On Jan. 23, under the bright lights and roar of the home crowd, junior Jerry Stokes etched his name into BVH history by achieving a milestone of 1,000 career points. The milestone moment marked more than simply another basket, it symbolized years of dedication. It showed that one thousand points isn’t just a number, it is a testament to hard work and represents a promising future that has just begun.
“It has been a dream ever since I was young,” Stokes said. “That has been a milestone that I have always been wanting to achieve.”
Despite his accomplishment, Stokes made sure to accredit those who helped him along his journey pointing to his teammates and coaches as being key factors in his accomplishment.
“My team has been the reason why I have hit the thousand points and my coaches always work me hard,” Stokes said.
While his team and coaches have helped him along the way, there is one person’s support that has meant the most–his father, Larry Stokes. From the very beginning, L. Stokes has supported his son, believing he possessed something special.
“He puts a lot of effort into being a great basketball player and a great team player,” L. Stokes said. “Off the court he is a great person. He is a good friend to his peers, a good teammate to his team and a good son to my wife and I.”
When asked what advice he would give his son on this milestone, L. Stokes simply responded with, ‘Reaching it, preparing for it, accomplishing it and then focusing on the next one and going on to achieve it.’
Teammate and friend, sophomore Brandon Rosales, describes Stokes as not only being a key player on the team, but a great friend as well.
“He has had a big impact on the team. He makes a bunch of great shots, he brings up the ball really well and overall he is a great leader for us,” Rosales said. “There are [also] a lot of things behind the scenes that people do not really see that shows how good he is. During practice he puts in a lot of work, he is a great friend and just in general he is a great guy on and off the court. Something that makes Jerry special as a player is that he may appear as a small and scrawny type of guy, but he makes a big impact on the game.”
As the season continues, Stoke’s 1,000 career point milestone is just the beginning for him and is far from his last.
“I am just grateful for my entire family, my teammates, and my coaches, they have done so much for me and I could not thank them anymore,” Stokes said.
