This is not a tale of the emergence of a prodigious talent on the
national prep scene, one who sends the hearts of talent scouts
fluttering and scribes rushing to their keyboards.
It's about more important matters, concerning the strides made, both
personal and on the basketball court, of a young man in San Jose.
He is
Tharon King of Prospect High.
His playing basketball serves mightily as a means of self-expression and
also belonging, the being a member of something larger outside himself.
However, it's the involvement of the 6-foot-1 senior-to-be in particular
with the West Valley Basketball Club (WVBC) that has served as a
critical component in his evolution.
Fresh to the world of basketball, no breaks or handouts were forthcoming, nor expected by anyone.
Everything would be earned, be it playing time on the team or moving forward in the classroom.
King understood and appreciated that.
Slippage wouldn't be buried but acknowledged and previous markers of success reached again and surpassed.
The still blossoming result?
Greater confidence.
Greater understanding.
Each an integral factor in both paving and staying on the path to success.
But there is no mistaking his burning passion for basketball nor his
respect and appreciation for a number of the adults in his life such as
family friend Clara Adams and Coaches Al Grigsby and Bob Bramlett of the
WVBC.
Raised by a strong and caring mother, it was also the factors of Adams,
Grigsby and Bramlett coming into his life which positively affected
King's orbit. Call it the "it takes a village" maxim at work, however
limited the population.
So who is King?
In his own words, "vocal and calm."
Someone who dreams of "playing in the NBA (Dwight Howard and Derrick
Rose are his favorite talents) or working as a basketball coach or a
mental health therapist. The latter is because "I want to help people
with their issues and make their lives much better."
But finishing high school comes first plus additional effort in getting
"faster, stronger and jumping higher" so as to carry on his love of
roundball.
Asked about his earlier exposure to basketball, King offered, "I didn't
make the team in seventh grade (Moreland Middle School) because I didn't
know the fundamentals of basketball."
That has changed.
"I became more responsible and more motivated, realizing I can't wait
until the last minute if I want a good life," King explained.
In talking about King, Grigsby said, "He always came to our workouts
[since the eighth grade] but he never made our traveling team until this
season. But he should have been on it last year."
Grigsby added, "He is a very appreciative kid, someone who is really shy
and doesn't say much. Tharon never asks for anything and in today's
world where players have expectations, you like a kid like that."
King provided some surprises to the WVBC coaching staff this spring.
"In his first game, he played quite well. I had no idea, " Grigsby
recalled. "With Tharon, pleasant surprises are now expectations."
Yes, the effort in the classroom must remain as well as progress on the court. College will be the next big challenge.
About roundball at the next level, Grigsby said, "Tharon has a chance."
That's all King wishes.
Here's Coach Bramlett, breaking one of his usually steadfast rules of
not speaking publicly about any of his WVBC participants, talking about
Tharon:
"Clara Adams called me and mentioned that this young man she knew who
needed some structure and she felt we could offer it. The first time I
met him, it was clear that Tharon did not have any real basketball
experience. He could not dribble, had poor coordination and yet you
could see the greater person inside screaming to get out.
It was very important to me that he be treated not as the only special
case but one of the special cases. We tell our parents that you have the
luxury of loving one player, we have the responsibility of loving them
all.
We talked about commitment. He was assigned the responsibility of
calling me every Friday to let me know he was coming on Sunday.
Not one time did Tharon fail to call with the lone exception being his
mom had him call once from her phone because she confiscated his because
he broke a rule with her.
At these practices he was at, he struggled initially to even remember
what he was suppose to do. When the group was punished, some kids
actually resented him. My brother recalled a moment when he was sitting
near a parent who made a disparaging remark about Tharon holding up the
progress of the entire groups.
Soon enough, because we do not accept anything less than compassion from
our players for those trying to get it right, unless they are not
working hard, kids started encouraging him, helping him, thereby
avoiding the penalties associated with mishaps and mistakes.
They brought him into the fold.
The first big step for me as far as realizing truly what kind of young
man he is, came when he went to a couple of the players after a session
and thanked them for helping him understand the correct way to do a
drill he was struggling with and therefore getting the team in trouble.
They worked with him during the break in order to insure he would be
more comfortable doing the drill. 'They' are Michele Rebozzi and Morgan
Woodrow, now of Fresno Pacific and San Diego respectively. It was a
lesson that benefited so many more than just Tharon.
From that point on, Tharon went from being an adopted player to a valued
member, graduating into the position of even demonstrating drills at
the onset of them.
This year, I invited him to come to our Saturday Practice. His response
was 'Me, why?' It was asked in an innocent way, which also defines
Tharon. I told him that he was traveling with us. His Mom called
immediately afterwards because she said Tharon was very confused. I told
her that he had earned the right to travel and was selected by the
staff. That's the thing. He EARNED it. This is not charity. Some may
argue that initially we gave him a chance and, if that is the truth,
then there really is something to be said for 'each one reach one and
teach one.' He is actually playing well and has a perfect attendance
record.
I informed him last week that he was one of our Woodie Award Winners.
This is an award named after one of the guys who established the
program, Mike Woodie. It is given to the athlete who best resembles the 3
C's: Commitment, Competitiveness and Compassion. Tharon caught up with
me after the award announcement and asked me why he had been selected
over another player who he believed was the hardest working player in
our program Talk about from the mouth of the innocent.
Tharon falls into that undesirable category established by our society
to ascribe our futures and places on earth. He had every reason to fail,
prescribed to failure. Ask him how many adults outside his family and
Clara, Al and I have invested any time in him.
We will never read about Tharon playing in the NBA. Most of us,
unfortunately, wait to hear about their failings either in statistical
categories or on the news. We assign them a path and then that path
becomes their reality. Tharon is breaking the mode. Truth and honesty is
prevailing. The good guys get to win."
Marlo Bramlett, Bob's brother added this: "At the beginning, Tharon had
no basketball skills whatsoever. He was very quiet and kept to himself.
He went from the kids not wanting to be paired with him to them wanting
to play alongside him now. He won't land in D-I but the answer to can he
play at the next level is yes. We all need an identity and Tharon
achieved his. One day on my way to work, I saw Tharon dribbling a
basketball on his way to school -- he took his commitment to a whole new
level. Tharon is the poster child for West Valley Basketball -- it's
what the program is about. Our goal is to have the kids become better
basketball players and persons -- it's more than turning out the best
basketball player."
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