Last summer, Damarco Minor accepted an invitation from South Suburban College men’s basketball coach John Pigatti to attend some open gyms.
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It ended up being a lifeline.
Minor, a Thornton graduate who had spent the previous season playing at Milwaukee Area Technical College, had the sense of being cast adrift due to the pandemic.
“Coach P saved me — he really did,” Minor said. “I was definitely at the bottom when it came to basketball. But I got an opportunity and this has been a blessing.
“He didn’t steer me wrong.”
The next stop for Minor will be at Southern Illinois Edwardsville. This past season, the mid-major featured Courtney Carter, a Memphis native who also attended SSC and was named NJCAA Player of the Year in 2020.
“It’s nice to get another one down there,” Pigatti said of Minor committing to the Cougars. “We’re a feeder school for their point guards, I guess.”
For a few years, basketball felt like a guessing game to Minor.
In 2020, Minor and his teammates could only wonder about what could have been as Thornton (32-1) had its dream of a possible state championship end in the sectional when the Illinois High School Association canceled the season.
The pandemic continue to take its toll on Minor at Milwaukee Area Technical College. He averaged 20 points in eight games for the Stormers, but he wasn’t happy during the abbreviated season.
“That was very discouraging for me,” Minor said. “That was when I was at my lowest point with basketball, if we’re being honest. Games were getting canceled. I was definitely getting discouraged. I was in a tough place with it.”
Minor, who picked up the nickname “Polo” at a young age, wasn’t sure if his career would be able to continue as the pandemic wore on.
“I never knew if there was going to be a cure,” he said. “I didn’t know if I would play again. I thought the pandemic was going to be forever.”
As the world started working toward getting back to normal, Pigatti invited Minor to the open gyms and liked what he saw.
What followed was an incredible season.
The Bulldogs (33-0) won the NJCAA national championship with the first perfect season in Division II history.
Minor picked up several individual honors, including two national player of the year awards. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Minor as player of the year and Pigatti as coach of the year regardless of division.
At the start of the season, Pigatti wasn’t ready to call Minor a candidate for national awards, but he could see it evolve.
“The entire year, he’s just been improving his game,” Pigatti said. “I give him a lot of credit. He became a better shooter. He became a better defender. He became a better leader.
“His all-around game became better, and it came to fruition in the national tournament.”
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Minor averaged 20.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.5 steals for SSC. He was named the MVP of the NJCAA finals.
“I wasn’t going into the year thinking I was going to be the national player of the year,” Minor said. “I was looking at winning a national championship.”
Minor said the season hasn’t fully sunk in yet, but he is much happier now than he was a year ago, when he believed his basketball playing days were in doubt.
“I’m just blessed, man,” Minor said. “I’m blessed beyond measure. The first step is you do have to put the work in, but for all of this to be happening is just crazy.
“I can say I’m not satisfied at all. I want to continue what I’ve been doing. I want to impact my next university and their school’s history as well.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.