I come from a basketball family.

Not just the typical “Hey did you watch the game last night?” family, but a lifetime basketball guru family.

Let’s start with my Mom’s side. Some may not know this because she’s not from around here, but her side is just as big basketball fans as my dad’s, maybe bigger. My Grandpa was the head coach of Widener University for 33 years, and is a Philly Basketball legend. Some may think Grandma’s are pretty neive when it comes to sports, well that’s the exact opposite with my family. Grandma Rowe knows just as much basketball as anyone I’ve ever met. My Uncle Jim also coached at the Collegiate level, and even though my Mom didn’t play, she’s been around enough basketball people to know the game inside and out.

Then, there’s my dad’s side. Everyone’s played really, and it’s a big Italian family, so I’ll just highlight a few. My Grandma, a HHS Wall of Fame basketball player, is an absolute fanatic. She’s 84 years old and does not miss any of my games, not one. My Father, also in the Wall of Fame, averaged 28 points a game his Senior year, is a local legend and finished his high school career with 972 points. My older sister Paige was a four year starter here at HHS, and scored 985 points in her career. Then, there’s Christian. 99 percent of the time, I’m initially introduced as “Christian’s younger brother” and that’s for a reason. He is arguably the best basketball player to ever come out of HHS. No pressure there, right? Scoring 1642 points, leading Hammonton to a school best 22 win season, and currently averaging 20 points a game at Bloomsburg University, that’s a tough act to follow.

Finally, there is me. The youngest of 4, and obviously the best looking(at least I’d like to think that). I’m a senior here at HHS and I’m having quite the year myself. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I’m feeling pretty good about myself. Currently averaging 18.3 points per game and leading the area in 3 pointers made, I like to think of myself as the best shooter in the family, but Christian might disagree. My high school career will most likely end around 920 points, right near that 1,000 club. I’ll be playing college basketball next year and have my options narrowed down, but haven’t picked the exact school yet. 2% of High School Basketball players play at the collegiate level. 2 in the same family? Thats impressive. Going from a 5 “6′ Freshman not on the varsity team to reaching heights even I couldn’t see back then, I’ve come a long, long way. People always ask me if I feel pressure coming from a basketball family, and honestly, my family has never put that much pressure on me at all. I put pressure on myself to perform my best, but I bet if I was a strait A student and never touched a basketball, my father would be just as proud. Of course, how can you not feel pressure when the best player to ever leave Hammonton is right down the hall? Well, I’ll tell you that story on a different day.

Now enough with the boring stats and people, because it basically just shows that this family is obsessed with a game. And that’s not always a bad thing. Basketball is just a tool. We use basketball to come together and bond as a family. It is something we all have in common and is used as a starting point of just about any conversation to get to know us better. And thats what I always loved about basketball, the people you meet along the way. My dad will always run into people everywhere we go, weather it would be wawa, the shore, or a gym an hour from here, always someone. The answer most of the time is “We played ball down the shore together” or “I played against him in high school.” And I know I will be the same way, because a lot of them are just like us, basketball people.

“If it wasn’t for basketball, I’d have no friends” he tells me, when in my mind he knows just about everyone in South Jersey. “I met my best man on the 34th street courts, and my wife through basketball as well.”

My dad’s mother always says, “As long as I got a basketball in my casket, I’ll be okay.”

Boy, are we crazy.

If that doesn’t say what basketball means to us, I don’t know what will.