Asad Raza

Asad Raza was an American high school basketball player.
Asad was the first high school player in history to lead two different high schools, Almany and JFK, in the same division to championship appearances in a span of 4 years. He was also the first freshman player to be accepted upon the Almany Varsity basketball team in 17 consecutive years.

Early basketball years
Although his ability to shoot the ball was excellent, and he thrived on making players come out to guard him. Asad was mostly interested in taking the ball to the basket and finishing the play with spectacular plays that would shock and electrify the crowd and usually erupt cheers. Asad started to play ball in the 7th grade with the Pinecrest Middle School Junior Varsity team. He was a bench player that saw limited minutes in the whole season. With no contribution to the teams success, Asad practiced with the team every day and worked hard to improve his shots. In the 7th Grade, Pinecrest JV Basketball lost the championships to Sierra Canyon, in that game Asad played a total of 11 minutes scoring 17 points and stealing the ball 4 times.
A year later, Asad had proved himself worthy of being accepted on the Pinecrest Varsity team as not only a player, but a starter who would go on to becoming their "go-to guy."

On the varsity team, Asad usually came up with big plays that sent the games into overtime or won the games. He became known as "Razor," for his sharp shooting and his ability to cut straight to the basket and finish strong. For the season, he averaged 19.5 points a game while adding a mindboggling 17 steals per game. This season ended up in a heartbreak as the Panthers went to lose the championship game in a triple overtime match up that Asad had to leave because of an ankle injury in the 3rd overtime. The panthers lost 133-134.

Almany basketball
As a freshman, Asad was the first freshman in 17 consecutive years to be accepted to the Varsity Basketball Team. Even as a freshman, he did not go unnoticed. At the small height of 5'2, Asad began to put on muscle weight. At the middle of the season, he had gained 25 pounds of sheer muscle and had began to jump at a verticle of 3 ft. In his first year, Asad helped lead the White Tigers to their first Finals appearance in 8 years. He averaged 25.1 points and 8 steals per game and jumped from the bench to the starting point guard position in a span of 1 month.

In his 3 playoff game vs. Notre Dame, Asad sprained his ankle and continued to play through it causing him to aggravate the injury that eventually made him sit out the rest of the season. This was the breakdown of the season that cost Almany their championship; without their starting point guard the Tigers lost to St. John in a miserable 119-56 defeat.

In his second year of High School, Asad proved to be the player that the tigers were searching for. He averaged 34.8 points and was then 5'4 and could easily dunk the basketball. He wore the number 38 on his jersey and electrified the crowd on almost every possession. Asad began to increase his speed, strength, and jumping ability. He began to mimic some of the plays of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Another good season ended up in another appearance to the Finals that resulted in a defeat of 112-110, when Notre Dame hit a heartbreaking three-pointer in the final seconds of the game.

JFK basketball
In his Junior year, Asad wore a different jersey on his chest with the same number. He had changed his team to the cross town rivals, the JFK Cougars. In his debut with the cougars, Asad recorded 62 points, 17 steals, and 11 assists. He was immediately placed on the starting line-up. He now stood at 5'7, and wieghted at 168 lbs. This season was his most successful season with the averages of 36.1 points, 11.3 steals, and 8 assists per game. He led the Cougars to their first championship and the phrase "RUNWAY 38 READY FOR TAKEOFF!" had come into place. On every fastbreak to the basket, the crowd would often chant that phrase and Asad would reward them with a spectacular dunk. Cougars first championship came with much deserved fame for their potentially All-American Point Guard. Asad started to score with ease over any defender that dared to step in his way. While averaging a torching 36.1 points per game, Asad endured a horrible injury that marked the end of his Junior season. Lifting weights in his home, Asad fractured both of the bones in his left forearm and was placed in an arm cast for 5 months. This marked the end of his Junior season, and the MVP candidate failed to reach his MVP award.

In the final year of High School, Asad came thundering back, making a full recovery through his injury and shooting with the right hand. This season proved to be his highlight season with the averages of 39.2 points per game, 12 steals per game, and 9 assists per game. He took the Cougars to a new level with their 28 game winning streak. RUNWAY 38 was back! He torched anyone that made an attempt to guard him, he embarrassed any center who attempted to block his shots and he was a deadly threat to every team in the Sunset 6 league. Standing at 5'7, 175 lbs. Asad earned the MVP honors with an exclamation mark. He led the Cougars to their second consecutive championship, and graduated as the Scholar Athlete. With everything going his way, rumors say that he was offered to play at the NCAA level before breaking his hand. A controversial comment by UCC Coach Dan Rathens led Asad to dissappear after graduating from High School. The comment included statements like, "he would be a player with a list full of injuries," and "he only has one good arm." Dan Rathens was put under suspension for making comments like these to an Athlete.

After High School
There are many rumors that claim the Star guard stopped playing basketball. There are also rumors claiming that he is resting and getting strong to make a comeback. Whichever rumor it is, there is one thing for sure: Basketball sure could use another star like Asad Raza.

Controversies & rumors
* MVP acceptance speech: " Its a sad day in basketball, when the shortest dude gets the biggest award. Shows where the game is going."
* Arrest in 2005: Underage Gambling

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