Being in quarantine has forced many of us to change the way we do things. In this week's Prep Zone, KING 5's Chris Egan tracked down a basketball star from Garfield High School that planned to have a big party at his home this week as he signed his letter of intent.
Garfield senior Tari Eason capped off his high school basketball career the best way possible. At the state tournament, he scored 63 points and grabbed 36 rebounds in just three games.
In the championship game against league rivals O’Dea, Eason was on fire, hitting shots from all over the court. His Bulldogs won by 25 points and Eason was named tournament MVP.
“I knew I was on a roll and I knew we were on a roll. I just told myself before the game, you know, this is your last high school game ever. How do you want to be remembered? And I want to be remembered as a champion. That was my biggest goal, to come back and be a state champion," Eason said.
He started playing basketball when he was just 3-years-old and credits his mom for helping him every step along the way.
“My mom is everything. She has been there through my entire life. She is my mom, my dad, she is everything. She helps me with everything, she is the strongest women I know. She has done so much for me. When I go to the league, I’ll give her anything, anything and everything to repay her, for real.”
Easo's mom dreamed of having a big signing day for her son. The Garfield star is headed to Cincinnati in the fall.
It’s a huge deal for the family, but because of coronavirus orders, the family gathered together on Zoom for a social distance Signing Day.
Family, friends and coaches met virtually to help Eason celebrate his big day as he signs his letter of intent to play for the Bearcats.
“My mom, my family, I've been waiting for this for a really long time. Ever since I committed verbally, so this is just one of those days that I'm probably never going to forget."
After the Zoom party, it was back outside and back to work for Eason. The gyms are closed, but he won’t let that slow him down from working on his game.
“The great thing about basketball, sure you’d love to be in a gym, but you have gloves and a ball and you can work on lots of things, dribbling, dribbling while running, you can work on your form."
Eason continued, "I love basketball, I've been playing basketball since I was three years old, so basketball has always been fun to me. It's just a beautiful game, you know, it can take you places. It's taken me places all around the nation and it's going to take me more places if I continue to put the work in. Unfortunately this coronavirus is happening, but I still got a ball."