After a successful fall season at U-High, winter sports are not disappointing. Two outstanding players from the girls and boys basketball teams are recognized this season for their outstanding accomplishments. As the 11th person in U-High basketball history, senior Cameron Johnson reached the milestone of 1,000 career points on January 17, and sophomore MacKenzie Matejka reached 500 career points on January 31, putting her on the right path to follow in Johnson’s footsteps.
Johnson attributes his success to his hard work and four-year commitment to the team and program. When asked about the heartwarming moment when he found out he had reached his 1000th career point, he smiled. “I was at the free throw line, so I got to give my coach a hug after I made the shot,” he shared. “Everyone was proud of me. We were losing at the time, so I was ready to get back to playing, but I was really proud of myself as well.”
Despite some thinking you have to naturally be good to achieve big goals, it takes a lot more work than most are willing to put in. Johnson spends his offseason in the weight room and here at the school’s gym practicing on his own, working on shooting and ball handling to become more consistent. Johnson’s biggest advice? “Work as hard as you can. As long as you’re putting in the work, the opportunity will present itself.”
After playing for 14 years, Johnson isn’t done yet. He plans to continue his impressive career at the collegiate level with goals of taking his basketball career as far as he can, being the best he can be, and receiving a quality education on the way.
Similarly, Matejka provides a huge win for the growing girls basketball program, reaching 500 career points. What makes this so special is that Matejka is only a sophomore, with the rest of her season and two additional years ahead of her. Though she recognized the significance of her accomplishment, Matejka celebrated her team, too. “I went into it knowing I only needed two more points, and I had a varsity career high of 20 points that game, which I was more excited for because I had never done it before,” she shared. “It’s exciting, but not my main focus. We won, which we had never beaten Taylorville at their court, which was a big team accomplishment.”
With so much time left, she has set significant goals for herself. “My goals by my senior year are to reach 1000 points and 1000 rebounds,” she shared. “I also want to reach 250 in assists an
d 500 in steals.”
Despite creating these goals for herself, her team goals are more important to her. “I would love my junior and senior year to make it steep into playoffs, maybe making a state final appearance would be a great feeling junior or senior year,” she said.
In addition to her hard work at practices, Matejka credited her success to her experience on the football team last year. “Football had a big impact on me. It taught me how to be aggressive,” she explained. “It helps with being strong with the ball and being able to box out well.”
Family and friends are everything to the Matejka’s. She credits her brother for the inspiration to start playing, her dad for helping her practice and better her skills, and her third grade football coach who continues to support her from the stands. The support has taught her that your mentality is just as important as your skills. “I’ve been taught perseverance from all of my coaches, and how when something goes wrong, you can’t dwell on it. You have to move on to the next play.”
Both players have much to be proud of. With the boys basketball team playing their next home game against Fieldcrest on February 14 for senior night and the girls basketball team playing against El Paso Gridley on February 17, there are more opportunities to watch these two standout athletes continue to impress on the court.
