Quintin Floyd understands the extent of the work required to succeed in basketball.
When the 6-foot-4 junior forward talks about the behind-the-scenes efforts that have made him the player he is today, he sounds more like a professional athlete than a teenager.
“The thing I’ve learned is that you’ve got to work really hard to get good,” Floyd said. “It’s not going to come easy. No days off. Every time you step between the lines on these courts, you have to go hard. It’s every day.”
Following through with that work has made Floyd one of the leaders for 21st Century (20-4), which will head to the Triton Regional on Saturday as the top-ranked team in Class 1A in the poll by The Associated Press.
Floyd identified two people who have been key influences in his career. One is classmate Ashton Williamson, a 6-4 guard who averages team highs of 20.9 points and 11.2 assists after transferring from Calumet.
Floyd and Williamson grew up playing together.
“Ashton really inspired me to play basketball because when we were younger, he was better than me,” Floyd said. “But I’ve been working hard. So as of now we’re probably equal.”
Floyd and junior guard DJ Moss are tied for second in scoring at 15.9 points per game, and Floyd averages a team-best 11.3 rebounds.
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Another influence is Floyd’s cousin Eugene German, a 2016 graduate of 21st Century. German is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,020 points and holds the same title at Northern Illinois. German plays for a team in the top tier of professional basketball in Turkey.
“Eugene is the reason I came to 21st,” Floyd said. “Seeing his accolades inspired me to come here in seventh grade.”
21st Century coach Larry Upshaw, who is in his second season after six as an assistant, said those influences gave Floyd a better understanding of what goes into winning.
“He understands the preparation,” Upshaw said. “It’s more than just rolling out the basketball and playing.”
Upshaw started another sentence and then stopped, reaching for his phone. “I can show you an example,” he said.
Upshaw scrolled to the team’s group messages and showed a text sent by Floyd at 5:20 p.m. Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Cougars’ 67-56 win against Marquette Catholic in the Kouts Sectional championship game.
“This is who we play in the first game,” Upshaw said, quoting Floyd’s message. “Read your scouting report!”
Floyd attached a video of North White (21-3), the team from Monon — a town just east of Rensselaer — that the Cougars will play for the first time in program history in the regional semifinal Saturday morning.
Floyd, who understands the importance of film study, already had a good idea about what will be key for the Cougars in their bid to advance to the regional championship game Saturday night.
“I know they can shoot the ball,” Floyd said of the Vikings. “The main thing we’ll need to work on is our defense. We have to get better at that.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.