Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
Freeland junior basketball player Tori Jankoska can do it all. Score in bunches (25.6 points per game), haul in rebounds (6.8 per game), assist her teammates with a timely pass (4.4 assists per game), and swipe the ball from her opponents (3 steals per game). With that in mind, she was an easy choice for Sports Scene girls’ basketball player of the year.
“She is very special,” Freeland head coach Tom Zolinski said of Jankoska. “She spends a lot of time in the gym, 60 to 80 games a year. She is very competitive. She wants to be the best at whatever she does. She has a drive like no other. She is able to play any position because of her strength and ball-handling skills.”
Despite her impressive stat line and playing on a team had its season end in the Class B state semi-finals, Jankoska can’t quite get used to the recognition she’s been getting. The junior has already been named to this year’s Tri-Valley Central and All-State first-team lists this season, adding to several awards she won as a sophomore and freshman.
“I feel honored; it’s amazing to me still with the awards I get,” she said. “I am very thankful to my coach, he has helped me become the player and person I am today. And, of course, I couldn’t get these awards without my teammates.”
Jankoska also set several school records this season, scoring a single game record of 44 points (February 17 at Bullock Creek), single season point total (641), and career scoring mark (1592.) Despite all these individual marks, Jankoska’s season ended, despite a 29-point effort, in the state semifinals 72-49 to Grand Rapids Catholic Central. The Falcons finished with a 22-4 record.
“She has done pretty much everything statistically,” Zolinski said. “Our goal is to get to the finals. She will have to work hard in the off-season and during next season to make her teammates better. That is the only way we will accomplish that goal.”
Still, Zolinski can’t think of anyone better to get all the recognition that Jankoska has received.
“She is a great role model,” Zolinski said. “She is a great student and does a lot for the community. She has helped me with youth camps in the summer and spends a lot of time at the SportsZone getting to know people.
“Her talent speaks for itself,” he added. “It is rare that a talent like that comes around. I have enjoyed having her in the program, and I look forward to next year.”
Jankoska, who has committed to play at Michigan State University, hopes to end her high-school career with a bang before joining the collegiate ranks. That bang includes winning the coveted Miss Basketball topped with a grand finale at the Breslin Center.
“It definitely is one of my goals as an individual player,” she said of the award. “It would be a huge honor to me, especially keeping all of the amazing players that have received it prior, but I would love to have a state championship trophy to share with my teammates at the end of the season more than anything.”