Millikan Basketball Tryouts ’22-’23
An assistant coach snapped this picture of Jordan Bell giving a quick speech to the JV and Varsity players.
October 10, 2022
Have you ever wondered how teams select their roster? Well, on Monday, September 5th, Millikan held basketball tryouts for incoming freshmen and returning sophomores. A second tryout was held later that day for returning juniors and seniors. There were a total of twenty-six freshmen and sophomores who came to the morning tryouts. Some players would have had a greater advantage of making the team if they attended the summer camp.
Players who attended varsity tryouts were surprised when NBA champion Jordan Bell arrived at the gym to talk to some juniors and seniors. Bell wanted to give a quick pep talk to varsity players and how one day they might make it to the big leagues.
Once the tryouts were over, the coaches told everyone that they will be contacted about all three of the basketball rosters.
On the night of tryouts, the final rosters were sent to all students who attended tryouts attached with a paragraph saying that there might be spots for team managers, and possibly open spots if a rostered player is not able to compete.
Frosh/Soph team member Daniel Rios shared his personal experience at tryouts, “During tryouts I was focusing on showing off my skills for the coaches to see. I was nervous about whether I was gonna make JV or stay on Frosh/Soph. In the end I was very tired from hustling the whole time.”
The boys basketball team will practice every day during 7th or 8th until their season starts in the winter. The official varsity season starts on Tuesday, November 29 at 3:00 PM. It is a neutral game against Lynwood where the two teams have no home advantage over each other.
The parents of the players received a full schedule of games for the season. The varsity team is hoping to repeat their historic season last year where they competed in CIF state. Join us in wishing the Millikan Rams Boys Basketball team some good luck going into the season! Go Rams!
Austin Carroll • Oct 25, 2022 at 8:50 am
October 21, 2022
Dear Corydon Editor,
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article about the 22-23 basketball tryouts.
The overall article does a very good job at explaining what happened there. As well as telling us some interesting things that happened at the tryouts. Which if you didn’t read the article you most likely wouldn’t know about. Like the appearance of the professional NBA player Jordan Bell. It seemed like a very interesting experience to meet with a pro of the sport you are trying out for. The article explained that he was there to talk with the seniors and give encouragement to the incoming freshman. Seen here in the article “Bell wanted to give a quick pep talk to varsity players and how one day they might make it to the big leagues”. Which is a very nice sentiment. I for one am curious on how we got him to show up at our school. We are just a highschool in Long Beach after all, not some college or private school with a lot of money. So that makes it definitely a cooler experience, for those involved. Overall the article conveys how people were thinking during the tryouts and informs us how they went.
Sincerely,
Austin Carroll, Grade 11
Leonardo Mayorga • Oct 21, 2022 at 1:55 pm
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled ¨Millikan Basketball Tryouts ’22-’23¨ The article mentioned that NBA Champion Jordan Bell took some time to speak to the incoming juniors and seniors. Prior to reading the article, I knew that Jordan Bell attended Long Beach Poly High School. As an athlete myself, I know how powerful it can be to hear from someone who is going through or has gone through similar experiences. Someone like Bell can attest to the insane amount of work and dedication it takes to make it to the NBA. Jordan Bell´s connection to the city of Long Beach makes his influence that much greater, as Millikan athletes can relate to his experiences, both on and off the court. From an athletic standpoint, I can imagine that this visit meant a lot to everyone on the varsity team and influenced them in a positive way to work hard this upcoming season and finish strong all the way. It was great to hear that an influential basketball figure took some time to give back to the community he comes from and help inspire others to follow in his footsteps. Thank you so much for sharing this information with us through a wonderfully written article. I look forward to learning more about my local basketball team.
Armando R • Oct 21, 2022 at 1:52 pm
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryout 22-23” The article mentions Millikan held basketball tryouts for incoming freshman and sophomores and later was also held for juniors and seniors. They didn’t just have any type of tryouts, they also had a guest speaker which was Jordan Bell, who is known for attending Oregon University and winning a NBA championship. I thought it was a very cool thing to see for them being able to bring in someone with a ton of experience on the game of basketball to then give advice to the kids there. Another thing I liked was the personal experience from a player that was in the team giving his perspective. But one thing I would like to correct would be the official game of the season which is not on November 29 but it is November 14 against Wilson and I am not sure about the time. The article to me was very interesting with everything covered such as the NBA player that at one point also attended Poly, one of Millikan’s biggest rivals. Also giving advice from a player that was on the team that can give other players or people that want to try out next year more knowledge on what to do and not overthink whether they did or bad but it’s about giving their all.
Angie Del Gaudio • Oct 20, 2022 at 12:01 pm
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled ¨Millikan Basketball Tryouts ´22-´23.¨ In this article Joshua Mata addresses the most breaking news regarding basketball tryouts, and the special guest who appeared at tryouts to inspire varsity players. Based on information from this article, during the 2022-23 tryouts, one can conclude that many passionate teen basketball players arrived at Millikan for either morning freshman/sophomore tryouts, or afternoon returning junior/senior tryouts, with hopes of defending the spot as a returner, or possibly moving up teams. It was wonderful to read about so many players showing up and playing their hearts out, as illustrated in the article through the use of many effective quotes from real students. I am sure all the players were holding their breath waiting to see what team they made for the following year. However, after a week of tireless tryouts the list was posted! In addition, junior/senior players were also given the opportunity to meet professional basketball player Jordan Bell during tryouts, and hear some words of wisdom, along with some words of inspiration. It would be so amazing if every sport at Millikan got such an incredible opportunity to meet role models for their specific sports or interests! Finally, the final line in the article inspiring Ram pride, and inviting students to come support the basketball team caught my eye. I am on the Millikan Advanced Dance team, and there is talk about having dancers perform at varsity basketball games. Do you think this is a good idea? Will it be too much considering cheer is involved? Or is it a great opportunity to get more students involved and boost Ram pride? Let me know your thoughts! Thank you so much for putting in a lot of time and effort to make the school newspaper a platform where all students may log on and find an article written for their interest.
Kurt Buss • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:57 am
On October 10, Joshua Mata published an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts 22′-23′”. In this article he reviewed the schedule for the tryouts, the amount of athletes who tried out, and even a personal quote from one of the athletes who tried out. I also thought it was cool how you included a section of the article and even a picture about Jordan Bell. Being able to meet a former NBA champion at this tryout must have been very interesting for the players on the team. Professional sports players visiting our school doesn’t happen very often so I thought it was great that you designated a portion of the article for him. In addition, I liked how you included some of the success that the team has had in recent years as I think it’s important for Millikan students to know how well our sports teams are doing. I would really appreciate it if you could include additional articles about the scores of future games and how well certain athletes are doing on the team. You could even do this with other sports too so that Millikan students can keep up with our sports teams and see how they’re doing.
Sam Martynec • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:53 am
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ‘22-’23”. Throughout the article Mata explains things like when the season starts, how often we will be practicing, and what happened during the tryouts. As I am a member of the Millikan Boys Basketball program, and have been for three years now, it is nice to see the school community showing us support! As mentioned by Mata in the article, former NBA champion Jordan Bell was in attendance since he is good friends and former high school teammates with JV coach Chris Camper. He explained to us the importance of taking every single rep seriously during practice, or tryouts for this situation, to give yourself the best opportunity for the coach to see you and want you on the team. Myself and many other players in the program thought that having Jordan Bell coming out and speaking to us is something we will remember for a very long time because of the fact that he not only grew up here and played at Long Beach Poly, but he has gotten to the highest level of basketball, the NBA, and had the opportunity to be playing alongside some of the best athletes in the world. Tryouts are always tough for players because everyone is trying to fight for a roster spot, wanting the coaches to notice them during drills or scrimmages coach Curtis Boyer had us involved in. Now that tryouts are past us and practice is in full swing, we prepare for our season and are hoping to not only recreate, but build off of the success we had last season.
Collin McCormick • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:51 am
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ‘22-’23.” The article talks about how the tryouts worked and how many people tried out for the team. It also talks about a summer camp that Millikan has where students can practice for the tryouts before the school year starts. I have never really heard much about our basketball team so this was interesting to read. Mata also talks about how a famous NBA champion, Jordan Bell, came and talked to some of the juniors and seniors and gave them a pep talk about how they could one day go big. I really liked this detail because I didn’t know that pro basketball players went to talk to kids at high school, I’d never even heard of it. There was another detail about how students could sign up for team managers if they didn’t make the team which shows how kids could still help the team even if they weren’t on the team. Mata even got an interview with one of the students who tried out for the basketball team. This was a great addition to the article because now the article not only shows an overview of the topic, but also a deep down and more specific point of view from someone who actually experienced the event.
Sydney Fast • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:45 am
On October 10th, 2022, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ’22-’23.” The article covers the process of the tryouts, explaining how the groups are organized, which teams are available to be made, and how many kids make each team. I thought it was really interesting how an NBA player gave a talk to the juniors and seniors in the program! It would have been really fascinating to have learned a bit more about him because it is not every day that athletes get to meet someone who made it to the top level possible. Furthermore, reading about the tryout process was also intriguing because it was comparable to the girls’ soccer tryout process. Most of the facts that Mata explained, especially that it is important to go to the summer camps to gain an advantage, splitting up the athletes by grade level, and that they were feeling nervous about which team they will make, are all similar. One thing I wish soccer did was alert the athletes which teams they made the night of the tryout. This would be nice because of the fact that it takes the soccer coaches months to decipher who will make which team, adding to the nerves. With everything mentioned, Mata did a great job at capturing my attention with interesting facts regarding the tryouts for the basketball team, especially because I was able to compare the process to what I have experienced with the girls’ soccer team.
Koby Thurmond • Oct 20, 2022 at 10:13 am
October 20, 2022
Dear Corydon Editor,
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ´22-´ 20.” I really enjoyed reading this article because I am a huge basketball fan and used to play for 10 years. My brother also played for Poly’s basketball team, Millikan’s rival team, so high school basketball is important to me. It was really interesting hearing about the team and how dedicated the members are to prove themselves and do their best in tryouts. It gives me something to look forward to in the upcoming season and gives me confidence in the MIllikan basketball teams going far into championships. My favorite part of the article was when Jordan Bell, current NBA player, was mentioned and came to talk to the boys who tried out for varsity. He has won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2018 and it is amazing that the players got the opportunity to speak with someone who has accomplished the things the team wants to do. The Golden State Warriors are my favorite NBA team, so knowing the team got to hear insight from someone who has been on that team is so cool and gives them an edge in the competition. I really enjoyed the article and I can’t wait to read more articles written by Joshua Mata.
Sincerely,
Koby Thurmond, Grade 11
Mia Iovine • Oct 20, 2022 at 10:06 am
Dear Corydon Editor,
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ’22-’23.” The article talks about the main events that took place around the Millikan Basketball tryouts. Although I enjoyed this article, I have some suggestions that could possibly improve upon it. The article briefly mentions that a NBA champion, Jordan Bell, visited the tryouts to give a pep talk. Personally, I think this is a big deal that could have been emphasized more. A quote from the pep talk or a brief summary of what he said could be valuable to readers and even inspiring. Expanding on that, a quote of how the pep talk affected the students and their mindset or their performance in tryouts could also add interest. Another suggestion would be to leave out the short third paragraph. When I read the article I immediately noticed that the first sentence of the next paragraph was almost the same, so I think that the third paragraph could be absorbed into the next. This space could be used to talk out the number of spots available versus the amount of people who tried out and their chances of making the team. Thank you for the informative article.
Sincerely,
Mia Iovine, Grade 11
Jordan Magdael • Oct 20, 2022 at 10:01 am
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article about the “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ’22-’23.” The article reveals the details behind the 22-23 class of Millikan high school basketball tryouts. NBA champion Jordan Bell even made an appearance as a cool addition to the tryouts. A local from Long Beach that played for the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite that, before reading this article I was not familiar with the process for basketball tryouts here on the campus. Although, I have a few questions about the specifics that happen during tryouts. While reading, Rios says that it was tiring and nerve-biting, what made it that way? I personally connect to the times when I wasn’t sure if I’d make the team. Considering there were players that were more preferable. What was the competition like on the court? Seeing the assortment of players on FS, JV, and VAR there is a lot of variety and players to choose from. What percentage of students made the teams? From what I’ve heard, you have a history of playing basketball yourself. Do you have experience with the Millikan basketball tryouts, if so what was it like? Anyways, thank you for sharing your sights on the tryouts.
Max Schlafke • Oct 20, 2022 at 9:57 am
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ‘22-’23” The article brings up the fact that they had basketball tryouts this past week and introduces a professional basketball player by the name of Jordan Bell, who won an NBA championship. I am not super versed in basketball so I had a couple of questions. I found out that Jordan Bell went to Long Beach Polytechnic so I was wondering why he showed up to Millikan’s practice. I feel it was very good for the varsity players to have this pep talk and it may inspire them. I feel that this article was written with much care and you can tell the writer was keen about the subject. There was a great story told about how players get chosen to be on the varsity basketball team and I did not know that players were asked to be team managers and maybe stand-ins if one of the players can’t make it. I felt asking one of the players how the tryouts were was a very good idea because everyone can now see what players do to try to make it on the team. I find it interesting that they try to show their skills off so the coaches want to pick them more. Thank you for introducing me to the subject of the varsity basketball team.
Evan Zes • Oct 20, 2022 at 9:53 am
On October 10, 2022, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ‘22-’23.” The article mentions that players may have had a greater chance at making the team if they had attended the prior summer camp. As a high school athlete, I understand the ideals that surround the idea of attending tryouts with a promise from my coach that I may have an edge over other participants because of what seemed to be my prior dedication to the program. I also understand that these “promises” from coaches do not always move in favor of the participants. This raises a few questions. Was this promise made in an attempt to filter out the kids who are more dedicated than others? Were the participants informed of this edge that they may have before the summer program started, after it ended, or right before/after tryouts in an effort to try to enhance the efficiency of this filter previously mentioned? How many participants attended the summer camp, and also, how many kids that attended the camp actually made the team? I understand that the world of high school sports isn’t always fair, and it would be great to gain a deeper understanding of what details surrounded my local high school basketball team. Thank you for providing this fantastic information.
Trey Culwell • Oct 20, 2022 at 9:48 am
On October 10, Joshua Mata wrote an article titled “Millikan Basketball Tryouts ‘22-’23”. The article talks about many different topics like, when tryouts were, when the first game was, and how often you guys are going to practice but there were some topics that really stood out to me. In the article you tell and show us that NBA basketball player Jordan Bell was able to come to the tryouts and talk to all the players there. It must have been a great surprise for Millikan Basketball players because I know that I would surely be surprised if any NBA player came to tryouts. I thought that it was really cool and interesting that an NBA player was able to come and pass you guys some of his own knowledge and how the game of basketball should be played. I also thought that it was awesome that an assistant coach was able to take a picture of Jordan Bell talking to all of the varsity players and how you put the picture in your article. Another topic I liked in your was that you also shared some of the players personal experience of what their tryouts went like. It really gives us a feel of what went on and how competitive the basketball tryouts were like. Thank you for writing and showing us what basketball tryouts were like.