The Monday After: A look back on the 2017-18 high school season
The human race thrives on memories. Big, vivid events—good and bad—that force us to sharply pause and reminisce or make our minds swiftly move onto a different thought. We love, and hate, our “firsts”.
The official definition of that specific use of the term is as follows: the first occurrence of something notable. Notable. Worth remembering. Worth forgetting. And as humans, we tend to lean toward remembering positive occurrences and forgetting negative ones.
I remember my first travel basketball game, way back in 2008 in the fifth grade. First tournament of the season at Spring Lake Park. Knocked out Elk River in that contest. Final score of 39-26. Don’t ask me how I remember that, I just do. Maybe because it’s notable.
I remember my first basketball injury, eighth grade, same Spring Lake Park tournament. It’s the first game of the year, and I’ve grown to about 6-foot-3, and my sphere of athleticism revolves around my ability to grab the rim on a ten-foot-high hoop in warm-ups. Then somehow I find myself with an ankle the size of a bocce ball and played through the whole tournament lugging it around. Maybe because it’s notable.
I remember my first day of JV/varsity tryouts as a sophomore. Scared to death, but ready to show the work I had put in with the coaches all summer. That was a year of JV ball and varsity bench-cheering I will never, ever forget, because it sparked my obsession and number one priority in basketball and in life: being a teammate. Maybe because it’s notable.
I remember my first college recruiting letter, summer after junior year. I had never played serious AAU and knew I wanted a chance to play at the next level, so I joined the Minnesota Heat for my 17U season. I expanded my skillset. I met new people. I got in touch with the staff at Northstar Hoops. It transcended my view and love of high school basketball. Maybe because it’s notable.
And now, as the 2017-18 high school basketball season comes to a close, I’m reminded of all those memories so clearly because they were key pieces to my journey; many student-athletes in the class of 2018 have those notable events too. So here’s my advice:
Every single thing matters in your life, just to varying degrees. Every decision, interaction and reaction has brought you to this exact spot you are in right this second. Don’t forget to be grateful for all of it. Because maybe, just maybe, it’s notable.
I’m a 2016 graduate of Maple Grove High School. I got to play against a lot of the best players in this senior (and even junior) class. Last year’s 2017 guys, even more so. That connection hasn’t been lost on me this year, and it’s an emotional thing, watching these guys grow into great basketball players and great men, moving into their prime spaces of adulthood.
Though my free time shrunk enough to keep me out of the gym every week, I stayed mostly up to date on the happenings of great basketball across this great state. The Breakdown Tip-Off Classic; Minnehaha vs. Apple Valley; various college-sponsored holiday tournaments; the Granite City Classic; DeLaSalle/Cretin-Derham Hall; the State Tournament. All of these events and more are notable. Some of them were firsts, some of them were not, and sadly, some of them were lasts. Whichever way it ended, this season exceeded my expectations by a long shot.
A tip of the cap is in order for the class of 2018. The talking point of the preseason seemed to be “how will the teams graduating so many GREAT and experienced players from the class of 2017 recover?” A few select teams come to mind, and those teams did more than recover; they showed what a tradition means in high school basketball. Give that credit where it’s due to the sung and unsung heroes in the 2018 class.
The mainstays. Tre Jones. Daniel Oturu. Gabe Kalscheur. Jarvis Omersa. Owen King. Michael Jones. Calvin Wishart. Zach Theisen. Matt Todd. So many more… and the talented guys who burst onto the big time scene without warning last summer and this winter. Sy Chatman. Emmette Page. Damani Hayes. Sam Vascellaro. Max Bjorklund. So many more…
They’ve gone past what was comfortable and taken matters into their own hands, creating and molding a season we will never forget, from the first tip in early December all the way to that final buzzer in late March. Thank you, 2018. Can’t wait to see what happens with 2019 and beyond…
The 2017-18 season was my second for Northstar Hoops and the Prep Hoops Network. I’ve changed a good amount from when I first started; I was still caught in the high school mindset, just one year removed from being the “covered” instead of providing the coverage.
I was excited to keep watching the names I already knew, not as interested in what talent was waiting in the wings. But today, I’m thankful for the chances we get to see great players of all ages and all levels of potential on big stages every single year. High school careers are always ending, but also just beginning too. Let’s keep that in mind as we continue this journey of basketball inhalation. There’s always more on the way.
What I’ve learned in the past four months is this: keep these memories. All the cheers, the gyms, the scores, the game-winners, the heartbreakers, all of them. Don’t let yourself throw them by the wayside. They’re some of the most formative pieces to your story, and although they don’t define you, they sure as heck refine you into who you’re made to be.
I would be very, very mistaken if I claimed I do what I do by myself. It’s been a sporadic season in terms of seeing games and connecting with players, parents, fans and colleagues. But the closeness of the community of high school hoops fans in this state cannot be exaggerated, and you all make this so much more fun than if we never shared anything with each other. It’s a team effort, and I can’t wait for what’s to come.
A special thanks is in order for the excellent people I get to work with. Ryan James, Alex Conover, Matt Bigelow, Charlie Schoeck, TC Hoops Czar: these guys are who you need to follow and read as much as you can. Nobody loves the sport and the work like they do, and it’s reflected in how much effort they put into providing the best high school basketball content possible on this site and on social media.
Huge thank you to Nick Carroll, Jake Phillips and Jared Nelson for running an operation that truly loves work it does for the state and the nation, both for basketball purposes and for life and relationship purposes. Prep Hoops has the mission down to a T.
This is the best gig I could ever ask for. If you told May 2016 Jared Martinson that he’d be writing for Northstar Hoops as a freshman (now a sophomore) in college, he’d look at you with huge, hopeful, excited eyes, a big smile, a racing heart, and a yearning for the knowledge, connections and experiences still to come.
It’s safe to say March 2018 Jared Martinson looks the exact same. See you in two weeks at the Comets Shootout. For some, it’s a first; let’s make it notable.
-JM