Jurich continues success at SCC

Steve Jurich got in touch with basketball at an early age.

“I was one year old and my dad was playing at Cactus Park. I crawled onto the court and got hit by the basketball right on the head,” Jurich says. “I don’t know, something happened there, I guess, right?”

That basketball must have hit him hard because by kindergarten, Jurich was playing recreational basketball and hasn’t stopped since.

Last season, Jurich made the All-Conference Honorable Mention team and the NJCAA Region Division-2 First Team.

Jurich is now starting off his sophomore year with the AACAC Player of the Week title and ice packs strapped to his knees, not unusual during a long grueling season.

“In season we practice about two hours a day, sometimes more, and we lift. Off-season we do it twice a week,” says Jurich.

Practice may be lighter in the off-season, but Jurich says that college athletes should show dedication to their sport.

“It’s a year round thing for me. I don’t stop training,” Jurich says.

When Jurich isn’t on the court he is at the bowling alley.

“I’m a bowler,” says Jurich. “I’ve gotten kind of serious about bowling. I just don’t have as much time during the season as I’d like to.”

There are no bowling leagues in Jurich’s immediate future, but Jurich is a marketing major and says that after SCC, he’ll be going to a university where he can continue to play basketball.

“Steve is a great kid,” says head coach Paul Eberhardt on his way out of SCC’s first game of the season against the Legends. “He’s a very good student. To me, he truly personifies what a student athlete really is; very key, works hard, a pleasure to coach.”

After finishing off the Legends with an 84-68 win, Jurich says that the Artichokes have a lot to look forward to this season.

“Right now, what you’re seeing, is the beginning of something that is about to break," says Jurich. "We’ve got to tighten a few bolts, but by the end of the season you’ll be seeing a great team.