Jacob Torres’ varsity basketball career at Emporia High began last season with a bundle of nerves and a full stomach.
“It was the Saturday game of the Paul Terry Classic, playing against Junction City, (for) third place,” Torres said. “And we went to breakfast at Village Inn, and I had a huge breakfast. I was like, ‘I’m not gonna play anyway.’
“Then we come over (to EHS) for a little walk-through... we went to the weight room. And Coach was setting little things up, little plays. He puts me in on one. He’s all, ‘Do you feel comfortable’ doing this and that... And then he’s all, ‘Well good, because you’re gonna be starting.’ I was like, ‘Whoa...’”
With Village Inn cuisine replenishing your system, who needs water or Gatorade? From that unexpected beginning — Torres admits the big breakfast affected him, although he scored a basket and took a charge — sprung the career of a guy who would almost immediately become one of Emporia’s most important players.
By the time Torres’ junior season was over last March, only Taylor Euler had played more minutes for the Spartans. Now, as a senior, the 6-foot-2 Torres is averaging 12.8 points per game, is Emporia’s most accurate 3-point shooter at 36 percent and is looking at his options for playing college basketball.
“His upside is huge,” EHS coach Rick Bloomquist said. “He’s gonna get stronger, he’s dedicated in the weight room. He’s just an unbelievably dedicated kid. He’s not that athletic yet, but he’s gonna be, because of his dedication, of what he does in the offseason. His best basketball will be in two more years.”
If Bloomquist is right, that bodes well for Torres’ goals as he looks at what’s available for him at the next level. He’s looking at junior colleges and NAIA schools, including Tabor College, Ottawa University and Pratt Community College. He could see himself ending up at Tabor, where his friend Kyle deBlonk, a former Emporia High guard, now plays.
“I think I’d rather go to a juco,” Torres said, “because I still think I can improve a lot more than what I am right now, and I can move on to a bigger school.”
Torres has come a long, long way in a few years, and the Village Inn story is one that amuses Bloomquist. After what Torres was as a freshman a couple of years earlier — a scrawny guard standing 5-6 or 5-7 — the coach might’ve just been relieved to hear that he was eating.
“He was real bony and slow, big feet,” Bloomquist said. “Tried to shoot a jump shot, couldn’t shoot a jump shot.”
One day that freshman year, Bloomquist had a talk with Torres. He told him things would change, that Torres would get bigger, stronger and better.
“I don’t think he believed it as a freshman,” Bloomquist said. “Tears started coming down his eyes, like ‘Really?’ Not in a bad way, but (as in), ‘I wish I could change now.’ He wanted it right now.
“But he’s been so patient to get where he’s at, also. And I think it’s paid off.”
“As a freshman, I wasn’t good at all,” Torres said. “I think I’ve grown considerably, but there’s still plenty of room to grow.”
Torres — known to almost everyone as Skip, rather than his given first name — has proven he’s capable of stepping up to take over the scoring load from Euler, if need be. Among his biggest scoring outings, Torres put up back-to-back 20-plus-point games against Bellevue East and Olathe East in this year’s Paul Terry Classic and scored 18 in the Spartans’ win over Joplin in the Ralph Miller Classic.
So if Shawnee Heights, for instance, focuses its defense on stopping Euler when the Spartans (6-7, 3-3 Centennial) travel there tonight, the T-Birds (5-8, 1-5) will likely be quite aware that Torres can make them pay.
“He’s starting to gain respect from the league people, because he’s getting good defenders defending him,” Bloomquist said. “People know that he’s one of my better shooters. And his size, number one... he’s got a great basketball IQ. He’s an unbelievable gym rat, and every coach loves gym rats.”
“I’ve got a lot of admiration for him,” Bloomquist added. “I’ve got a soft heart for him, because he’ll take a butt-chewing, he’ll take anything I give him, and comes back stronger and harder.
“He’s kind of a throwback, he really is. Kind of a throwback to the kid that knows what he has to do, and wait, and be patient, ‘gonna get my turn.’ ... And for me, as long as I’ve been doing this, it’s nice to see those throwbacks.”