Inside the Mind of an SJND Phenom, Greyson
Written by Izzy B. ‘27
Greyson Martin is a basketball phenom who is on the Varsity Boys basketball team for SJND. In fact, he was so good that he was one of the only freshmen on the Varsity Boys basketball team when he first came to SJND. Now of course, to get this good, you have to be blessed with great genetic but also have the willpower to improve your game, even if it is one step at a time.
Greyson says that he became a good basketball player by “having dedication and persistence. Practice everyday, and if you do anything everyday you will get good at it. I have gotten good at basketball from practicing 1–2 times everyday, for 2–3 hours each.” To perfect your game, you have to get inspiration from somewhere. Greyson says that he gets most of his moves from the NBA or watching basketball highlights, but there is one player in the NBA that Greyson tries to model on and off the court. Greyson explains, “My favorite player [in the NBA] is Jayson Tatum. I really like the way he plays and he is a well rounded player. I also like the way he carries himself on and off the court. He donates to a lot of charities.”
For Greyson, basketball can be a way to affect your life and other’s lives for the better. This is why Greyson thinks that everyone should play an organized sport. You learn valuable skills and lessons from them. Greyson says the skills he has learned and that you can learn from these sports can be “dedication, teamwork, competitiveness, responsibility, mental health, and physical strength.”
All things have a good side, and a bad side. For Greyson, he feels this way about basketball. He says, “One good thing is being part of a team. It is kind of my family away from family. I am around people I can trust, and plus the games are fun.” He also states, “One bad thing is that it is really hard to sacrifice time.” Even though challenges like these arise when you dedicate yourself to something, overall basketball has improved Greyson’s life outside of the game. He comments, “I started playing with my family when I was 3, and it has brought me and my brother much closer.”
He also states, “Basketball has made me an overall better person. It has helped me cooperate with other people because I am a team captain, so I have to try to connect with everyone, and I can do this by being caring and empathetic. I have also used these qualities outside of basketball, when hanging around friends or family.”
When I first had the idea for this interview/article about Greyson, I expected it to only be about how he trains and his journey to becoming one of if not the best basketball player at SJND. This article still focuses on this, but I didn’t expect for basketball to have such a bonding quality. It seems that what you do off the court carries the same weight as what you do on it. You have to be a role model and a leader, especially if you are the captain of the team.
