Focused on the future

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Josh Rountree’s sophomore season didn’t play out the way he had hoped.
The Lakewood Ranch High center only played in five games, bouncing back and forth between the Mustangs’ JV and varsity squads.

For a player touted with potential talent, it was hard for Rountree to find the motivation to come to practice every day only to spend the majority of his time away from the action.

But Rountree is the first one to admit he only has himself to blame.

After spending his freshman year on the Mustangs’ developmental team, Rountree was ruled academically ineligible at the beginning of his sophomore season.

Rountree posted a 1.9 grade-point average for four consecutive quarters, forcing him to sit out the majority of his sophomore season.

“I slacked off completely,” Rountree says. “My freshman year, I was dumbstruck. I had a fun time, but I really should’ve been focused on the classroom.

“I’m mad at myself because I know I should’ve picked it up,” he says. “It’s my senior year and I’m still dealing with the (repercussions) from my freshman year.”

Discouraged by the thought of not being able to be out on the court with his teammates, Rountree easily could’ve walked away from the game entirely.

Instead, he decided to work out and practice with his teammates in hopes of making it back out onto the court.

“The hardest part was just finding the motivation to keep on going and working hard until I could get my chance,” Rountree says. “I was playing just to get better.”

Rountree reached the 2.0 grade mark late in his sophomore season, allowing him to play in the Mustangs’ final five games. He started out on Lakewood’s JV squad before stepping onto the court for his first varsity game Jan. 24, 2012, which also happened to be his birthday.

Rountree not only played the entire game, but he scored his first basket as time expired in the first half.

“I knew I would get my chance,” Rountree says. “I knew I would be eligible again. I just had to prove myself in practice and show why I deserved to be on the team when I wasn’t playing.”

Now, two years later, Rountree has a 2.79 grade-point average. He earned five As and two Bs during the first quarter of this year.

As a result, Rountree made the Mustangs’ 5-2 club (a club honoring players with at least five As and two Bs) for the first time.

“I just need to remember to work hard,” Rountree says. “I always need a goal to work (toward). My goal was to work hard and get my grades up, so I can go to college. As long as I have a goal, I’ll keep my eyes on it.”

Now, he’s hoping to match that same result again this quarter — this time with a trip to Outback Steakhouse on the line.

If a basketball player earns at least five As and two Bs in one semester, Lakewood coach Jeremy Schiller rewards the player with lunch at Outback.

“Josh is one of the guys I’m really proud of,” Schiller says. “He’s become a real leader on this team. He really wasn’t sure he would make it his sophomore year, and now he’s the backbone of the program in terms of leading the guys. His ability to communicate has really improved in three years.”

Through the first three games of the season, Rountree is averaging 10 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

Now as one of three seniors on Lakewood’s roster, Rountree is hoping this will be the year the Mustangs take the next step toward the postseason.

“We all have the talent,” Rountree says. “For the seniors, we want this to be the turning point for Lakewood. We’re the turning point.”

BY THE NUMBERS
1.9 -  Rountree’s grade-point average heading into his sophomore season.

2.79 - Rountree’s grade-point average through the first quarter of his senior season.

5 - The number of As Rountree earned this past quarter.

10 -  The number of points Rountree is averaging so far this season.

0 - The number of games Rountree has missed for academic reasons since regaining eligibility at the end of his sophomore season.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].