Under the blinding lights, shooting guard senior Zaid Yunis makes another basket for Northwood’s boys basketball team. But this isn’t just any basket —with it, he achieved the elusive, nearly impossible accomplishment of 1,000 career points, becoming the 10th Northwood basketball player to do so.
“The achievement means a lot,” Yunis said. “I never really thought I would be in this position, but over time I thought that I could really do this. It was a tough game, too, but it was really fun.”
Yunis’s dedication to his craft makes him a model to the rest of his team and a foundation for their game plan. Yunis’s teammates consistently rely on his ability to catch rebounds and shoot the ball.
“Zaid’s such a core of our team,” center junior Justin Liu said. “A lot of our success can be attributed to him. He’s a really good leader for our team and a role model for everyone.”
Although performing well amidst the distractions of loud crowds and pressures of meeting expectations will always be overwhelming, basketball has given Yunis the mental toughness to stay concentrated.
For Yunis, getting in the right headspace starts with an extensive pregame ritual. The day of a big game, Yunis likes to stretch, take a quick shower and eat a large chicken plate from Flame Broiler (no vegetables besides carrots). Before going on the court, Yunis will take deep breaths and visualize the game to relax and clear his mind.
“You’ll have crowds yelling at you or you won’t want to let your teammates down,” Yunis said. “But you have to put all of that to the side and clear your mind to play your game.”
Building a tough mindset started at a young age for Yunis, as his parents encouraged him to try basketball in kindergarten. Over the years, he played in local leagues with his friends and had a lot of fun playing with his friends. But even starting from childhood, Yunis was competitive, always trying to improve himself and stay on top of the competition.
“I just wanted to be the best player that I could be,” Yunis said. “I have a lot of fun just getting better and playing. I also have a lot of friends around the league that I’m competitive with so I want to say that I can beat them.”
Even though he has achieved one of the most prestigious basketball milestones in school history, not much has changed for Yunis’s approach. The achievement means a lot to him, but it doesn’t pressure him to play better. The accomplishment just gives him greater self-confidence in his skills.
Yunis hopes to finish the rest of the season strong with the rest of his team to prepare for CIF championships in early March and has also expressed interest in pursuing college basketball if given the opportunity. Whatever his future in basketball holds for him, Yunis is determined to follow all his interests in life using the skills the sport has taught him.
“Our coach likes to say that basketball is an analogy for life,” Yunis said. “You’re going to have to work well with others while working on yourself because the competition is always getting better, too.”
