Sacramento basketball player in the running for Youth Athlete of the Year

SO NEW THIS MORNING WE’RE MEETING A LOCAL STUDENT ATHLETE COMPETING TO BECOME THE YOUTH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR. RIGHT NOW, TIM JUNIOR IS IN THE TOP TEN VOTING FOR THE TOP 20 ACTUALLY ENDS TOMORROW. SO TJ IS ACTUALLY IN STUDIO RIGHT NOW WITH US. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. APPRECIATE IT. SO HOW LONG BASKETBALL’S TJ SPORT. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING? I’VE BEEN PLAYING FOR 6 OR 7 YEARS. YEAH. WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE ATHLETE? MY FAVORITE ATHLETE IS JOHN MARIN. AND WHY IS IT JOHN MORAN? BECAUSE I LIKE HIS ATHLETIC SYSTEM AND HOW HE TALK TO HIS PLAYERS. YEAH. AND SO YOU PLAY WHAT POSITION NOW? POINT GUARD. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT PLAYING POINT? I CAN ACTUALLY MOVE THE BALL AND TELL MY TEAMMATES WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU DEFINITELY LIKE TO PUT THE OFFENSE IN MOTION. YEAH. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR YOUR YOUR STRENGTHS ARE AS THE TEAM’S POINT GUARD. BEING A LEADER. AND THAT’S ABOUT IT. SCORING PASSING YEAH YOU DO ALL OF IT. SO JUST WELL-ROUNDED IN GENERAL. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ATHLETES THAT INSPIRE YOU? NO, NOT REALLY. SO VERY MUCH. JOHN MORAN, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS COMPETITION, BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS IT’S A PRETTY BIG DEAL. YEAH. SO ABOUT THIS COMPETITION, IT’S PEOPLE LIKE WHO PLAY OTHER SPORTS AND HOW THEY WANT TO COMPETE. AND IF YOU ACTUALLY WIN, YOU GET 25,003 BRAND AD. AND THAT’S ABOUT IT. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE ABLE TO TO WIN? BECAUSE THAT 25,000, THAT’S A BIG CHUNK OF MONEY. YEAH, I’LL ACTUALLY PAY FOR SOME OF MY TRAINING FOR COLLEGE. AND ALSO I WANT TO GIVE BACK TO MY COMMUNITY. WHERE DO YOU LIVE RIGHT NOW? WHERE ARE YOU BASED OUT OF IN SACRAMENTO? OKAY. SO AGAIN, SACRAMENTO’S VERY OWN. SO HOW CAN FOLKS HELP YOU HELP YOU IN THIS JOURNEY BY VOTING. AND WHERE DO THEY GO TO. AND THEY SHOULD GO TO ATHLETE OF THE YEAR.ORG. AND AGAIN YOU’LL SEE TJ’S PROFILE THERE. AND AGAIN A WINNER GETS $25,000. AND BRAND AD TIME AS WELL. IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. THAT IS PRETTY COOL TJ THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. AND I WANT EVERYBODY TO GO FOLLOW PATIENTLY UNDERSCORE WAITING 916. AND IT’S AN INSTAGRAM OKAY. TH

Sacramento basketball player in the running for Youth Athlete of the Year

Updated: 3:39 PM PDT Aug 6, 2025

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A young Sacramento basketball player is in the running for the Youth Athlete of the Year and you can vote to help him make it to the next round.Tim Jr. (TJ), a point guard whose favorite NBA star is Ja Morant, can win $25,000 and appear in a 3BRAND advertisement in Sports Illustrated. If he were to win the Youth Athlete of the Year competition, TJ said he plans on using the earnings to pay for his training and give back to his community. To vote for him, click here. To learn more about how the voting works, watch the video player above. Voting for the top 20 athletes ends on Thursday at 7 p.m. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

A young Sacramento basketball player is in the running for the Youth Athlete of the Year and you can vote to help him make it to the next round.

Tim Jr. (TJ), a point guard whose favorite NBA star is Ja Morant, can win $25,000 and appear in a 3BRAND advertisement in Sports Illustrated.

If he were to win the Youth Athlete of the Year competition, TJ said he plans on using the earnings to pay for his training and give back to his community.

To vote for him, click here. To learn more about how the voting works, watch the video player above.

Voting for the top 20 athletes ends on Thursday at 7 p.m.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel