About | Danny Sully

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MY BASKETBALL CAREER

Ever since I was a kid, like many, my dream was to make it to the NBA. Although people often told me that football was my best chance to make it to the pros, basketball was where my heart was at.

(Lesson #1: Do What You Love)

By the end of my high school career, I achieved a scholarship for a Division II basketball team. Due to redshirting my first year and receiving an extra year from COVID, I was able to have a total of six years of playing college basketball. COVID hit my second year, and I lost my passion to play basketball. The third year we had no official games.

(Lesson #2: Don't Let Life Take You Away From Your Dreams)

By the fourth year, I was expected to play key minutes due to the starting center being injured... but one week before the season started, I cut my finger using a saw from building a tiki hut at my house... Just like that, the game was taken away from me.

(Lesson #3: Don't Take Anything For Granted)

Around the time of surgery, I had an older cat that I grew up with, and I remember so vividly the night after getting stitches, being alone in the dark room with my cat and a candle, where I felt miserable.

(Lesson #4: There Are Events In Life That Shape Who You Become)

By the time I recovered, it was in the middle of the season, and I barely played. Our team ended up making it to the Sweet 16 in Division II March Madness, and I still barely played.

(Lesson #5: Embrace The Truth: I Was Just Not Good Enough...)

Despite rumors how I would never achieve anything with basketball, I went into the off-season living every day as if it were my last chance to get better and grow at what I basketball.

(Lesson #6: Find Fuel That Drives Intrinsic Motivation)

It wasn’t until then that I realized how much work has to go into something to achieve an outcome you can only imagine. Every day, I imagined the ball going through the hoop, playing in a real game, and being a significant player. I would envision every angle, every type of shot I could potentially take, every form of the game. I imagined it in my head, in my sleep, in every way possible to make sure that when the season came, I would be ready for anything.

(Lesson #7: Visualize To Realize: The Details Are Everything!)

Year five: the first game of the season, I felt things were going well, although I had a serious back injury that prolonged my preseason with the team. In my head, I did not allow this to interfere with my conditioning and as much of my game as I could. But in the first game, I kept the stat sheet after the game! because.... I was not even put into the game. I did not play one second after a summer of putting in the work harder than anyone else I thought I could’ve been competing against.

(Lesson #8: Hard Work Isn't Guaranteed: Back To The Grind)

The entire season, I was a backup and ended up playing very little compared to what I wanted. But I was playing, and I could see the vision for my future, even if others couldn't. The year was not as successful as I wanted, but I knew I still had one last chance to make a run and prove something for myself. Knowing this was my last off-season ever, I put everything on the table, just making sure that I did not injure myself like the previous off-season so I could come back ready at the very beginning to kill it.

(Lesson #9: Discipline Is A Powerful Force)

Five years, it was five years without receiving any value in the game that I loved and played my entire life and had many skills that could’ve made me qualified at many other schools, but I stuck to what I was committed to. You see, if there’s a barrier in your life preventing you from getting where you want to go, the only way to ensure your breakthrough is up to you. There’s no one in the world you can rely on to get all your work done and for you to achieve the dream you want to achieve.

(Lesson #10: Never Quit: Everything Is Up To YOU)

Year six: I was in the best shape of my life. We ran the mile as a team for our “hell week,” and I was the second best on the team as a "center" with a mile time around 5:20. The entire season, I had to compete with one of my closest friends, who will be in my life forever. After all this, I earned a starting role as a key player for the success of the team. When you earn what you work hard for, don't take it for granted. It is very easy to fade away, that is why a strong mind is the most important thing you can build, and you have it the rest of your life!