Romeo Weems shared his crowning moment with those closest to him.
His mother and father, other family members and friends joined Weems’ New Haven teammates at a news conference where the 6-foot-7 DePaul recruit was presented the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award for Michigan on Monday.
“The people here today are the people that are at all my games,” Weems said. “I appreciate that. They probably don’t know how much it means to me, but it means a lot.”
Rockets players and coaches turned out en masse as the Mr. Basketball award was presented to a Macomb County player for the first time.
“Those are my guys, my brothers,” said Weems of the Rockets (24-1), who play Chandler Park in a state Division 2 quarterfinal game at Ortonville Brandon on Tuesday.
Trenell Payne, who transferred to New Haven from Sterling Heights this school year, said playing on a team with Weems has “been amazing.”
“Romeo’s a good teammate, and he’s a good person as well,” Payne said. “He helps me with school and stuff. He helps me get better.”
Payne said Weems didn’t want special treatment.
“He fits in perfectly,” Payne said. “He wants us to treat him like he’s a regular person. We push him, and he pushes us.
“He works so hard, and that pushes us to go harder. He makes sure everybody’s in the right spot. He checks on everybody, makes sure things are going good.”
The Mr. Basketball award is presented by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, whose members vote for the winner.
Weems tallied 3,689 points in the voting. Runner-up B. Artis White of Canton had 1,798, Chandler Turner of Detroit Renaissance 1,520 and Joe Moon IV of Westland Glenn 1,372.
“His hard work, his work ethic, paid off for him,” William Weems, Romeo’s father, said after he and Nyasha Weems posed for pictures with their son. “His mom and I are very proud of him.
“It shows that if you work hard, you can achieve your goals.”
Weems enrolled at New Haven as a ninth-grader through school of choice.
In four varsity seasons, he became the Rockets’ career scoring leader and helped New Haven win four regional championships and the 2017 state Class B title.
He turned down summer overtures from prep schools to stay in Michigan and complete his career at New Haven.
“I wouldn’t say (winning Mr. Basketball) was a big part of it (his decision to stay), but it wasn’t a small part. It factored in,” Weems said.
“I love my coaches, my teammates. The community means a lot. They come out to all our games, show love. They support us. They’ve been traveling everywhere with us.”
A victory over Chandler Park would send New Haven to a state semifinal game for the third straight year.
The Rockets were to practice at 4 p.m. Monday, and Weems vowed to be all business following the Mr. Basketball festivities.
“I’ve got to block all this out and get locked in and focused on my teammates,” Weems said.
“This is a good accomplishment, but we’ve got bigger things to do.”