In some great athletes, the love of a sport develops at young ages, an almost foreshadowing of the abundance of talent to appear later in their lives.
This was exactly the case for varsity basketball member Justin Liu (12).  He began dribbling a ball at age six, and inherited a love for basketball from his father who “played a lot of basketball when he was younger (and still does)”  As Liu matured, he continued to shoot hoops through elementary school and middle school until he suddenly found himself at the gates of West High as a freshman.  Overwhelmed and anxious, Liu sought comfort in the one thing he knew he was familiar with—basketball.  Liu started off as an anxious freshman on the frosh/soph team, and worked and played hard during his years of high school; eventually earning him his current spot on the varsity team.
Today, as an experienced senior varsity member, Liu reflects on how he has grown over the years and identifies his key weakness and strength. Though his anxiousness has never fully dissipated—he “sometimes overthinks and [gets] very nervous on the court”—Liu is also “very patient [with] a quick first step.”  Patience is a virtue, especially when waiting to be assigned as point guard, which is the favorite position of Liu because “[he likes] having control over the game.”
A game that Liu certainly helped control was the one against Torrance High school at the Staples Center, the match which he considers to be the highlight of this year’s season so far because of their major win.
When he is not contributing the team’s victories, or practicing free throws, Liu can be found relaxing and hanging out with friends.  He also loves to play football, his second favorite sport (first being basketball, of course!).  Though don’t expect to see him around the courts too often next year.  Liu does not plan to pursue basketball in his college career, but simply “play in his free time [and possibly] play some intramural sports.”