• 4-year varsity starter 1994 to 1998, earned All Jackpine Conference status all 4 years (First-team my sophomore, junior and senior year)
• All-Area 2^nd team as a sophomore, All-Area 1^st team junior and senior years
• Midland Daily News Player of the year Senior Year
• Detroit Free-Press Class B All-state honorable mention Senior Yr, was All-State Honorable Mention junior yr and 2nd Team All-State Senior yr by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan
• JPC champions Freshman, Junior and Senior Years. District Champions Freshman and Senior yrs
• Record: 77 wins and 15 losses 
• 1,511 career points

Who was your favorite coach and why, and any comments?

Roy Johnston. Roy began to teach me basketball fundamentals in 3rd grade before I even knew what fundamentals were. From my waterboy days in the early 90’s to painting his long fence on Lang Rd to my senior year, Roy taught me how to be a winner both on and off the court. Roy squeezed every bit of potential out of me and I think it paid off for him too. I’d like to thank Roy for this and also thank Roy for buying into letting us wear black socks and baggy shorts my freshman year.

Most memorable moment?

Other than dropping 36 points at Gladwin my Senior year, my favorite moment stems from 8th grade basketball against Houghton Lake, where we lost by a deep 3-pt buzzer beater. That dagger haunted me for years. So, it was my senior year playing at Houghton Lake to pretty much seal the JPC title. With 20 seconds left in the game down by 1 point, I made a short jumper off the glass near the end of the game which turned into a victory for us. It was a tremendous feeling to return the favor.

Favorite teammates and why?

Playing 4 years on varsity means I had a lot of teammates. No doubt my freshman year playing with Jim Hess/Mike Dodman/George Whittington was special. We were the JPC underdogs that year and those 3 took me under their wing, and gave me the confidence I needed to help the team win. We won the conference and district that year beating teams that had much more talent than us. Additional teammates to name through my career would be Josh Little, Jeremy Sawyer, Vince & Ben Hicks, Chad Arthur and Brian Veitengruber for always wanting to battle, Corey Pohlman for his physical play and setting the best screens for me and Eric Richardson for busting his butt every game, taking charges all of the time and of course Eric hitting a buzzer beater against Gladwin which I will never forget watching the play from the back court.

What Beaverton High School sports did you partipate in then and how you feel it may have molded you today?

It was all about basketball for me. The Beaverton basketball program, highly driven by Roy along with the dedication of the entire Beaverton community, is a special thing. The basketball program has created a culture you don’t find very often. A culture which develops winning behaviors which lead to winning habits. And the success of this program does not happen by accident. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, results will follow.

How sports played a role in who you are today personally and how, and if you are connected with sports today weather it be playing or coaching?

Playing sports has really created who I am today. The majority of my closest friends are tied together because of sports in some fashion. Sports teach you how to work together as a team to build success and that there is no free lunch. If you want to succeed in life, you must be willing to put in the time and effort. I’ve dabbled into coaching sports the last several years for my two boys and try hard to keep my competitive drive in them.

Overall what was your favorite sport at Beaverton and why?

I think I answered in above comments.

Do you have any fun or funny stories relating back to your sporting experience here in Beaverton?

One funny story was during a 4th quarter when Alan Friday screamed across the gym at me during a silent moment in the game to pass the friggen basketball James. I chuckled quite a bit on that one and when you see me next there is a little more context around the story.

I recall the team laughing at me while I got yelled at by Roy for not paying attention in the huddle during some timeouts. I kind of new what Roy was going to say playing the number of games I did for him. I guess he wasn’t too excited about me glancing over at the other team’s cheerleaders.

Honestly looking back, basketball games were all business until we got the job done. Roy humored all of us on the sideline of course, but most of the laughs from my memory were after games and during practice.

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