It is always a great day when a high school player has a chance to extend his or her playing days to the next level. Senior Gage Steen recently signed a letter of intent to play collegiate basketball with Ottawa University. Next winter Steen will again sport the black and gold but this time he will be wearing an Ottawa Braves jersey instead of an Adrian Blackhawks jersey.
Steen hit the ground running with his high school basketball career. He steadily climbed the ranks of post season honor rolls. Steen was honorable mention all-conference his sophomore year then 2nd team all-conference and 2nd team all-district his junior year. His high school career ended recently but not before he was named 1st team all-conference and 1st team all-district.
Steen expresses gratitude to a number of people. "I would like to thank Coach Basore for all the days that it would have been easy to quit, he never let anyone quit and never quit on me" said Steen. "I thank my parents for all of the hours they could have been doing something besides sitting in a gym on uncomfortable bleachers. They were always in the gyms supporting me. Close friends like Dillon Tenholder and Gerold Stephens were, too." Steen extended appreciation to his brother, who played in the starting lineup with him for the Blackhawks as a freshman this season. "I would also like to thank my brother," Steen said. If I needed a person to challenge me or make me better every time we touched a gym floor, there isn't a better basketball player that I'd want with me all of those hours. And thank you to my girlfriend, Brenna, for all the support she has given me."
Steen was a leader on the basketball team and the guy other teams hated to see with the ball in his hand late in ballgames. " What influenced me," Steen said, "was the love of the game. It really just took over my life at a young age. I think it is really important to love and have a passion for it. Every day, season or no season, I just wanted to have a basketball in my hands."
No doubt Gage Steen will excel at the collegiate level and will have more honors come his way.
Steen hit the ground running with his high school basketball career. He steadily climbed the ranks of post season honor rolls. Steen was honorable mention all-conference his sophomore year then 2nd team all-conference and 2nd team all-district his junior year. His high school career ended recently but not before he was named 1st team all-conference and 1st team all-district.
Steen expresses gratitude to a number of people. "I would like to thank Coach Basore for all the days that it would have been easy to quit, he never let anyone quit and never quit on me" said Steen. "I thank my parents for all of the hours they could have been doing something besides sitting in a gym on uncomfortable bleachers. They were always in the gyms supporting me. Close friends like Dillon Tenholder and Gerold Stephens were, too." Steen extended appreciation to his brother, who played in the starting lineup with him for the Blackhawks as a freshman this season. "I would also like to thank my brother," Steen said. If I needed a person to challenge me or make me better every time we touched a gym floor, there isn't a better basketball player that I'd want with me all of those hours. And thank you to my girlfriend, Brenna, for all the support she has given me."
Steen was a leader on the basketball team and the guy other teams hated to see with the ball in his hand late in ballgames. " What influenced me," Steen said, "was the love of the game. It really just took over my life at a young age. I think it is really important to love and have a passion for it. Every day, season or no season, I just wanted to have a basketball in my hands."
No doubt Gage Steen will excel at the collegiate level and will have more honors come his way.
Photo by Jaison Leary
Comments
Post a Comment