Suburban Life Athlete of the Week: Dominic Seaney, Glenbard West, basketball, sophomore

Name: Dominic Seaney

School: Glenbard West, sophomore

Sport: Basketball

Why he was selected: Seaney hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Proviso West. Seaney was voted the Athlete of the Week in an online vote by readers. Here is his interview with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Welge: What happened on the shot?

Seaney: For starters, we were not hitting shots throughout the game. Coach told us when we were down we were going to start hitting shots. Luuk Dusek hit a big 3 that started the momentum. Proviso hit a big 3. They were up one with 6.6 seconds left. Coach called a timeout. Basically the play was to get Benji [Zander] the ball and have him dribble it down. I was open in the corner and he dished it out. My job was pretty simple – I just had to stand there. Guys like Logan [Brown] had to get him the ball, JO [Jack Obendorf] obviously set a good screen and Benji didn’t freak out in the moment, kept his cool and made the right decision.

Welge: Ever hit a shot like that before? What was the reaction afterward?

Seaney: No, that was the first time. I remember looking at JO and the clock went off and remember seeing everybody run over to me. All the guys on the floor and on the bench giving me high-fives and chest bumps. They gave me the confidence to make that shot.

Welge: How do you feel about the start to the season?

Seaney: I’m really proud of how we have gone through a lot of adversity. Two seniors out with torn ACLs, and then our football team went late and our football guys came in late. Our seniors are great leaders and our coaches set us to high standards.

Welge: What’s it like to be on the team following last year’s state championship team?

Seaney: Watching them, it was an example for us. They played at a super high level and watching them, they ran the same stuff we run. Our goal is we want to get to that level. It motivates us. We want to prove that even though we maybe don’t have all those Division I guys, that we are still Glenbard West and we can do it.

Welge: How good can this team be?

Seaney: I think we could be pretty good. I think our identity is a team that plays super hard, goes for the boards, dives for the ball and a team that doesn’t play individual basketball. We move the ball, get it in the post, kick it out. Our identity is a hardworking team that plays together.