will continue to play for the school but not AAU.

Since you gave up your softball offer, do you plan to play basketball in college? If so, where?
Yes. I have three full-ride offers right now: Akron, Morehead State, and St. Francis. But this AAU season will be a big year with college coaches at the showcases. I do not know where I want to go. There’s no school where I think, “Oh, if I get this offer I am going to go”.

What are your goals academically?  
My goal is to always get a 4.0, but sometimes that does not happen!