Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
She’s scored nearly 1000 points in her career. She’s raked in a slew of all-conference and all-state awards. She’s verbally committed to Michigan State University. Freeland’s Tori Jankonska has done all this, and she’s only a junior.
“I don’t stop,” Jankonska said. “Basketball is an all-year sport for me. I play all summer with [AAU] and then with my school team in the winter. I’m pretty much in the gym all day.”
“It’s her competitiveness and commitment,” her coach Tom Zolinski said. “She plays basketball all year round. She has committed to Michigan State, but she’s still working to get better.”
Jankonska improving her game isn’t something TVC opponents want, as the junior has already compiled 952 career points, including scoring 502 last season. She’s also was named first team all-state as a sophomore, was tabbed all-state honorable mention as a freshman, won a three-point competition at the state finals last year, was first team all-conference both years, and has been named to numerous Dream Teams.
“I want to get better at moving without the ball, better on defense and mid range shots,” Jankonska said. “I just want to be the best player I can be, keep working on the weakest points in my game so when I get to State I can be a big asset to the team as I can be as a freshman.”
Though the accolades have been rolling in, Jankonska admits opposing teams have made things difficult for her.
“My freshman year it was easy to get shots,” she said. “Last year every team went box-and-one and diamond-and-one on me. At first they stopped us, but after a couple of games our coach put us in an offense that got me moving, and that helped a lot.”
The Falcons are without a senior on this year’s team, but Jankonska feels that won’t stop them from having a good season.
“I think this year, even though we have no seniors, we will be just as good as my freshman year [class B quarterfinalists],” she said. “Hopefully we can win regionals and keep it going to Breslin this year.”
Without senior leadership, her head coach says that Jankonska fits the mold of an on-the-court general.
“She’s come a long way with that,” Zolinski said. “Travel basketball is more individual stuff, but the first couple of weeks of practice she has really proven that she can be a team player. She is a great passer, she averaged almost four assists last year. We don’t have a senior on the team this year, so she pretty much grew up with this group of juniors.”
Jankonska made her college decision after her freshman season, after being recruited by the University of Michigan as well as the Spartans. After touring MSU’s campus and meeting the coaching staff, she knew that she was destined for East Lansing.
“I’ve always wanted to go to MSU,” Jankonska said. “It’s been my dream since I was a little girl. I loved the coaching staff, I liked the girls, and the whole program is on the rise so I decided to go there. I felt like State was better suited for me [than Michigan].”
Though she still has two yours of high school to complete, Zolinski and Jankonska admit they’ve already begun to discuss playing at the next level.
“We talked about that a little this year and what her goals are,” Zolinski said. “Not only is she working hard on improving the school team, but she does have long-term goals of starting at State.”