Assignment 21- Eli Wrinn

My favorite story of a challenge I have overcome is my failure in middle school basketball leading to success in high school. I did not play for the Morton Basketball Team even after trying out in 7th and 8th Grade. This really served as a wake up call to me that I would need to work incredibly hard if I wanted my career to continue. This is when I discovered the Bernard Johnson Athletic Center on the Campus of UK. This was the gym my mom attended as a member of the staff. I wasn't allowed in until I was 14 years old, and when I did, I ran right to the basketball gym and tried to get in a game. This is the gym where all basketball crazed UK students play, many of them former high school players themselves. And sometimes, if you are lucky, you can go there when a UK Basketball player is playing. For example, I have played in a game with Tyler Ulis, Willie-Cauley Stein, and Trey Lyles: all current NBA players. At first, there were some growing pains trying to get my game to the level of the other college students. I was a rather large 8th grader, so some people would play with me with out noticing anything amiss. But, many other players would approach me saying, "Dude, do you go here?" My response to them usually depended on how I was playing. If I had played well, I would respond with the truth, "8th grade." Which would usually draw a "woah" from them and sometimes I would receive some subtle recruiting from the students such as, "well UK is a great place to go." They clearly weren't aware that I am nowhere near that level. When I hadn't played particularly well, I would respond with, "not yet" or "nah I'm still in high school." This was to avoid judgment from the other players who would then know that an 8th Grader who wasn't very good was trying to play with them. Anyway, I went there 3 or 4 times a week during 8th Grade, which was the main way I developed my game I have today. I proceeded to attend every single workout for Henry Clay Basketball the following summer and make the freshman team. I am now a varsity player and I owe it all to my time in the Johnson Center.