|
Sixth-grade basketball phenomenon A basket full of dreams
STEVE MAYNARD; steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
Last updated: August 13th, 2008 01:24 AM (PDT)
Eleven-year-old Jashaun Agosto makes foul shots with his eyes closed, swishes 20-footers from the top of the key and performs shooting drills better than some high school players.
The Federal Way sixth-grader is a basketball phenom. He’s 4-foot-9, weighs 70 pounds and has unusual aerobic endurance for his age.
“God gave me a gift to play basketball and practice hard,” Jashaun said. “Most people don’t like to practice hard.”
Most people can’t make 56 free throws in a row. Or run a mile in 4:50. Jashaun has.
His skills and age have put him in the national limelight in the past year. After KOMO-TV told his story, Jashaun appeared on “Good Morning America” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” ABC’s “World News Tonight” also ran a story on him.
Jashaun says the attention makes him work harder to live up to people’s expectations. “People are looking at me,” said Jashaun, during a break in practice at the Federal Way Community Center.
“I love basketball,” Jashaun said. “I would like to play middle school, high school, college and go to the NBA. I think there’s a chance because I practice extremely hard.”
His dad, Julio Agosto, leads Jashaun’s workouts – four hours a day, seven days a week.
Jashaun will enter middle school next month and wants to play varsity. His dad said Jashaun might have to cut back his workouts so he has more time to study.
He earns A’s and B’s in school, and his favorite subject is math.
Julio Agosto and his wife, Michelle Williams, are planning to move within Federal Way soon, so they don’t know yet which school Jashaun will attend. Jashaun has two brothers and a sister.
Jashaun competed this summer in AAU national tournaments for basketball and track and field for those 11 and younger.
He finished second in the 1,500-meter race, almost taking first place.
Except for his size, it’s hard to think of him as a sixth-grader.
During layup drills, Jashaun passed the ball between his legs before jumping over a cone. He twirled the ball off the backboard into the hoop with his right and left hand.
“He’s amazing,” said his mom. “I’m very proud of him.”
“He’s pretty humble,” Williams said. “That’s the great thing about him.”
His dad concedes he has concerns about all the attention his son gets.
“He wants to be in the NBA, but he understands the odds of that,” Julio Agosto said. The long-term goal is for his son to get a basketball scholarship to attend college.
That way, his dad said, Jashaun “can pursue his dreams, whatever they are.”
Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647
Originally published: August 13th, 2008 01:24 AM (PDT)
|
