In his third varsity season, Meade shooting guard Tristan Easton has added layers to his game and become one of the area's most complete players.
As he has grown, so has the Meade program. After two straight 17-win seasons, the No. 11 Mustangs are 12-1 this season and 8-0 in Anne Arundel County.
Easton, 6 feet 3, has had a major affect. With a versatile inside-outside game, he was averaging 14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals heading into a Thursday night game against North County.
Called up to varsity in the middle of his freshman season, Easton's knowledge of the game was immediately evident and he he went on to be named a co-captain. He's been one ever since.
A "B" student, he's drawing interest from a number of Division II schools and would like to study architecture or engineering in college.
What's your earliest memorable moment in basketball?
I was 5 or 6 playing [Jessup Provinces Youth Organization] and it was overtime and the coach gave me the ball with five seconds left. I went down the court and got an and-1 [to win the game]. That's when I really fell in love with basketball. I just felt like the man. I was happy all day.
What has been the key to the successful season?
We've just made sure to stay level headed — never too high or too low.We just take it one game at a time. The reason we lost the [Archbishop] Spalding game was we took them lightly. We scouted them and they were six people deep and we were like "our bench is deep." And they came out and took the game away from us.
What will it take to bring home the county title in Anne Arundel?
We just have to keep going hard in practice because our intensity is crazy. Everybody is fighting for a spot, nobody is safe and it's a good environment because everybody competes with everybody.
What's it going to take to make it to the state tournament?
We're very confident, but we have to stay disciplined. You can't let outsiders get in.There's a lot of people saying we're not going to make it and stuff like that. It's just going to take us sticking together as a team for us to progress. Ever since the Spalding game, we got closer and everybody is on the same page. We're just rolling.
What's practice like every day?
It makes me better, it makes everybody else better. When we get in a game, there's really no hiccups or mishaps going on — just a good flow. When the subs come in, there's no drop off.
How has your game grown since your freshman season?
Freshman year I was more of a shooter, I wasn't really a ball handler and I couldn't score off the dribble. But my sophomore year, I started being able to handle the ball better, distribute and do more. This year, with Bruce [Spruell] here, I can score, distribute and rebound more without worrying about scoring all the points like I used to. I still have to do it when it's needed, but I don't have to as often.
How do you handle the special attention you get from opposing defenses?
It doesn't really bother me because I know at the end of the game I can get my points. My teammates help me get open and I'm going to get them the ball, too, so I don't worry about it.
How do you go about getting open to score?
I just have to keep my head in the game.If I let the defense get in my head ... I can't let that take me out of my game. So I just have to keep playing and running the set and eventually the defense will have a mental lapse and let me go.
Who is your favorite basketball player?
It's a toss up between Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.Dwyane Wade is a slasher and I like slashing to the basket. And LeBron James is an all-around player. He gets everybody involved and still scores, and does what he has to do to win.
What's the key to staying structured every day to maintain success in the classroom and basketball court?
It's all about balance. I always tell myself I have two jobs: My first job is school and my second job is basketball.School comes first, so I get my schoolwork done. I usually get my homework done right before practice and after that basketball takes up a lot of my time.
What do you enjoy doing when you're not playing basketball?
Believe it or not, I like watching HGTV because I want to me an architect or engineer, so I like watching them construct homes.
What's your favorite show?
"Property Brothers."
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