Out of the many students on varsity, only a few make it onto the team as underclassmen. Seniors dominate the varsity title, making tryouts and scholarships intimidating for any lower class student except junior basketball player Khamil Pierre. After getting 15 D1 Offers to schools across the country, the intimidation is irrelevant. 

This moment has been recorded as history “I played basketball freshman and sophomore year, but didn’t really start to focus on it until now,” said Pierre. Her athleticism and work ethic sets her apart from all players making her appeal to colleges and has helped her make her way to the top.

Pierre started her athletic career as a soccer player, with basketball being an afterthought. She switched to basketball after years of club soccer, and even though her experience is less than most at this age, her willingness to be better is not. 

“This being my first year playing club basketball, I’m definitely late to the game and have a ton of work to do,” said Pierre.

Though Pierre is not captain of the team her attitude on the court changes the team. “It’s clear that the attitude and energy I bring each day is a major factor for the team’s success,” said Pierre.

Her teammates agree that her being on the court “really motivates the team to be better and whenever she talks everyone listens,” said varsity player senior Leah Davis. “Her dedication to basketball is unreal and really creates an atmosphere that does not come naturally to every player.”

Considering that she has played soccer longer than basketball “the whole college offer thing is still so crazy to me! I had the chance to play division 1 soccer also, but I quit playing to focus on basketball a year ago,” said Pierre, making this transition abrupt. 

Even though basketball is still moderately new to Pierre she “picked up 10 full ride division 1 scholarships after my first ever club basketball tournament,” said Pierre. Her plan for college completely changed after she started to focus on basketball, once she switched her sport colleges took an immediate interest in her.

These scholarships did not come naturally; after a lot of practice and dedication Pierre made a name for herself. “She is always there for practice and puts in all the extra work outside of practice hours to make sure she can be the teammate we need,” said Davis.

Pierre’s athleticism does set her apart from most athletes, considering she’s only a junior she has so much heading her way. These scholarships are only the beginning of her basketball career and looking forward to new opportunities is what Pierre does best.