Falling victim to an ACL injury last summer, Michael Janowski has been sidelined from basketball for his senior season.
Darcy Tharp and Thomas Gadson from Virginia Elite talk St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes Mike Janowski. (Nick Plum for Synthesis/Koubaroulis LLC.)
February 7, 2016 — An ACL injury normally would keep basketball players away from the hardwood. For Michael Janowski, there is not much that would be able to keep him away.
For Janowski, it actually should not be too hard to step away. It is his last year in high school and he has already committed to playing at Army next year. That however, is not who Janowski is as a player.
“I’ve never been away from basketball this long, so watching my team play I get a different aspect of the game and I can see things guards like me do good and bad” said Janowski.
Prior to his injury, Janowski was the primary ball handler for St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes and loved to share the ball with his teammates. He can see the court well and knows the difference when he needs to distribute to his team or just score the ball himself.
Tyler Byrum is a featured columnist and blogger at DMVSTREAM.COM.
Tyler follows recruiting news, notes, updates, breaking stories and features.
Tyler’s coverage area is D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
You can reach Tyler by emailing him at tcbyrum@gmail.com.
“Michael has a really good understanding of plays that put the team first” said Saints’ Head Coach Ronald Ginyard. “He is a huge competitor and wants to be on the floor with his teammates.”
On the bench, Janowski has learned that he can develop other parts of his game, especially his understanding of the game and leadership to his team. He spends his time engaging with his teammates allowing them to grow as a unit and in turn it has been a huge benefit for St. Stephen’s/ St. Agnes.
“He helps us tremendously,” said AAU teammate Grant Golden. “I was definitely upset that he wouldn’t be with us. But I felt even worse for him because I know how hard he worked for his senior season.”
It is clear that Janowski is making the best of his ACL injury but not go to far in to say that he has benefited from missing a year of high school basketball.
“You cannot quantify if his injury helped him until he gets back on the floor, but in the long run being able to see the game differently should help him” said Ginyard.
More likely than not the next time many people will see Janowski on the court will be as West Point. A commitment that both he and Army has trusted with each other.
“The commitment to Army was easy because Army doesn’t just offer me to play at the next level, but it is one of the best schools in the world and it puts me in the best position to be successful in the future” said Janowksi.
Only certain players can commit to playing at a service academy, and when Janowski takes the court for the first time in an Army jersey, that will be evident.