H-S Athlete of the Week: Jason Zellie, Beth-Center
Name: Jason Zellie
School: Beth-Center
Class: Senior
Sport: Basketball
Zellie鈥檚 week: Zellie scored a combined 61 points in Beth-Center鈥檚 last three games, including the 1,000th of his career in a 52-45 loss to first-place Chartiers-Houston last Tuesday. The 6-foot-1 senior tallied 19 points against the Buccaneers then followed that up with 23 points in a 78-39 win at Burgettstown last Thursday and 19 points in a 76-67 victory over West Greene on Tuesday. That put the Bulldogs at 4-3 in Section 3-2A and 8-5 overall. They head into tonight鈥檚 game at Mapletown alone in fourth place in the section as they seek their second consecutive WPIAL playoff berth. The top five teams in the section qualify for the postseason. 鈥淚t felt unreal,鈥� Zellie said of notching his 1,000th point which came on a 3-pointer. 鈥淕etting 1,000 was a dream of mine ever since I got into middle school. It would鈥檝e been better if it came in a win. It truly does mean a lot though.鈥�
Path to 1,000: Zellie, the 18-year-old son of Jason Zellie Sr. and Chrissy Jyachosky, began playing basketball when he was in kindergarten. 鈥淚 probably was in sixth grade when I really started taking it seriously,鈥� Zellie said. 鈥淚 went through a lot of changes along the way. I was at Calvary Chapel from sixth grade to eighth grade before moving back to Beth-Center and that shaped me into the player I am now. During my seventh grade year me and my parents decided that I should start doing camps. My eighth grade year through 11th grade I went to Saint Vincent basketball camp, I also went to Youngstown, Seton Hill, just to improve and get recognition and see if I could possibly play at the college level. That鈥檚 my goal, to play basketball in college.鈥�
Having the intangibles: 鈥淛ason is probably the best all-around player I鈥檝e ever coached,鈥� Beth-Center head coach Scott Bower said. 鈥淚 might have had a few more skilled players but as far as attitude, intensity, desire to win and how he acts and handles himself on the court and how he talks, he鈥檚 the full package. He works as hard as he can every single day. He gave a speech in the locker room after he scored his 1,000th point and said he would have never done it without his teammates.鈥� Zellie is the team captain and is well respected. 鈥淲e are like family,鈥� Zellie said. 鈥淚 know a lot of teams say that but we seriously are. We鈥檝e been playing basketball together for a very long time. This group is special. I think we鈥檙e a pretty good squad that鈥檚 mentally strong. We try to play confident and aggressive.鈥�
Multi-faceted player: Zellie switches between playing point guard and shooting guard for the Bulldogs. 鈥淗e runs the point a lot but we try to keep him at off guard as much as we can so he鈥檒l have more opportunities to shoot because he is a great offensive player and we need him to score for us,鈥� Bower said. 鈥淗e works as hard as he can on the floor. He goes to the basket, he gives up the ball when he needs to. All he wants to do is win, he doesn鈥檛 care how many points he has. He鈥檚 very concerned with not turning the ball over. He never asks how many points he scored or how many rebounds he had.鈥� Zellile prefers to drive to the basket but can score from the outside as well. 鈥淚鈥檓 a slasher,鈥� Zellie said. 鈥淚 like to get to the rim, but I can also shoot the 3-ball and I like to be a playmaker, too. Everyone knows I can score but I think I鈥檓 pretty good at passing the ball and setting up my teammates. I love getting my teammates involved. Honestly, if you gave me an option to score 15 points or have 15 assists, I鈥檇 take the assists. I just want to win. Our goal is just to try to win every possession.鈥�
Don鈥檛 forget the D: As Bower pointed out, Zellie plays hard at both ends of the floor. 鈥淒efensively, we like to mix it up a lot between man and zone,鈥� Zellie said. 鈥淚鈥檓 always up top when we鈥檙e in zone and I try to read the guard鈥檚 face, see where his eyes are going and try to anticipate what he鈥檚 going to do. I like to be physical and I鈥檒l go down low to grab some rebounds.鈥�
Hitting the weights: Weight-lifting plays a big role in Zellie鈥檚 conditioning. 鈥淚鈥檓 grinding hard everyday, getting in the weight room and putting over 100 shots up,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 lift like five days a week and I shoot about 200-300 shots four days a week. It鈥檚 intense lifting. I get up on most weekdays at four o鈥檆lock in the morning to go lift. I do put in a lot of effort. If there鈥檚 a day I might not feel like getting up I tell myself there鈥檚 somebody out there better than me so I have to do my best to keep improving.鈥�
Goals in sight: With his 1,000th point behind him, Zellie has an important team goal in his sights. 鈥淚 want us to not just make the playoffs but win in the playoffs,鈥� Zellie said. The Bulldogs missed the playoffs in Zellie鈥檚 freshman and sophomore years but reached the postseason last season, falling to Winchester Thurston, 50-39, in the first round.
Odds and ends: When asked if there were any games that stood out most in his career, Zellie preferred to look ahead. 鈥淚 always tell myself the next game is the most important game,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 play every game like it鈥檚 my last.鈥� 鈥� Zellie is a Bower fan. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a great coach,鈥� Zellie said. 鈥淗e teaches all of us about the game and he鈥檚 very helpful in giving us tips defensively and offensively. He鈥檚 just a great person, almost like a father figure to us.鈥� 鈥� Zellie will be participating in one other sport his senior year. 鈥淚 used to play soccer but not anymore,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 do track in the spring. I do hurdles.鈥� 鈥� Zellie has one sister, Giavanna Zellie, who is a year younger than him.
鈥� Compiled by Rob Burchianti