Former Hawks standout gets shot to play college basketball

HOUSTON — When Zack Qual first stepped on to the basketball court at Houston High School, he already had his longterm goal set. Qual wanted to earn a scholarship and an opportunity to play college basketball.

It didn’t matter that he played for a small program that hadn’t received a ton of attention, or for a small school that hasn’t produced a ton of college-caliber athletes. If anything, that made Qual work harder. Now, that small guard with the big shot has earned his opportunity.

On Tuesday, during an assembly in the very same gym where he established himself as one of the better Houston basketball players in recent memory, Qual signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Jamestown College and play for the Jimmies men’s basketball program.

“It’s incredible, something I’ve been looking forward to,” Qual said moments after officially signing his intent. “When people told me it was going to be hard coming from Houston, that made it another one of my goals, to prove them wrong. Houston can produce a product. We’re smaller, but we can compete.”

Now, Qual, who led Houston in scoring as a senior and helped the Hawks transition from the 3A to 4A level, has the chance to compete at the college ranks.

Qual said he first contacted the Jamestown coaching staff during his sophomore year of high school and has kept in contact ever since. Qual grew up in Minnesota and wanted to attend a school in that general area. Later in his high school career he received offers from a pair of community colleges in Minnesota, but throughout the recruiting process Jamestown stood out.

“It’s the first school that actually looked at me. I got a few offers coming in, but I felt Jamestown was where I needed to go,” Qual said. “I was going to go to the school that really gave me an opportunity.”

Qual will receive a scholarship, but his unsure about his immediate role with the team. But he’s not concerned.

“My goal is to go down there and work hard,” Qual said. “If I have a chance to play, I’m going to fight for that spot. If not, I’ll play my role. Whenever my role changes over the years, whatever I need to do, I’ll do it.”

Houston head coach Dave Porter said Qual could certainly make an impact for the NAIA program.

“I think the sky’s the limit. He’s going to have to lift weights, get stronger. Now the real work has to begin,” Porter said. “If he gets stronger, learns how to play a little more physical style of basketball, he’s got the potential to play and be a real dominant player.”

Qual can play both guard positions, and is known for his hustle and ability to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court.

“He’s got one of the fastest releases on a jump shot I’ve seen in years,” Porter said. “He’s confident. He can pull back and shoot two, three and four feet beyond the three-point line without even hesitating.”

Qual’s chance to sign an NLI to play college basketball could be a historic moment at Houston High School. Houston activities director Norm Bouchard and principal Mike Vrillo have both spent at least 14 years at Houston High. Bouchard has been at the school 19 years. Neither can recall such an occasion.

Porter said Qual could help inspire other Houston athletes to pursue their athletic goals.

“This is huge. Our kids, we haven’t really heard them talk about the opportunity to play college ball, because I don’t think they felt they could do it,” Porter said. “This is a great opportunity for kids to see that it is possible.”

Porter said Qual worked hard and showed persistence throughout his time at Houston, but was also loyal to the program.

“He could have easily gone to a bigger school to try to reach his goal of getting to college to play basketball, but decided to stick it out here,” Porter said. “He never once talked about going anywhere else.”

Qual, who gradated as part of Houston’s class of 2010 on Wednesday, was a multisport athlete at HHS. As a senior he was also captain of the football team and is playing baseball this spring. But basketball has always been special to Qual.

“It’s the feeling you get. Everyone’s got that one thing, that makes all their problems go away when they do it,” Qual said. “Basketball’s always been my outlet. Playing basketball is what I do. When I’m out of college, I’m not going to be able to stay away from the sport. I’m going into coaching.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.