AUSTIN, Texas — Even though his summer basketball season got shut down, K.J. Adams has been incredibly busy over the last few months. He has different basketball and fitness trainers that he works with daily.

What You Need To Know

  • Adams is deciding where he wants to play college ball

  • Has narrowed his choice down to 10 schools

  • He's continued to increase his knowledge about social unrest in the country

“I want to always keep getting better,” says Adams. “I have probably about 100 different troubles I need to fix before I get to the next level.” 

Staying in the gym is nothing new for the soon to be senior at Westlake. He grew up around the game when his mom was the girls coach at St. Stephen’s. 

“They couldn’t keep me out of the gym, I was always in the gym because it’s right over here,” says Adams.

Growing up Adams says he was actually a better lacrosse player than basketball. But as he grew, he started to get really good on the court.

Adams played his first year in high school at St. Andrew’s and quickly emerged as one of the top prospects in the area. It was after that season when he got a call from UT that he started to realize there was a real future for him in basketball. 

“Shaka Smart called my dad and I had a conversation for him for an hour,” Adams said. “Then he gave me the offer one minute before the call ended.” 

That scholarship offer to play at Texas is one of many that Adams, who transferred to Westlake after that one year at St. Andrew's, has as he gets ready for his final year before heading off to college. This summer was supposed to be the time that he visited campus’ across the country to help him pick which school he wants to play for. 

“Since that got taken away it’s kind of hard,” Adams says. “I’ve got to really focus in on where I want and what I need.” 

Adams has narrowed his list of schools down to 10: Texas, Iowa, University of Oklahoma, Georgetown, Baylor, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Iona, Kansas and University of Central Florida. He’ll announce his college decision on Friday night.

While basketball is a major part of his life, Adams has more to him. He has a unique perspective of being a well-known black athlete that attends a predominantly white high school. 

“In Westlake it’s different because we are in our own little bubble and we get shied away from that,” Adams says. 

Adams has been exposed to different parts of Austin. He stayed with his grandmother a lot growing up, who lives on the East Side of the city. 

“Stuff’s different. When you get those different perspectives it humbles you in and realize what’s going on in the outside world,” says Adams. “Helps me grow into the real world so I’m not blind when I go outside.” 

Adams has continued to increase his knowledge about social unrest in the country. He participated in some of the protests that took place in Austin in recent weeks. 

“All the stuff that is going on is scary because being a young black man, you don’t know what is going to happen,” Adams says. “You realize you’re looked at differently in some parts of the world.”

Adams also brings with him the viewpoint passed on from his mother. Yvonne Adams is the director of equity and inclusion at St. Stephen’s. His knowledge helps him have tough conversations with some of his classmates.

“I try to educate myself before I talk so I can get my point across. So they understand where I’m coming from,” Adams says. “Going to a predominantly white school you see a lot of Trump supporters and it’s hard to take that in. But it’s good for you in the future because if you can be friends with someone that has a different political view you can do a lot of things in life.”