Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
In the days leading up to Freeland’s Tori Jankoska signing her National Letter of Intent to attend Michigan State University at the Freeland Sports Zone, Sports Scene tagged along with the Big Ten recruit to get to know her better.
She had just finished leading the Falcons volleyball team to its best-ever record, and she was getting herself into basketball shape.
It was business as usual for Tori.
“This year we are going to be running more,” she said, after running wind sprints during practice. “When teams are going to need a break, we still will be running on the court. I like playing up-tempo. Running is going to make us better towards the end of the season.”
That type of mindset and competitive edge has the Freeland senior teetering on the edge of excellence and makes her one of the top players in Michigan.
It’s too bad that a player of this caliber has to hear the naysayers out there, but Tori set the record straight prior to her big signing day in November and before the start of the Falcons season.
“I’ve heard it all,” she said. “But yes, I’m going to Michigan State next season, and I hope to have a successful career at the next level. I don’t know where all the rumors come from, but I hope that with my signing, all of the speculation and rumors subside and we can just get back to playing basketball. I’m a competitor. I don’t like to lose. It’s just who I am.”
Guys vs. Girls
Her skills were well-known before she got to high school. She didn’t want to play on girls’ teams growing up, so she played on boys’ teams until she got to high school and schooled the opposition while doing so.
At an early age, you can tell when a player has that so-called “it” factor, and Tori had what it took to turn heads and make people look silly on the court in the process.
“I remember there were teams that didn’t want to play us, because we had a girl on the team,” said Julie Brousseau, who coached Tori from grades 3-8. “She was that good. We knew Tori was going to be good, but the question was how good she was going to be when she got to high school.”
Brousseau recalled numerous occasions that Tori would dribble around, and the boys couldn’t catch her on the court. Those experiences made her a better player once she hit the court with the girls in high school.
“She plays the game like a guy,” Brousseau said. “She is fearless. She was never afraid to drive the ball to the lane. She wasn’t ever afraid to take a lick by an opposing player. She is that type of player to this day. Tori wasn’t about making a player look bad; all she wanted to do was improve every time she hit the court.”
Tori feels those early games allowed her to prepare herself for what she would find when she got to the high school level.
“I think being able to play with my sister Jenni my freshman season allowed me to get adapted to things a little more quicker than I thought,” Tori said. “Jenni was blessed with a little more height than me, but her skill set was extremely polished. We made it all the way to the state quarterfinals that first year, and I was glad that I had the opportunity to play on the same team as her for one year.”
Tori’s mom Lisa said she feels Jenni was a huge help in her daughter’s transition to high school.
“I am really proud of Jenni and Tori and that one year of playing on the same team,” Lisa Jankoska said. “Jenni was a huge help to Tori and they both fed off each other really well that season. Jenni is a little taller than Tori, but what Tori lacks in height she makes up for in speed and quickness.”
The Decision
Tori’s freshman year, Freeland went 23-3 and lost to Kingsford in the Class B quarterfinals.
She averaged more than 13 points a game as a freshman in the Falcons’ backcourt. She was named a first-team All-TVC Central and first-team All-area selection.
Jankoska got on MSU’s recruiting radar when she attended the school’s two-day elite players’ camp in late June 2010. Right after that, she was again at State with her Freeland AAU team for MSU’s team camp. Freeland coach Tom Zolinski said that MSU head coach Suzy Merchant and her staff watched every one of Jankoska’s games at the camp.
When the state’s two Big Ten women’s basketball programs both made her an offer after her freshman season at Freeland, she saw no reason to wait to make her decision.
So as a 15-year-old sophomore, Tori gave her verbal commitment to Michigan State University and coach Suzy Merchant.
To this day, Tori says it was the right decision to make and there are no regrets about doing it early.
“It was the right time,” she said. “I know where I have always wanted to go, and I couldn’t be happier making the decision so early. I just can’t wait to get to MSU and start the next chapter of my life.”
Zolinski said that the Jankoska family included him in making Tori’s decision.
“I was really appreciative of the family allowing me to go along on her official visits and to be a part of the process,” Zolinski said. “Tori has always handled the ball well, and we’ve really worked hard on her shot. I think what really caught Suzy’s eye was competitiveness and leadership.”
Making her move
After losing to Hemlock in the district final her sophomore year, Jankoska and the Falcons worked hard in the off-season in an effort to make a substantial playoff run the following year.
Last season, Jankoska averaged 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.0 steals per game, but that wasn’t enough to compete with Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Class B semifinal game. Freeland suffered a 72-49 loss. Jankoska scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the game.
That loss stung a bit, but she feels it was a motivating factor for this year’s team.
“Last year we got beat by a very good basketball team, but we definitely didn’t play our game,” Tori said. “We would have loved to have been able to get the win, but things didn’t work out that way. We have extremely high expectations this season, and we like our chances of making it back to the Breslin this season.”
Even though the focus remains on Jankoska and all of the school records that she owns, including points in a career (1562), season (641), and game (44), her main focus is being the best player and teammate that she can be.
“No one likes to lose,” she said. “I think this year’s team is focused at the task at hand, and they know how to handle the pressure. We feel we have a talented group that can go far in the playoffs and beyond.”
Just another teenager
As a reporter who got the opportunity to see an average day in Tori’s life, I have to admit I that was very impressed with how she handled herself in and out of the classroom. Sometimes when you have the opportunity to visit with big-time recruits, you get a feeling of cockiness or arrogance. Not with Tori. She was very hospitable to the lunch ladies who had her lunch ready for her and to her math teacher Mrs. Clark, who was teaching the class the ins and outs of keeping a budget while at college.
While walking to her locker before she got ready for her co-op job at her mom’s All State Insurance office, I realized Tori was just another teenager who was eager to finish high school and move on to the next phase of her life.
It just so happens that Tori has amazing basketball talent that will assist her in making that transition.
When we got to the office, I asked her the one lingering question that we hadn’t touched on all day: Ms. Basketball.
Some say it’s a career award. Others say it’s a popularity contest.
But Tori summed it up best.
“To me, it’s a a team award,” Tori said. “My teammates make me a better player.”
Tori will have tough competition when it comes to possibly winning Ms. Basketball, but if she happens to win, it will be an honor that is well- deserved.