Russell discovers hoops dream job
John Russell was supposed to be in school on March 9, 2021, but he wasn’t.
Instead, the senior at Fremont High School was in Lincoln watching the state basketball tournament.
Rather than just going to watch the games, like so many high school students from across the state, he was actually working at the event.
Russell, who recently completed his varsity basketball career at FHS, was asked by RecruitLookHoops (a basketball tournament website-recruitlookhoops.com-that also assists with the talent identification process) to evaluate elite players at this year’s state tourney.
“They (RecruitLookHoops) sent me down to Lincoln almost every day for boys state basketball,” said Russell. “I got to watch all of the games and watch the special players that played in the tournament.”
Some of the elite players he evaluated at the state tournament were Chucky Hepburn and Frankie Fidler (both from Bellevue West), Hunter Sallis (from Millard North) and Connor Millikan (from Platteview).
Social Media Platforms
RecruitLookHoops found Russell after they saw a piece of his work, that was uploaded to his Twitter and Instagram accounts (Cornhusker Hoops Report).
Russell was in quarantine for 14 days, following an exposure to a positive COVID-19 test, and wrote an article about an upcoming basketball tournament that was being hosted by RecruitLookHoops (called the Omaha Showcase) on Aug. 14-16, 2020.
“I was looking forward to attending that basketball tournament in Omaha, right after I got out of quarantine after the 14 days, since I had previously tested negative,” said Russell. “I saw that they had some really good teams, and I knew a bunch of the players and a bunch of teams, so I kind of wrote a little preview article. It was 25 games to watch at the RecruitLookHoops tournament in Omaha and I posted it on Twitter.”
After that tournament, Russell said that RecruitLookHoops reached out to him.
“They DM’d (direct message) me and said ‘nice article, do you have contact information’ and I sent them my number and we called and talked for a while,” said Russell. “They offered me $200 to come write for the weekend and if they liked it then we’d be able to go on in the future and they’d send me off to all of the other tournaments across the nation and that’s where I’m at today. They said they liked the work and it turned out really well.”
For Russell, covering basketball games is something he’s always wanted to do, and RecruitLookHoops provided him the opportunity to do just that.
Tournaments
“I think the weekend that I actually attended the tournament, I scouted and wrote about it,” Russell said. “I think I interviewed four or five players, but they weren’t big interviews. I interviewed Isaac Traudt (from Grand Island) and Cale Jacobsen (from Ashland-Greenwood), who isn’t a big name yet, but should be. I also interviewed Kwat Abdel-Karim (from Lincoln North Star), who is a really underrated player.”
Junior Bella Keaton, a varsity girls basketball player at FHS, said she’s a fan of Russell’s work.
“I’ve read every one of John’s articles, starting from the interview he did with Isaac Traudt,” said Keaton. “I can tell he really likes it by his style of writing and the effort he puts into it. He writes great stories.”
For his time and effort, Russell said he gets paid $10 for every article he writes. Once he finishes an article, Russell said he uploads it to the recruitlookhoops.com website.
RecruitLookHoops also pays for Russell’s hotel, food, and all the gas he needs to get to the tournaments he covers (in the midwest).
“It’s really a fun job,” Russell said. “This is honestly my dream job and to be able to have it when I’m 17 is just awesome. I kind of did it by myself for a few months, so to actually do it for a company and have an actual career path towards this is amazing.”
Being around the game of basketball, and many elite players, is the best part of his job said Russell, who’s been working for RecruitLookHoops since August of 2020.
“I would say my favorite part is that it is my dream job, so every day that I write, or interview a player, is my favorite thing about it,” said Russell. “Just the interaction with the players is like nothing else I’ve ever done.”
Russell said he plans on attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln next year. While going to school, Russell said he intends to continue working for RecruitLookHoops.
“I’m going to college at UNL for Sports Media and Communications and that will tie right into what I’m already doing,” said Russell. “My dream would be just to continue to do this and maybe get onto a bigger scale if possible.” Story by Jared Knollenberg
Instead, the senior at Fremont High School was in Lincoln watching the state basketball tournament.
Rather than just going to watch the games, like so many high school students from across the state, he was actually working at the event.
Russell, who recently completed his varsity basketball career at FHS, was asked by RecruitLookHoops (a basketball tournament website-recruitlookhoops.com-that also assists with the talent identification process) to evaluate elite players at this year’s state tourney.
“They (RecruitLookHoops) sent me down to Lincoln almost every day for boys state basketball,” said Russell. “I got to watch all of the games and watch the special players that played in the tournament.”
Some of the elite players he evaluated at the state tournament were Chucky Hepburn and Frankie Fidler (both from Bellevue West), Hunter Sallis (from Millard North) and Connor Millikan (from Platteview).
Social Media Platforms
RecruitLookHoops found Russell after they saw a piece of his work, that was uploaded to his Twitter and Instagram accounts (Cornhusker Hoops Report).
Russell was in quarantine for 14 days, following an exposure to a positive COVID-19 test, and wrote an article about an upcoming basketball tournament that was being hosted by RecruitLookHoops (called the Omaha Showcase) on Aug. 14-16, 2020.
“I was looking forward to attending that basketball tournament in Omaha, right after I got out of quarantine after the 14 days, since I had previously tested negative,” said Russell. “I saw that they had some really good teams, and I knew a bunch of the players and a bunch of teams, so I kind of wrote a little preview article. It was 25 games to watch at the RecruitLookHoops tournament in Omaha and I posted it on Twitter.”
After that tournament, Russell said that RecruitLookHoops reached out to him.
“They DM’d (direct message) me and said ‘nice article, do you have contact information’ and I sent them my number and we called and talked for a while,” said Russell. “They offered me $200 to come write for the weekend and if they liked it then we’d be able to go on in the future and they’d send me off to all of the other tournaments across the nation and that’s where I’m at today. They said they liked the work and it turned out really well.”
For Russell, covering basketball games is something he’s always wanted to do, and RecruitLookHoops provided him the opportunity to do just that.
Tournaments
“I think the weekend that I actually attended the tournament, I scouted and wrote about it,” Russell said. “I think I interviewed four or five players, but they weren’t big interviews. I interviewed Isaac Traudt (from Grand Island) and Cale Jacobsen (from Ashland-Greenwood), who isn’t a big name yet, but should be. I also interviewed Kwat Abdel-Karim (from Lincoln North Star), who is a really underrated player.”
Junior Bella Keaton, a varsity girls basketball player at FHS, said she’s a fan of Russell’s work.
“I’ve read every one of John’s articles, starting from the interview he did with Isaac Traudt,” said Keaton. “I can tell he really likes it by his style of writing and the effort he puts into it. He writes great stories.”
For his time and effort, Russell said he gets paid $10 for every article he writes. Once he finishes an article, Russell said he uploads it to the recruitlookhoops.com website.
RecruitLookHoops also pays for Russell’s hotel, food, and all the gas he needs to get to the tournaments he covers (in the midwest).
“It’s really a fun job,” Russell said. “This is honestly my dream job and to be able to have it when I’m 17 is just awesome. I kind of did it by myself for a few months, so to actually do it for a company and have an actual career path towards this is amazing.”
Being around the game of basketball, and many elite players, is the best part of his job said Russell, who’s been working for RecruitLookHoops since August of 2020.
“I would say my favorite part is that it is my dream job, so every day that I write, or interview a player, is my favorite thing about it,” said Russell. “Just the interaction with the players is like nothing else I’ve ever done.”
Russell said he plans on attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln next year. While going to school, Russell said he intends to continue working for RecruitLookHoops.
“I’m going to college at UNL for Sports Media and Communications and that will tie right into what I’m already doing,” said Russell. “My dream would be just to continue to do this and maybe get onto a bigger scale if possible.” Story by Jared Knollenberg
Senior John Russell works on one of his articles for RecruitLookHoops. Russell, who said he’s been working for the website since last August, has covered over 27 games so far. He plans to continue working for RecruitLookHoops after he graduates from FHS. Photo by Jared Knollenberg