Zack Tropea is an incoming freshman for the Lumen Christi Titans out of Jackson, MI, and played travel ball for Inspire U this past summer. Tropea was a floor general for his middle school team last season, dictating his team’s tempo with confidence. Tropea laced up and stepped on the court at the 2023 Prep Hoops Michigan Freshman Showcase with the same confidence we saw from him this past school/travel season. There is an individual style of basketball showcases tend to invite and it is not always the best place for a true point guard to show the value of their skills. That was not the case for Tropea last weekend in Grand Rapids.

Zack hit the ground running in game one, instantly showing why his basketball IQ is unmatched by most in his age group. Tropea made some tremendous reads with the ball and quickly separated himself from other ball handlers. His movements without the ball displayed his ability to see things before they happened. With or without the ball he stayed level headed and disciplined in his play. One of the things noticed the most was Zack’s ability to read high percentage shot opportunities and his capacity to make those plays happen. He never shied away from a good three point shot and never kept the ball longer than he should. Defensively his court IQ created a lot of headaches for the opposing team. Tropea continually broke up plays and prevented fast break opportunities. On two separate occasions at the showcase, the opposing teams coach could be overheard complimenting Zack’s defense while shaking their head in frustration at their team’s offensive performance.

The current varsity coach at Zack’s school is also his father, Josh Tropea. Josh is a Michigan High School  State Championship head coach, among other accolades. Making it easy to see where Zack gets his knowledge of the game from. Lumen Christi is traditionally known for their football program but may soon be adding to that winning tradition with a well-respected basketball program. The incoming freshman class at Lumen Christi has a lot of potential, we look forward to seeing Zack on the court this season and he will definitely be a player we closely monitor in the 517.