HP Basketball Spring Newsletter
March and April 2021
2021 Giants
The Giants finished the season with back-to-back wins over Maine East, finishing with an overall record of 6-8 and a conference record of 6-4. We consistently faced good competition from both the North and South sides of the Central Suburban League, and showed growth and improvement with each opportunity. It always feels good to be playing some of our best basketball at the end of the year. We treated every day as a gift and kept moving forward no matter the challenges. Special shoutouts to Billy Rudman and Nate Fleisher for being voted to the CSL All-Conference team and to Ben Fitzsimons for being voted to the CSL Sportsmanship Team.
The HP Chain Gang continued to grow! The “Chain” was awarded to more and more members of our team, including the entire team after a hard-fought win against Deerfield on our home floor. Coach Harris was awarded the chain after our final game of the season.
Our seniors led extremely well throughout the season, starring in their own unique roles on and off the court. In a season unlike any other, they were resilient and continued to embody our concepts all with a smile on their face and showing an effort to cherish every moment. They embodied our mantra of Keep Moving Forward while enhancing the culture of HP Basketball in a great way. We look forward to honoring our seniors at our upcoming Team Banquet.
Alumni Highlights/GIANT Spotlight
The February Newsletter provided another GIANT reminder of our immense alumni support. In the last newsletter, we had 173 alumni views from 71 different locations across the country (another picture included below). HP Basketball spreads worldwide!
Shoutout to David Sachs (‘15) for being drafted into a minor professional league called The Basketball League by the Dallas Skyline, at the 19th pick of the 2nd round. After being drafted, David was featured in The Chicago Tribune and Lake County Sun. While there are no guarantees moving forward, we are very proud of David as he continues to pursue his basketball career as a professional.
Also, golf and clothing brand Greyson Clothiers recently profiled Coach Ross Deutsch (Coach D) as part of their Spiritual Sunday Pack Hero series. A profile was featured on their website and all of their social media platforms. Greyson shared the story of Coach Deutsch and his wife Mindy and their family’s story about their son Rory and his battle with a pediatric brain tumor 23 years ago. The story can be found in the link below. Along with their story, they also highlighted their family’s foundation, the Rory David Deutsch Foundation, honoring Rory’s legacy and memory. Congratulations, Coach D and Mindy!
Basketball Thoughts
Jon Gordon’s 11 Thoughts about Teamwork:
Teams rise and fall on culture, leadership, relationships, attitude, and effort.
It’s all about teamwork. Sometimes you are the star and sometimes you help the star.
If you want to be truly great, you have to work as hard to be a great teammate as you do to be a great player.
Your team doesn’t care if you are a superstar. They care if you are a super team member.
Three things you control every day are your attitude, your effort, and your actions to be a great teammate.
One person can’t make a team but one person can break a team. Stay positive!
Great team members hold each other accountable to the high standards and excellence their culture expects and demands.
Team beats talent when talent isn’t a team.
Great teams care more. They care more about their effort, their work, and their teammates.
We > Me: Unity is the difference between a great team and an average team.
You and your team face a fork in the road each day. You can settle for average and choose the path of mediocrity, or you can take the road less traveled and chase greatness.
HP History: Senior Tributes
Highland Park Basketball
Email: rdeutsch@dist113.org
Website: https://www.dist113.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=1260
Twitter: @coachharris70