TAMPA, Fla. - John Ziegler could shoot hoops all day long

Basketball is in John’s blood. And the court is home.

“I just looked up to my brother and my dad, cause they always played,” John said. “I just wanted to be like them.”

Following in his family’s footsteps, this King High junior is the Lions second-leading scorer, averaging nearly 18 points per game. He brings a lot to the team, not just points.

“John is a very good kid,” Head Coach Chris Senoga-Zake said. “He has a 4.0 GPA. Very thankful, very quiet kid. He’s ranked 50th in the state in basketball. Also, just a heck of a basketball player.”

John’s love of the game is evident in everything he does.

“I just want to play as hard as I can,” he said.

From the moment he laces up his shoes, John’s mindset is all about hoops. It’s a great distraction.

Three days after Christmas, a fire destroyed John’s house and most of its contents. The fire began in his parent’s back bedroom where John was sleeping and quickly swept through the rest of the rooms.

“It engulfed the house so rapidly and it burned from South to North,” John’s dad Edgar said. “And basically, if the fire didn’t get it, the water did.”

Furniture, gone. Appliances, gone. Clothes, gone. John’s favorite NBA basketball, gone.

Some mementos have been preserved. Every day since the fire, John’s mom has dug through the ashes in search of treasures. She found some family photos, including John as a toddler. These are the little victories the family celebrates.

“The compassion has been overflowing,” Edgar said. “The love that’s been shown from folks that we know and just complete strangers. So even though it’s such a tragedy here, we get to see the good of mankind.”

Basketball’s provided a safe haven. From the moment all that they owned was taken from them, John’s team has stepped up. 

Members of the community have been dropping off shoes and clothing. They all just want to do something to help. Even former USF star B.J. Daniels reached out. He doesn’t know the family personally, but their story touched his heart.

“Just to try to take off some sort of ease of pain or frustration that he may be facing right now,” Daniels said. “I think we all can do something to help out.”

That’s the good that has come from all the bad. A restored faith in humanity. And a reminder that it takes a village. 

“I learned that Tampa, you know, we have a lot of support,” John said. “There’s a lot of people that love us and support us and I’m really grateful for everybody coming out and just doing that.”