Summer Creek’s girls basketball seniors Zachara Perkins and Mariyah Brown have been named McDonald’s All-American nominees. This honor adds to an already amazing season.
Every year young athletes are nominated to have the privilege of playing in the All American games. This event is very big and sometimes involves a bit of travel. This year, the games will be being held locally in Houston. There are many factors that help make this game the exciting event that it is, such as the dunking contest, the All American game itself, and skills challenge. Even an artist will put on a performance for entertainment during halftime.
“I definitely think that this has made more people notice me,” senior Zachara Perkins said. “This has made more people understand that I am not just a regular player, and I’m actually really good. Made people realize that I can do big things.”
This event involves a ton of publicity due to it being such a huge event. There are over 200 girls involved in the nominee program from all over the U.S., such as California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Delaware and many more.
“I’d probably say I’m most excited about the dunk contest,” senior Mariyah Brown said. “Seeing girls dunk in real life is really cool. Not just seeing it on TV or just my phone is very cool. So I’m very excited.”.
This big accomplishment has not changed the girls’ drive and effort to show their best on the court. The girls basketball team is #6 in the state and #1 in the district. They are definitely headed to dominate in the playoffs. They are currently leading with a 10-1 streak in district play but 27-3 overall with only three district games left before the playoffs.
“They both lead in different ways,” said Donald Ott, the varsity girls basketball coach. “I think that they both have exhibited that work ethic through practice and in the games. So I think their leadership has truly helped out a lot. But, we have a total of eight seniors that have all helped out a lot and have really contributed to the growth of the program.”
Coach Ott has joined the Bulldog family this year and has definitely added into the equation with the skills he has taught our girls. He values his students a lot and that has definitely shown through the coach-athlete bond.
“You certainly hope that anything that you talk with your kids about throughout the year will continue to follow them throughout their life,” Ott said.
