For O’Fallon native Zach Cleveland, he’s doing his part to continue Illinois’ illustrious tradition. A Cleveland Family TraditionBorn in the spring of 2004 to two professional basketball players, Zach Cleveland was surrounded by the game from literally day one.A young Zach Cleveland playing with his very first basketball hoopA couple of years later, his parents welcomed his little brother into the world, giving the loving parents a trio of hoopers to raise.Zach (middle), his older sister (left), and his younger brother (right)Zach began playing outside with his little brother, running one-on-one or playing a game of horse.

The Clevelands grew accustomed to the sound of the leather sphere clanking against the rim and bouncing on the rugged concrete. It was the perfect scenario for Zach to practice his new obsession. His mother noticed the spark in his eyes when he talked about the game, so she decided to light a fire under him, changing the trajectory of her son’s life forever.

Humble Beginnings On the HardwoodContaining their excitement was impossible, so the Clevelands built a court in their backyard, and just like that, it was on. The new fixation was old to Zach’s parents, so his mother would take him under her wing.“My mom coached basketball so I was always around it, and I think the more and more basketball that I watched, whether it was NBA, college, high school, that really helped me kind of navigate those issues,” Cleveland said. “I was around it all the time, so I think that really helped me navigate the process in the game.”If Cleveland wasn’t practicing with his mother, he was watching his favorite players.

The budding fanatic was enamored by former lottery pick Brandon Knight and a litany of others. “I was a huge Kentucky guy growing up, Brandon Knight, all those guys. Aaron Kraft at Ohio State.

I loved watching them.”Zach hit the hardwood running. As soon as he was of age, his parents signed him up for organized basketball, and it was time to put his newly acquired skills to use.`By the fifth grade, he was playing with kids twice his size. The rise in competition lit a massive fire under the 10-year-old, and over the next two years, he tapped into a discipline rarely seen at 12 years of age.A Game of Inches Although little Zach was undersized, his effort made up for his literal shortcomings.

He was finally improving after putting in hours in the gym with his mother. Night in and night out, he was practicing guard drills.It was a fun time in the Cleveland household, filled with daily car rides to games and practices. Zach became a standout on every team he played on, and by the eighth grade, he was also standing out in the classroom.He grew to 6-foot-2 by the age of 13, changing his trajectory on the court forever.

Growing five inches confirmed his future in basketball, but as his physical gifts began to emerge, the blessing of a new body felt like a temporary curse. A Rite Of Passage“You gotta focus on specific things, like sleep, your diet,” said Cleveland. “I didn’t have literal growing pains, but you start to notice when you don’t sleep well.

You start noticing when you don’t eat well. It’s not like middle school and elementary school, where you can eat fruit roll-ups all day and sleep whenever and you feel great, you know?” Having the blessing of a new body came with a great responsibility. Taking care of himself required a completely different lifestyle than before, but Zach’s parents were all too familiar with the process.

They noticed his body changing, but rather than teaching him post moves, they pressed on, teaching him ball-handling skills like a guard. Although he was playing center for his ball clubs, his parents wanted him to retain the intangibles that made him valuable on the court.Zach developed the ability to impact the game in multiple ways, whether scoring, defending, or passing. It was vital for his development, especially with high school on the horizon.

Before making that jump, Zach was honing his craft on the AAU circuit just like any other NBA hopeful. While navigating the terrain of the competitive landscape, he discovered physical specimens on numerous occasions, opening his eyes to the true nature of Basketball. An Eye-opening RevelationZach Cleveland was competing in the right age group, but there were kids with bodies beyond their years on the other end of the floor.

“ In AAU, there are some animals out there where they’re just different physiques,” he said. “There’s another level of this, and that competition made me get in the weight room.” The stakes were rising, and so was Zach’s confidence for the game. After completing his AAU season and gra