Suburban Life Athlete of the Week: Justin Sveiteris, Downers Grove South, basketball, senior

Name: Justin Sveiteris

Sport: Basketball

Why he was selected: Sveiteris scored a game-high 27 points to lead Downers Grove South past Leyden to clinch the West Suburban Gold title. Sveiteris was selected the Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

Here is his Q&A with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Winning conference – what does that mean to you?

Sveiteris: Winning conference is huge for us, especially after the drought that DGS had. I’m definitely proud of us for being able to win it, but at the same time we have larger goals to reach. The job is not done.

Your team has made a huge turnaround the last two years. How did you do it and how gratifying is it now?

Sveiteris: Most of us had been at the varsity level for a few years together and that is why we are doing well now. We made sure to always stick together no matter our record and after two subpar seasons we knew that things had to change in terms of how we do things. It started right at the end of our regional loss last year. An area where I grew as a player was being a more vocal leader and I took initiative to make sure that everybody was focused on getting better skill-wise. I think the results show. Those two tough seasons just increased our team’s bond. I believe that our team’s synergy is unmatched and is another reason why we are doing better this year than in previous years. It sure feels good to win games, but you have to remember that we are looking to have success in the postseason as well.

What are your biggest areas of development in this, your third varsity season?

Sveiteris: A big area of development were my leadership skills. I also put an emphasis on improving my ballhandling and shooting this past summer and that has increased my confidence to a whole new level.

What’s your college plans? Do you hope to play at the next level?

Sveiteris: I plan on playing at the next level. Looks like it will be at the D3 or D2 level. Just not sure yet where I will go, but I do have interest.

What’s the best part of playing on the same team with your brother?

Sveiteris: The best part of playing with my brother is that he literally knows where I am on the court at all times. It’s like we have a sixth sense and that lets him make some very impressive plays. Plus we both make each other better daily at basketball. We always compete at everything and try to be better than one another, whether it’s a shooting drill or playing one-on-one.