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02/27/2024 11:23 AMSwagger can often steady a ship when it comes to an athlete’s journey throughout the fast moving waters of basketball. For Sam Markovitz, he fosters that confidence to cultivate high-caliber performances on the floor, while banging bodies with other bigs.
The junior forward started sports in 4th grade with baseball and basketball, while tacking on football in 6th grade. He recently completed a campaign for the state-champion Tigers on the gridiron. Yet on the hardwood this winter, Sam has been a powerful presence for the Hand boys’ basketball team (finishing a 14-6 regular season) by leading the team in field goal percentage (firing at a 53% clip), and sitting at second on the squad in rebounds per contest at 6.2.
“With basketball, there are a close group of guys out there, because there are only five guys out there at a time. We love bringing the energy at practices, and having that close-knit team makes things easier,” says Sam. “My success comes from confidence. Early in the season when you are coming from football to basketball, the shots may not be falling, so it can be hard to get confidence going. But when you stick with it, you start having success, and then the confidence kicks in.”
While in the front court, Sam admits he does not hold the loftiest stature out there. Though he more than makes up for the height, with his intensity and physicality when going up against the lengthier bigs in the Southern Connecticut Conference.
“I am only about 6-foot-3, so I am one of the smaller forwards out there, and it comes with struggles,” Sam says. “But I like being physical out there. I pride myself on being physical and not letting someone else out-physical me. I know when it comes to doing things on defense and getting rebounds, I will not get all the glory. But I like doing those things that may go unnoticed.”
Those little things are not lost on one sideline spectator in Head Coach Jimmy Economopoulos. He denotes Sam has more than come up clutch in the home stretch of the regular campaign, while showing so many selfless tendencies as a teammate.
“Sam has been hugely important for our basketball team this season. We are one of the smaller teams in our league, and Sam, as our biggest player, is constantly tasked with guarding the other teams’ center,” says Economopoulos. “He is often giving up three or four inches, but always takes on the challenge. He is one of our toughest players, and is always throwing his body around to help his team. Even though many people do not consider Sam to be a scorer, he has been putting up huge numbers recently. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field, and scored a team-high 22 points against a very good Cross team on February 8. He followed that up with 20 points against Law the next week. He is what every coach is looking for in an athlete. He listens to coaching, works hard, and is unselfish. He is loved by his teammates, and has put together a great junior season all around.”
In a back and forth affair on the floor daily, Sam is well aware of the fact that as quickly as the shots can go down, the iron can be unkind. He keeps an even keel emotionally, while building his game from the ground floor with his defense.
“You cannot give up on yourself when you have confidence. I try to stay in the middle and never get too high or low, and I believe in my teammates,” says Sam. “For me, my offense starts on defense–whether that is with rebounding or hustle plays, like diving for loose balls. From there, it starts opening up for me with shots and layups. One thing just leads to another, and it starts with that energy on defense.”
As one of the more youthful clubs in the SCC this campaign, Sam recalls being in his younger teammates’ roles in terms of being an underclassman looking to carve out minutes. Using that empathic eye and ear, he looks to bolster them whenever he can.
“We do play a lot of underclassmen this year, and I remember being that guy last year as a sophomore fighting for time,” Sam says. “I see these guys doing the same thing as myself when it comes to coming off the bench. I try to pick them up when they are down, and give them confidence.”
The Tigers saw tons of triumphs in their 20-game slate, including a six-game winning streak that stretched through the back half of January. They were all indicative of the effort and energy brought towards the preparation, and look to continue that motif in the postseason.
“It all starts with practices before a game with us,” says Sam. “Over the course of the year, we focused on stacking good practices, which helped us keep that win streak going. We ended the regular season with a loss to Morgan, but we want to use it to help us refocus for states.”
In competition with any avenue or walk of life, it can put you at the crossroads at times. Still, through essential moments of self-reflection, it can reignite that pride and passion towards prominence, per Sam.
“Sports is something that can teach you to work hard through everything,” says Sam. “There are moments when you don’t have it and you ask yourself why am I doing this. But then you remind yourself why you do it because you love it so much. Remembering that will push you forward and help you be more successful.”