McKay High School Boys' Basketball is about to capitalize on a young man that's been putting in hours of work during the off-season. The Royal Scots missed the playoffs by one game last year. This year could be different.
The NE Salem area is the most diverse section of the capital city. There are families dealing with challenging situations, whether lack of funds or a dysfunction of some kind. Sports can be a challenging task for coaches because of this reason. There are kids that walk two miles to practice in cold or wet weather. Some kids have both parents working trying to make ends meet causing neglect that can't be helped. Some kids belong to single-mom families or single-dad families. If you drove out to McKay some evening, you would see several students outside in the cold weather waiting for their parents to pick them up. Some parents may never show up forcing the kids to walk home.
Drioji Joel wears number 0 on his McKay basketball uniform. He says it's because number 1 was already taken. He has adapted well and found success in this McKay-High-School environment. He is the son of Clasper and Mina Joel. His parents are divorced. Drioji has two sisters, Nialeen and Cataleyn, who live with their dad. Drioji lives with his mom along with his two brothers, Helton and David.
"My parents divorced when I was three-years old, so really, it was never an obstacle for me to overcome or to adjust -- it's just something I've grown up with," Drioji said.
Drioji grew up in NE Salem, Oregon, in a low-to-middle-income neighborhood. He had plenty of friends to hang out with in a calm area with not much disturbance. He was inspired to play the game of basketball because of his dad, who often would play at open gyms.
"My dad would take me along and I'd watch all of the players. I wanted to give basketball a try. It really looked fun. When I started playing, I never stopped, I continued to this day," Drioji said.
He attended three grade schools, Swegle Elementary, Auburn Elementary, and Lamb Elementary. He then enrolled into Stephen's Middle School. Playing basketball in middle school was a passion Drioji discovered and infused with his teammates. Four of those players are still playing with him now at McKay ... Khyler Beach, Ryan Bangs, Andre Tovar, and Israel Garza. Drioji had another teammate, Isaac Wayne Arzate, that played middle-school basketball with him. He was a close friend and one that was assumed to be playing as a senior with the same group.
During the sixth grade, Isaac had a heart attack. He recovered a little, but by the time baseball season came around his heart condition progressed and he died of complications. Drioji was hit hard by what happened to his teammate. It's not an easy thing to go through as a young kid.
As his middle-school days were full of life experiences, Drioji found himself playing a lot of basketball at Stephen's Middle School with his friends in the Skyball-League. During this time he came down with four ankle injuries. One of the injuries actually broke his ankle. He was on crutches for three weeks. Losing his friend, Isaac, and then this severe injury put him in the darkest of hours.
"Isaac was such a close friend to me. It was one of the toughest things I'd ever gone through. We all still miss him, but we have to move on. In addition to all of that sadness during my middle-school days, I also had so many ankle injuries ... sometimes it was more difficult to not play basketball then to be injured," Drioji said.
Drioji is a quiet kid, and normally likes to joke around with the friends he knows well. One might imagine Drioji giving up with all the injuries and things that were happening in his life at the time. He's definitely not a quitter, he's a fighter and someone that prevails despite his downfalls. Drioji resonated helping his middle-school team make it to the championship game three years in a row. They won the league championship two of those years. Unfortunately, he was not able to play in any of the championship games because of his injuries.
As far as organized teams, his Skyball-league team played in some AAU tournaments, but that's about it. He cherished the moments of middle-school basketball, and was looking forward to high-school basketball.
Coming in as a freshman, Drioji was 5' 3" and the shortest basketball player at McKay High School. His ball-handling skills were decent and Head Coach Dean Sanderson saw something in this kid. Drioji was placed on the varsity team. Battling during the varsity practices, he struggled sitting the bench and watching during the real games.
After his freshman year, Drioji knew the kind of work he had to put in if he wanted some kind of future with the Royal Scots. This school had over 2,000 kids attending and there were some pretty competitive athletes on the team. He started attending every open-gym workout during the off-season. Coach Matt Espinoza (Coach Noza) who is the assistant varsity coach, works with kids like Drioji to help them succeed in skill-set development and in life skills. Noza demonstrates good examples on and off the court and instills those values to the basketball players.
"As far as I'm concerned, all credit goes to Coach Noza. He started working with me, I couldn't believe how much my ball-handling skills, footing, and shooting improved. I got in the gym anytime it was open," Drioji said.
Every year, during the off-season, Drioji has worked hard. The dedication and passion has made him the player he has become off the court. He stays away from negative influences, and he studies hard to improve his GPA. He currently maintains a 3.3 GPA. Drioji is a kid that is a perfect example of someone working hard to be successful, not only on the basketball court, but also in his long-term future after basketball.
"Drioji has always had a passion for the game and a drive to get better in the off-season. Since last season, his greatest improvement has been his confidence," Coach Noza said.
Drioji drives to the basket. Photo by Kent Brewer.
By the time Drioji was a junior, he was one of the starting five on the Royal Scots' team. He was a contributing factor at 5' 5" running the point-guard position. During his junior year, the growth was visible because of his passion for the game and his warrior determination to get better. If you walked into an open gym no matter what time of the season, you would see Drioji working at his shooting or ball-handling.
"No one ever made fun of my height, except for my friends when they were just joking around, I was cool with that -- all in fun. My challenges were on the basketball court in a game. It was difficult for me to get a rebound, or shoot over taller players. That's something I had to adapt to by working on my moves driving to the basket or dishing off an assist," Drioji said.
Now as a senior, he stands at 5' 6" which is still small for 6A basketball, but don't count Drioji out, he has developed strengths through his years of hard work. He has become one of the leaders on the basketball court and his shooting has improved tremendously.
Two of Drioji's favorite all-time moments in basketball was when the Royal Scots defeated highly-ranked West Salem last year during the early part of the season. The other moment was when McKay played rivalry McNary. Drioji hit four 3-point baskets and finished with 16 points.
"Drioji represents what's best about McKay basketball. He's undersized ... didn't grow up going to expensive camps and has had to outwork others to become one of the best point guards in the area. I'm glad we get him for one more year and am proud to coach him," Head Coach Dean Sanderson said.
Coach Dean Sanderson gives Drioji a play to run. Photo by Kent Brewer.
Drioji has a short-term goal of helping his team, the McKay Royal Scots, make it to the playoffs and also increasing his GPA from 3.3 to 3.5. His long-term goal is to graduate from a university. If an opportunity arises to play college basketball as a point guard, he will jump on that in a second.
This young man has done some nice things during his high-school days that not too many people know about. When he sees a homeless person holding up a sign, he sometimes gives them $1.00. Drioji also is a volunteer at Salem Hoops Project. He demonstrates skills to K-5 kids. He has been one of the most consistent volunteers for this non-profit organization that provides free basketball skill-set training to NE Salem kids.
This season, McKay will have five players that have played together since their sixth-grade year. The coaches have worked with these kids, to not only develop their basketball mindset, but also to help them become decent people and productive citizens when they leave McKay High School.
Ryan Bangs, Khyler Beach, Andre Tovar, and Israel Garza. Formatted by David Espinoza.
To see Ryan Bangs and Israel Garza dunking the ball off of two feet, and then to see Khyler Beach dunking off of one leg, and Andre along with Drioji knocking down 5 threes in a row, well, it will be a special season for these young men.
In fact, I'm going to wager five large pizzas and drinks for the team, at Little Ceasars Pizza, the first time Ryan Bangs gets a dunk in a game, and believe me, it will happen. I saw him dunk the basketball three straight times in a row with authority -- monster dunks!
The best of luck to Drioji Joel, his senior teammates, and the rest of teammates who are ready to play their final year of high school basketball.
Congratulations on your successful journey, Drioji! You deserve all the happiness and rewards.
Drioji, what are your favorite hobbies?
I like to play video games and basketball with my teammates.
Do you have a favorite professional team?
I really don't have a favorite team, but my favorite player is Kobe Bryant.
Tell me about your study habits.
I like to study at home after practice, or at school sometimes.
What advice can you give kids that want to accomplish what you have?
Work as hard as you can. If you're in a basketball program, buy into it. The coaches know what they're doing. Last year we bought into the program and we had a successful run missing the playoffs by one game.