Sag: What have you given up to play your sport?

JM: I had to give up a lot of my time, but when it’s something that you’re really passionate about, it turns into a hobby.

Sag: What are some of your favorite moments in basketball?

JM: It’s a warm feeling that you have. If you’re having issues at home, you can always come to practice upset and then at the end of practice you have people to talk to. It’s a warm environment.

Sag: What are some of the overall greatest awards for playing basketball?

JM: I have gotten awards, trophies, plaques, stuff like that. But one of my real rewards is how basketball and being on the teams that I’ve been on has made me who I am right now. Right now, looking at the team that I am on at the high school, we’re like a family. Sometimes after we have group huddles, we’ll say “Warriors” on three and then “family” on six because we consider ourselves like a family.

Sag: What has your coach done to promote team unity?

JM: He sets an example and he states something that we should do, and then it takes the entire team to complete the coach’s example.

Sag: What role has your coach played in your life?

JM: Coach Fiedor and I have a really close relationship; he became like a mentor to me. To me, almost everything he says is true. The guy knows what he’s talking about.

Sag:  What do you enjoy most about basketball?

JM: Its competitiveness, the commitment, the team, the family, just basically everything about it. Once you’re passionate about something, you just want to do it. It’s like love. Sometimes you can’t explain why you love somebody, but you just do because you have that connection with them. I have that connection with basketball.

Ben Gladstone can be contacted at [email protected].