Heran Buruk '21 Recruiting Profile

Being someone that started playing the game of basketball as a freshman in high school at a varsity level,  I remember thinking it’s crazy how far I have really come, all the sweat, all the tears, all the late night practices, 5 am workouts during the off-seasons. I remember going to these basketball lessons 3 times a week after long rough days at school, I was really tired. I had so many doubts that I would never get to where I am right now. I remember crying after bad games because I didn’t play how I wanted to play. People kept telling me it was just a game, but I didn’t see it as a game, I couldn’t. It was more than a game to me. It was an escape from reality when I needed a break, it was like my best friend. I never understood why progress didn’t show when I put all the time and effort in the gym, more than others, to perfect my craft. I was still not performing my best. I was still having bad games. I was still messing up. I was still not satisfied after every game. At the moment it seemed like I just was working for no reason just because I didn’t see my results right away. I never really knew how to just be patient and trust timing. I learned that everything has timing, and you can’t lose faith in what you want to do even when you are going through a rough time or when you don’t see progress fast. If anything, these tough and bad times have taught me a lot and shaped me.  The sport shaped me to become a hard worker, self motivated/ self driven, ambitious and humble and not only as a player but also as a human being. Basketball made me realize that in whatever it is I do in this life, I need to fail in order to succeed. Nothing comes easy in this world, it takes time, dedication, consistency and faith to succeed in anything you want and playing this sport  taught me that. I learned to accept where I am but not to be satisfied. I’ve applied this throughout my life in school, work related, even with my personal goals. Knowing that you can’t cheat the grind because even though you may not get the right grade, results or whatever the case may be, the grind knows how much time and power you invested in it and it won’t pay you back if you haven’t been working for it. Overall, the sport of basketball self-developed me into the person I am right now.  All of these bad experiences taught me things take time and patience. It taught me that if I put my mind into doing something and put the work behind it, by all means I will achieve it. I'm very coachable. I'm always looking for ways to improve and perfect my craft in every aspect of my life whether that be related with my school work or  related in basketball. I love getting constrictive criticism and input on how I can improve as a player.