Thomas Haugh, a basketball forward for Perkiomen School, received an ability-based invitation to play for the Pennsburg prep school. As he now considers college, a sportsmanship lesson learned in Montgomery County will go with him. Joey Platt explained in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Haugh grew up near Gettysburg. As a high-school underclassman there, he played a variety of sports. But as his stature increased athletically as well as physically — he’s now 6-foot-9 — he concentrated on basketball.

An offer to play for Perkiomen School brought him east for his junior year.

And a lesson in patience unfolded.

Haugh went from being a starter at home to spending more time on the bench than he anticipated.

Rather than becoming miffed, Haugh dug deep to change his status.

“Once I started to get the speed of the game, I realized why I wasn’t playing, what I needed to do better to get on the court, and what I needed to work on,” he said.

Coach John Williams took note. “He was starting to find different ways to be crafty and compete,” he remembered.

Atop an 11–1 season that year, Haugh started catching the eyes of college recruiters. From a crowded field of offers, he’s decided to play for the University of Florida.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has more on the evolving sports-academic career of Thomas Haugh.

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Video interview with Thomas Haugh.