In his second varsity season, Brian Eads, a 6-foot-6 senior center, has provided strong inside play coming off the bench for the Howard Lions, who finished the regular season 14-6. Eads, who averages five points and seven rebounds, prides himself on strong defense, hustle and helping control the boards.
Along with playing basketball, Eads has been in JROTC for four years and is battalion commander this year, responsible for 115 cadets. Maintaining a 3.17 grade point average, he is considering Virginia Military Institute or the Citadel and plans to major in business. Eads is a member of the madrigals group and helps with a reading program at Phelps Luck Elementary School.
What are the team goals for the playoffs?
Our goals are just pretty much doing what we've been doing because we've been winning games. So it's just a matter of staying focused and keeping our eye on the prize, and just doing everything that we need to do because we've jelled well as a team.
What have been the keys to success this season?
I think the keys are the different offenses we run. We have an offense for every defense there is. And we also have a lot of different defenses to choose from to trip up teams. Our defense is one of our strong points because we have a lot of athletic players who can go hard for a long time and know how to play smart defense.
What is your role on the team?
I'm more of a defensive player. I'll always be hustling up and down the court, making sure to box out and grab rebounds. Defense is very important because if the other team can't score, they can't win. So the key is making sure to take care of your man but also being ready to help if someone breaks by.
What do you enjoy most about basketball?
I enjoy the guys I play with. Just being with them - it's a great group of guys and everyone is friends with one another. There's no separate groups. We're all friends, and we're all there for each other. That's probably the most enjoyable thing about this season. I think everybody being close is very important because it translates back to the court.
What are your responsibilities with the JROTC program?
It's a lot of work. Everything we do as a battalion, I need to make sure that it gets done. If we go on a field trip, I need to make sure permission slips get out. And the competitions we have, I need to make sure we have teams going and that we have a bus there for us. I enjoy it very much. It's helped me become a much better leader and helped me learn to work with people. I learned a lot more about administration stuff and becoming more organized. It's correlated with my schoolwork as well.
What the biggest reward that comes from the reading program and spending time with the elementary school children?
It's just fun to be kind of like a hero in their eyes. They look up to us. A lot of kids, they get their role models from television or something like that, and sometimes that's not always the best kind of role model. So this helps put a good image in the kid's mind of how you're suppose to act when you get older.
Do you know who you will vote for to become our next president?
I've thought about that, but I'm not exactly sure which candidate I'm going to vote for yet. I'm kind of leaning toward Barack Obama. I just like what he stands for, and I feel he's more in touch with my generation than the other candidates.