Bryan Narcisse got a basketball goal for Christmas when he was 2. He said it was the best present he got that year.
"I just kept playing on it and ignoring the rest of my gifts," said the rising North Augusta High School senior.
He's been playing basketball ever since. The 16-year-old played for the recreation department as a child before joining the Yellow Jackets.
This year, he was chosen to play on the Peach Jam Select, a team of local talent that went up against some of the top high-school players in the nation in the Nike Peach Jam this month at Riverview Park.
Playing in the Peach Jam was special for Narcisse because he spent two years on the sidelines as a ball boy.
"I consider that a dream come true," he said about playing in the tournament now.
The Peach Jam was the most important basketball tournament he'd ever competed in and he said he enjoyed showing college coaches how well he can play the game.
"It was even better that I got to play with my friends," he said.
Nine of his teammates on the Peach Jam Select team are also his teammates with the Yellow Jackets.
That familiarity helped ease some of the nervousness about playing in front of some of the biggest names in college basketball.
"You can't be scared," he said. "You just have to go out there and play your game."
He hopes his hard work will pay off soon. He's spoken to coaches from the University of Kentucky, the University of Delaware and Harvard University.
However, Narcisse still is undecided as to where he might matriculate after high school. He hopes to attend college on a basketball scholarship. He plans to study math and physics to become a high-school teacher and basketball coach.
His list of accomplishments on and off the court should be an asset on his college applications.
Going into his senior year, he is carrying a 3.8 grade point average and is enrolled in honors courses. He is president of North Augusta High's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a class representative for the student council and sports editor for The Yellow Jacket.
He was named MVP for his performance on the basketball court, made all-region, won All-State in the high jump and lettered in cross-country.
Narcisse said his academic accomplishments are icing on the cake, but his parents stress the importance of good grades.
"My parents always said schoolwork comes first and if you take care of that, everything else will fall into place," he said. "That's basically what's been happening."
He studies whenever he can find a free minute, which often means on road trips and between classes. If he has any downtime left, he is writing short stories, journals and songs.
In the time between the Peach Jam's conclusion and the start of the school year, he is waiting to see what kind of offers he'll get based on his performance at the tournament.
"I did what I had to do," he said. "Now, it's out of my hands. I did all I could do."
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
