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Score one for the teams and coaches that preach culture and character with the pick of Isaiah Stewart. We can never truly know a kid, but I feel pretty confident in my belief that doing the right thing, competing and giving his all are of the utmost importance to Stewart
The year before his senior year at the Nike Peach Jam. Stewart was playing great as usual. But, he was also very tired having come there directly from playing for @usabasketball in FIBA play.
I was walking through the hall and he stopped me. It was quite obvious that he was really upset about something. In the back of my mind, I'm like "What could he possibly be pissed at me for. He's not that kind of kid"...
Turns out that his father wanted him to sit out his next game for @TheCityRocks to rest. For Isaiah, that wasn't an option. But, he didn't want to defy his father. He asked me if I would be willing to tell his dad that he would drop in the rankings if he didn't play
I let him know I couldn't do that, I would be lying and it isn't my place to tell a father what to do. But, it was so clear how important playing was to him. He didn't want anybody thinking was ducking any compettion. So, I told him I would talk to his dad if he needed me to
Luckily, it didn't come to that. But how important it was to him that he compete has always stuck with me. I'll never forget it and it will be a standard I hold any other players I scout who consider themselves competitors to.
