{"id":37540,"date":"2017-09-25T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=37540"},"modified":"2017-11-12T19:03:29","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T02:03:29","slug":"big-plans-hoop-dreams-keep-charlie-conner-on-his-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/09\/25\/big-plans-hoop-dreams-keep-charlie-conner-on-his-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Big plans, hoop dreams keep Charlie Conner on his game"},"content":{"rendered":"

S<\/span>AIT Trojans guard Charlie Conner has big plans, and hoop dreams.<\/p>\n

T<\/span>he first-year business bdministration student and Trojans point guard is doing his best to not let it get to his head by taking it one day at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a little bit of pressure definitely,\u201d said Conner said in an interview at the season got under way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to enjoy my time here as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conner grew up in Seattle, Washington and started playing basketball when he was about five years old.<\/p>\n

During Conner\u2019s playing days in high school, he experienced how tough balancing academics and sports can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely tough back then,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like if I can stay organized, then I’ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

With basketball being such a big commitment, it can be hard for players to continue playing the sport.<\/p>\n

For Conner, the motivation to keep playing came from people close to him and the love of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got motivation from people who believe in me,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just supposed to be playing basketball. It\u2019s my passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout his life, Connor was encouraged by his mom to earn a degree.<\/p>\n

When he was offered a basketball scholarship at SAIT, he jumped at the chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great feeling. I saw the opportunity and I took it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to his plans after graduating, Conner\u2019s future is unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t really thought that far ahead honestly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to get a job and play overseas somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Conner, the ideal way for him to further his basketball career after SAIT would be to attend another school that would allow him to play ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best way would be to hoop here for a couple years and then go to a CIS<\/a> school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got to keep working.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of athletes coach once they\u2019re playing days are over.<\/p>\n

For Conner, the question of whether he would consider a coaching job is too far down the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of right now, I have no idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m way too young to think about it, but right now definitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conner is in the first year of the Business Administration program, meaning that he will have three more years left.<\/p>\n

The thought of time running out in Conner\u2019s tenure at SAIT isn\u2019t taking its toll on him just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t affect me too much right now because I know I got time,\u201d said Conner.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years from now, I\u2019ll have to be on my grind though.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, Conner\u2019s favourite part about being a Trojan is the teammates that he has met and grown close to.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou grow a bond with them, it\u2019s funny how close you become with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere some of my best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

With all the stress that comes when thinking about the future, Conner is a good example of how players try their best to focus on what\u2019s going on at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bonding with teammates <\/strong>Charlie Conner and John Smith Jr. pose for a picture after scrimmage during practice on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 in the main gym at SAIT. (Photo by Jordan Squires\/SAIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Trojans rookie point guard talks about how he can continue playing Basketball at a competitive level after completing his business program at SAIT. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":412,"featured_media":38030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"Assignment 1 Charlie Conner","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sait-basketball","8":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/412"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37540"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71321,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37540\/revisions\/71321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}