The Rolla basketball teams are fueled by growth and team bonds. Multiple of this year’s athletes plan on continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level, and that’s not just because of their talent. These athletes spend day and night practicing and working towards a better version of themselves and their team. They’ve not only grown as individual players, but they’ve become a family.
“[Basketball] has given me insight that people who you are not related to can actually be called a family. We all care for each other, and we’ll always be there for each other, even though we’re not blood related,” Jenson Thomas, an RHS senior and basketball guard, said.
All the coaching and long practices shaped these young minds into the people they are now, on and off the court.
“I would say the Rolla girls basketball program has really helped me grow by teaching me discipline, by giving me the confidence that maybe I didn’t once have. It has helped me grow on and off the court,” Mariah Watkins, an RHS senior and basketball point guard, said.
RHS senior and basketball post Paxton Ledbetter, expresses how RHS head basketball coach Mark Miller has shaped him as a player.
“I think Coach Miller has always been pretty hard on me. He really pushed me and helped me to become a player today, to have confidence in myself, and I will just grow as a person,” Ledbetter said.
For Ledbetter, his passion for basketball started way before he became a high school athlete.
“I want to say sixth grade is when I really started truly liking basketball, but probably this summer, when I started talking to college coaches and stuff, is when I thought I could do something with basketball, like going to college for it,” Ledbetter said.
Special team moments shared in these athletes’ lives will never be forgotten by them and the Rolla basketball team.
“My favorite team moments were probably when I got the school record last year during districts. I was really nervous because I wasn’t expecting it, and when we stayed overnight in Carthage, we all just went to each other’s rooms, hanging out, and bonding and getting to know each other,” Watkins said.
With eight seniors leaving on the boys team and one on the girls, the Rolla basketball program will be largely impacted by the loss, but their influence and hard work will pass on to their underclassmen. These seniors wish only the best for their high school home team.
“I’m hoping that a lot of the younger guys can step up, because they are going to have to. We’re losing the whole varsity team, pretty much, except for James [Scheck], so they’re definitely gonna have to step up,” Thomas said.
