By Demariea Willis

Why is basketball important? I grew up in Chicago IL and since the age of 5 I always loved basketball. I would see my older cousins and uncle play in the backyard when I was younger and it felt like I was watching the NBA because they were so good. Once I started getting a little older, like 6-7, my mom put me in a park district basketball team and I was playing 2 grades above my age level and doing great. I still remember the championship game. I made a great play and won the game for us and my family were so happy and we went home and celebrated. Later that day my Mom surprised me with a party for doing good and keeping up with the older kids . A couple years later my cousin got killed in the alley way of my house and it took alot from my family so we all decided to move to Champaign. The first year I came, I was kind of nervous because I didn’t know too many people but I clicked with friends very quickly because of my talent of being able to play basketball. I enjoyed middle school but during my 6th grade year I made the 7th grade team but all of my friends were on the 6th grade team. Around this time of my life I met another close friend of mine, he treated me like his little brother and vice versa.  Our team had a decent record, nothing too crazy but we could’ve been better than what we were. I think the way we fell off is because people were getting inquired or became ineligible.  Throughout my highschool years basketball was fun. Freshman year I played Junior Varsity but by mid season I really wasn’t playing as much due to an injury, grades and one of my best friend’s passing. I worked harder every single day in physical therapy to get myself back how I was. During this time it was one of the hardest times of my life because of relatives passing and I wasn’t in the right state of mind mentally. I suffered the whole season with a meniscus tear. My Mom, friends and other family members were with me the whole year and I was frustrated because I got better but my doctor didn’t clear me until the last game where I scored 12 points. I feel like it messed me up so bad because I wanted to show everybody what I could do for a change. My first year playing varsity and I couldn’t even participate. This year I’m back and better, my knee still bothers me a little but not as much. My doctor told me it could be because I’m growing faster than normal. I’m supposed to get way taller than 5 ’11, my dad is 6′ 8 so hopefully I’m still growing. Couple of weeks of Varsity Basketball has been a success. Our record now is 5 wins and 2 losses. We lost twice to the same team that should have won , but we didn’t play hard enough to succeed with the win. This year’s team I think could go far because it’s so many good athletes on the team with different types of play styles . In order to go far we need to buy in with our coaching staff and just play hard, listen and we should have a good chance for a state run if possible. Bonding with my teammates has been great so far. I honestly think this the funniest / coolest team ever and we all have the same love for each other. So far everything has been chill, smooth and fun.