Jonas Emilsson
www.KramMag.com

Josh Daniel has plenty of tools at his disposal to make him one of the better pure point guards currently competing in the Calgary high school basketball scene.

So far this season the 5’10” Bishop Grandin Ghost’s second year senior has led his team to a solid 4-1 record, good enough for second place in the Div I South Division behind the 5-0 Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats.

In last week’s Kram Game of the Week, the speedy Daniel played a huge role in getting the Ghosts past a pesky Lord Beaverbrook squad by a 101-73 score.

A big reason for the Ghosts’ victory was the up-tempo style Daniel brings each and every game.

“He creates out tempo with his defense.,” said Ghost’s head coach Kevin O’Neill. “He plays such intense defense that it’s contagious to the rest of the kids and we really do rely on that.”

Daniel is more often than not put in charge of guarding the opposition’s most dangerous scorer, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like to challenge myself,” said the 5’10” guard. “I want to play against the best players all the time, push myself up and down the floor, and when I get tired I like to push myself to the next level. If I’m missing free-throws I need to challenge myself to mentally make them.”

It’s also needs to be mentioned that no matter how hard Daniel works on the defensive end, he still manages to find enough energy to run the offense once the teams transitions into offensive mode.

Against the Ghosts he chipped in with 18 points to go with several assists.

“He’s one of our leading scorers, which is really good considering he’s always matching up against the best players from other teams,” said O’Neill. “He’s working really hard on the defensive end yet he never lets up on the other end.”

Being one of only five grade-12, Daniel is also relied on to bring leadership to coach O’Neill’s squad.

“We rely on his leaderships at both ends of the floor and he does a great job at doing that,” said O’Neill.

And Daniel knows that his leadership skills must be at the forefront for the Ghosts to be successful. Which the have been so far this season with an almost perfect record and an appearance in the finals of the Calgary Basketball Classic pre-season tournament.

“We’re really young,” said Daniel. “We have a lot of grade 11s and they make mistakes but they bring a lot of energy and if our big-man gets a dunk or something we’re going to start running.”

“We have five grade 12s on the team and I take pride in myself as a leader and helping the whole team, but I have a lot of guys backing me up.”

With all these things in mind, Daniel has found ways to help him stay mentally sharp at all times, which is a skill all successful athletes rely on to gain an edge on the competition.

“I have to prepare mentally before tip-off and mentally break any barriers that are slowing me down and if I can do that I’ll be successful,” said Daniel.

Kram 5 with Josh Daniel
What are your sneakers of choice? Nike Hyperize
What is your favourite movie? Coach Carter
What is your favourite NBA team? Cleveland Cavaliers
Who is your favourite NBA player? LeBron James
What is your favourite pre-game meal? Subway