It was the first home game of the playoffs. The eagles were down late in the final quarter. A free throw tied the game.

“Jump ball and it’s our ball,” remembers Ronnie McIntyre. “Coach calls time out and draws up a play. I got the ball, went up and made it…That was a surreal moment.”

It is a moment he will always remember, but not necessarily what he will be remembered for.

“My coach would tell me that I’m a little too unselfish,” said McIntyre. “That’s the legacy I want to leave behind, that I was never out to get it for myself. I always wanted to bring the people around me with me.”

“Ronnie makes sure that everyone gets involved and sometimes he takes a little bit of a back seat but most of the time when it’s time to step up, he does it,” commented Josh Dupuy, McIntyre’s varsity basketball coach.

As captain of the squad, the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice senior wants to make sure he is someone his teammates can count on.

“I feel like what makes a good leader,” McIntyre said. “Not only his way to lead by example but with what he’s saying. Like people are moved by what he’s saying. He’s not talking just to talk.”

With this mindset, McIntyre has taken his team from individual basketball players to a strong cohesive unit, where everyone feels like part of the team.

“When you feel like you’re a part of something, everything falls into place and it falls into place naturally,” said Dupuy.

The basketball star spends his free time mentoring. He sees himself in their passion and loves giving them advice.

McIntyre also assists with his own basketball team outside of school. Helping everyone learn what goes into being a strong athlete on the court.

“That’s always been my mindset about basketball,” McIntyre stated. “The hard work is what has to be done if I want to be here.”

Ronnie McIntyre is headed to Coppin State University in the fall to study criminal justice, hoping every shot he takes there will feel like a slam dunk.