Thank you, Ohio
Roughly five weeks ago I decided that my time covering the Ohio high school basketball scene was soon coming to an end. How soon, I didn’t know. Maybe at the end of May, I thought, so my run could neatly come to a close at the end of the spring grassroots period. After all, I needed to attend Run N’ Slam one more time, right? Maybe I’d just finish up the entire spring and summer?
But after close consideration, those options didn’t sit well with me.
You see, the reason I’m deciding to step away is that I don’t have time to continue covering the Ohio basketball scene with the obsessive dedication that I once did.
You may not know a ton about me (and that’s partially by design — I don’t enjoy talking about myself. Actually, I’m quite uncomfortable typing right now. But a buddy convinced me to write something regarding this change, so here I am.), but one thing I hope you’ve picked up on is that I go all-in with sincere dedication. I believe that if you’re going to do anything, you should dive in 100 percent and strive to be the very best. For example, I’ll happily drive three hours on a Friday night from Toledo to Clermont Northeastern for a 75-minute basketball game against Blanchester. In fact, I relished that drive. I loved it. And I needed to do it. Why? Because I truly did my best to see every collegiate prospect in Ohio. Any other mindset or approach to the gig was unthinkable and not in my nature. It may have been an unrealistic goal for myself — and one that put quite a toll on my 2007 Chrysler Sebring — but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give it a shot.
As I’ve always said, many of the kids I have the privilege of covering wake up at 5 AM to get shots up and work on their game. If I’m not matching their level of dedication, I don’t deserve to cover them.
But, we’ve reached the point where continuing to fully immerse myself into the Ohio basketball scene isn’t possible. My newfound responsibilities within this company are immersive. It’s my new adventure, my new passion — the new place where I set unrealistic goals for myself and set out to achieve them.
Splitting my time in the spring and summer and doing both jobs 50-50 didn’t align with my principles. So, I more recently decided that my days of writing for Prep Hoops Ohio would end with the 2019-20 high school season.
It was a tough decision. I’ll miss the Ohio basketball world. The good and bad moments have equipped me with lessons that I’ll carry forward forever. That all sounds cliché but I truly mean it.
The support has been overwhelmingly meaningful to me. Every gesture of positive reinforcement from kids, coaches, and readers. Every retweet of a story. Every bit of genuine constructive criticism. Every click on a story. Thank you. It all means the world, and I cannot say it enough: thank you.
To the players, I’ve had the privilege of covering … You guys have been truly inspiring. Nothing is better than watching you improve from freshman to senior year. I’ve worked hard to put out reports that are meaningful so that it can impact your recruitment and high school experience in a positive way. But, ultimately, thank you for inspiring me.
Prep Hoops Ohio is in a good place right now, though. Tony Peters is going to crush it as our new lead writer. Tony has been with us for a long time and he’s ready to take on more responsibility. Plus, the newer guys Matt Barnes (have you seen Matt’s photos, by the way? My goodness.) and Michael Trivisonno in Cleveland have shown immense promise and they’re also ready to become go-to sources in their area.
I’m very excited to see these guys build on what we have right now and take the site to even greater heights.
Finally, college coaches, I’m still available to talk Ohio hoops. If you have questions on any of the state’s current players, I’m more than happy to connect you with them and their coaches, plus whatever else you need!