Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
The accolades for Bay City Western senior Matt Costello keep rolling in. He was named Michigan’s Boys’ Basketball player of the year by Gatorade and ESPN RISE magazine last year and was recently included in an ESPNU list of top 50 recruits in the nation. Throw in a slew of all-conference and Dream Team awards, signing a letter of intent to Michigan State University, and the thought of repeating what was the best season in school history last year, one might expect Costello’s world to be running over the brim with stress from high expectations. That’s anything but the case.
“It’s not a big deal to have all the hype, you’re just playing ball and doing what you love to do, why let it distract you,” Costello said. “I don’t pay attention to all the stuff that happens, like interviews. It’s just kind of something you have to do, but your job is to play basketball.”
Costello, who stands 6’10” and weighs 245 pounds, averaged 19.8 points, 13 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game last year. He led the Warriors to a 24-3 season, only the second district title in school history, and the program’s first regional championship ever. Not until a 53-49 Class A semifinal loss to Detroit Southeastern did Costello’s junior year end.
“This year is going to be a little harder,” he said. “We lost four starters and our sixth man from last year. We can make a very nice push, but we need a lot of people to mature as players and fill the roles and do what needs to be done so we can be a good team. I’m hoping we can make it out of districts, and anything after that would just be icing on the cake.”
If anyone could help add a layer to an already thick cake of accomplishments, Costello is just the player.
“Having a player like Matt impacts our team because of his drive and effort to reach personal and team goals,” Western head coach Chris Watz said. “Because he demands so much of himself, this creates the same type of attitude within his teammates. They all demand a lot of themselves. Matt’s desire to work hard has rubbed off on teammates and as a result, the team expects high effort at all times.”
It’s this desire that leads Watz to believe his standout player can be just as accomplished in the collegiate ranks once he steps foot on the court for MSU.
“He has all the physical tools to be successful at he next level,” Watz said. “His work ethic has created the mental toughness to succeed from the mental expectations at the next level as well. Without question, he will create his own level of success at the Division 1 level.”
Despite already having his college destination decided, Costello isn’t about to rest on his laurels.
“I still need to work on my driving from the wing,” he said. “I struggle at that and also rebounding from the three position. I forget sometimes to crash the boards if I’m not out at the perimeter. Just drilling that is one thing I need to work on.”
So with the prospects of another winning season and a future destined for MSU, what’s Costello looking forward to most?
“This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to play with my twin brother [John] in a long time,” he said of his 6’4”, 235-pound sibling. “Last year he had a couple knee surgeries so he wasn’t able to play. This year he is most likely going to start. This past weekend we had a scrimmage down in Vassar and I got to play with him and it felt great.”