Sinn bulking up his basketball game

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Can Grant Sinn eat his way to a basketball scholarship? Could more eggs and turkey, and less milk shakes and candy bars, turn this Canterbury junior to be into a college difference maker?

Hold that thought.

Sinn is a sweet-shooting guard with a high basketball IQ and a knack for making big shots at big moments.

Boston University and Jacksonville have shown major recruiting interest. Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Drake and Miami of Ohio have entered the picture. He's had lots of contact with NCAA Division II schools.

“I visited Jacksonville and I like that school,” he says. “I love the coaching staff at Boston University.”

Still, Sinn is 6-1 and 165 pounds. At that weight, he's not college material. Add 20 pounds, preferably mostly muscle, and now you have something.

“Coaches have told me that if I gain the weight,” he says, “I'll get a couple of offers. I won't say by who.”

The problem is Sinn is at that age when you burn off everything you eat, even if you eat ice cream cake and chocolate chip cookies. That will change, of course, a consequence of aging's many joys. Until then, he's doing what he can.

“I gained three pounds in two weeks just by lifting weights and eating a healthy diet,” he says, “which I do not like, but it's still good.”

For the record, he refers to the diet, not the weight lifting.

So what does Sinn, who has two years to gain that weight, now eat?

“At least five eggs in the morning, a lot of greens, which I do not like at all, a lot of protein like turkey, steak, fish and chicken.”

He's also had to back off on milk shakes and candy bars.

“It's very tough to cut that out,” he says.

At the moment Sinn is making his mark for SportsWorx Select, a Fort Wayne-based AAU program. He's had some 30-point games, although Thursday night he had an off-shooting night during the Best of the Midwest tourney in Fishers.

No matter. SportsWorx coach Dave Gutierrez knows what he has.

“Grant is a great young man,” Gutierrez says. “He has one of the highest basketball IQs that I know. His intelligence makes up for maybe what he doesn't have in size and quickness. He's a phenomenal shooter and a great teammate. He's fun to coach.”

Some travel ball shooters turn into gunners, especially when college coaches show up, as they do in this July evaluation period. Sinn doesn't mess with that.

“He fits in,” Gutierrez says. “He doesn't step out. He doesn't try to. He doesn't have to. He is who he is. He has his head on straight. He has his goals set. That's good to see in a young man.”

Those goals include improving his defense and his shooting range.

“I'm trying to get farther out with my shooting,” he said. “That's what will happen at the next level.”

Fortunately, Gutierrez is fine with long-range shooting -- to a point.

“Coach Gutierrez lets me shoot 25 to 30 feet out,” Sinn says, “but he does say I have to make it. He has no problem with me shooting them. So I like that.”

Sinn once thought about playing baseball or perhaps football or even soccer, but his preference of playing inside instead of outside was a major factor.

“In sixth grade it was between baseball and basketball,” he says. “I felt if I was going to do anything (beyond high school), I was going to have to stick to one sport. I liked baseball, but I didn't have the ability to hit it far. That hurt my confidence. In basketball I was pushed by all my great coaches.”

As far as choosing a college, Sinn stresses academics because “I want to get a good job.” He plans on majoring in journalism and communication, and says Oklahoma is strong in that area. “That's one of the reasons why I'm leaning toward them.”

As far as basketball, Sinn says he prefers a system where “I can spot up (and shoot), and run the floor.”

First, though, there's high school expectations to meet. Everything is in place for a strong season at Canterbury. New coach Scott Kreiger has a lot of returning firepower from a 19-7 semistate team, plus impressive credentials after leading the Canterbury girls' program to four state championships in recent years.

“We're going to have a really good team,” Sinn says. “I really like Coach Kreiger. He obviously knows how to win. I like his offensive tempo. I think we have a really good chance.”

Sinn had a solid postseason last spring. That included averaging 11 points in two regional games and hitting the game-winning shot to get the Cavaliers into the regional title game. In six postseason games he was 16-for-28 from the field, including 11-for-20 from three-point range.

Sinn carried that momentum into the spring and summer. He and SportsWorx will wrap up the Best of the Midwest tourney this weekend, then play next week in Fort Wayne in the final July evaluation session.

And then, it's getting ready for the high school season, and beyond.

“There's no break,” Sinn says. “It's basketball all summer.”

Just don't forget the vegetables.

pdiprimio@news-sentinel.com