The Wallenpaupack senior moved into third place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,244 points, scoring 30 in a 53-42 win over arch-rival Honesdale, and adding 14 in a 52-48 win over No. 8-ranked North Pocono.
Athletes you admire: Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, those type of guards who are just explosive.
Most famous athlete you’ve ever met? Billy Owens, he’s my cousin.
Any sports teams you follow? The Knicks. I don’t really have a favorite college basketball team. I watch all of them, though.
Give me a skill you’d like to master away from sports. Definitely being able to work with tools, work on cars, and know how to do it yourself.
Pre-game rituals or superstitions? Music and a strawberry-banana Body Armor. And sneakers. I try to switch it every game.
How many pairs of sneakers do you have? Quite a few. Fifteen or 20 probably. I have a lot of basketball shoes.
You now have 1,244 career points, and the school record is 1,290, set by Jeff Maydosz in 1972. When did you first start thinking you might have a shot at that? After my sophomore year. Everyone was just talking about Jake Brown (1,240 points, now fourth all-time) and how he’s the best, the greatest basketball player to come out of Wallenpaupack. I was like, he’s not. It has to be me.
You guys are ranked second in our poll. What’s the key been to the 12-1 start? Obviously, coach (Jim McGinnis) and I talked before the season and our biggest thing was we wanted to buckle down on defense. That’s what helped us win all the games we have won. Defense, 100%, is what we wanted to focus on. If our defense was as good as our offense, then we are unstoppable.
Funniest teammate? Probably Gerard McGrath. He just does his own thing and doesn’t care what people think about him.
Biggest thrill you’ve had in sports? Probably the Scranton Prep game last year (43 points), even though we lost. The buzzer-beater to send it to double overtime, that sends chills. We play Prep on Thursday. I can’t wait for it.
You have 15 3s in your last two games. How many do you have for your career? I’m three away from 200. My dad says it’s special.
Three people you’d like to have dinner with. Steph Curry, Travis Scott and Michael Jordan.
Who has had the greatest influence on your athletic career? My father and assistant coach (Dave) Smith. My dad was always on me about making sure my shot was good and I knew how to dribble and all that other stuff. Coach Smith has been there since biddy and he’s helped me develop. They are the two biggest parts of basketball, those two right there.
After high school, what’s next? I’m going to major in exercise science and minor in business I don’t know where yet.
Let’s talk about your hair. It’s so distinctive. It’s different. I love it. Everyone knows it’s me because of it. When I was younger, I didn’t have this. It was buzz-cut all the time. There were so many kids in my school who asked what it looks like if I grow my hair out. And I asked my mom about it and she said it was really curly. I tried it and it came out like this. It’s been like this since freshman year. I cut it differently freshman year than it is now. So many people ask me.
Marty Myers began his career as a sports writer at The Wayne Independent in Honesdale, where he served as sports editor and later managing editor. After 10 years there, he joined The Times-Tribune in 1994 and has spent the ensuing years reporting on high school sports, local and professional golf. An award-winning journalist, he also enjoys his duties as a copy editor for The Times-Tribune, editing stories and designing pages. A native of Williamsport, Marty resides in Clarks Summit. Reach him at mmyers@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100 x5437 or @mmyersTT.
