The ring of the school bell means the same thing to current Lansing Eastern High School head basketball Coach Ron Banks, 48, as it did when he was younger – school is out, it’s time for basketball.
If that name sounds familiar - yes, he’s that Ron Banks from Lansing Sexton High School, where he made a name for himself in Michigan. He started all four years he attended the school and turned heads with his performances.
His basketball career was on a trajectory where he attended prestigious camps and events like ABCD camp and the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic in 1996, where he played with and against players such as the late Kobe Bryant, Richard Hamilton, Rashad Phillips, and Winfred Walton (‘95-’96 Mr. Michigan Basketball winner), among others.
But Banks didn’t want the attention, and struggled to find his peace with his fate. His college career didn’t materialize at the highest levels, and he didn’t go pro.
Today, Banks is a dropout interventionist at Lansing Eastern, working in the school district for 17 years and has served as the head coach of the varsity basketball team for six years.
When he’s not helping kids at school, he’s helping them hone their skills as basketball players and as young men. He coached middle school basketball first, before moving his way up to Lansing Eastern as an assistant, and then as the junior varsity coach.
Banks was then given a job at his alma mater, Sexton, to become the head coach.
What seemed like the perfect fit ended up coming to a halt after just a year, in which he says he never truly got a fair chance.
Banks got into coaching after opting not to play professionally following his time at California University of Pennsylvania. It was an easy choice for Banks to stay in Lansing instead of playing overseas.
“I had thoughts of continuing… I had some agents call me and say that they can get me (to) some places overseas, but back home, my oldest son and my youngest daughter… They were having a tough time without me being around,” Banks said. And I just remember I went to my to my oldest son, I asked him, and at that time he was around 10 or 11, and I said, ‘Hey, you know, you know, Dad got this opportunity to continue to play and, you know, and I might leave,’ I said, ‘You know, what do you think?’ And you know, he just looked me in the eyes. He told me, ‘Please don't go.’ And that was my decision. I hung them up (on the agents) right then and there.”
The 6-foot-5 forward was 30-years-old when he finished his time at California University, and had a successful career while playing there, averaging 15.3 points per game and leading one of the best teams in all of Division II to the Elite Eight.
At 30-years-old.
But the journey Banks took to get to that point is one of confusion, misunderstanding, and triumph.
Banks was one of the best players in the state of Michigan from the time he stepped on the court at Lansing Sexton. Some of his performances are those of local legends that don’t often make the light of day.
Lansing State Journal sports columnist Graham Couch attended Lansing Sexton and recalled a story from Banks’ sophomore year in a game against Okemos, a top-five showdown at the time.
“That day, I remember seeing him in school. He was on crutches, and, you know, had a badly sprained ankle, and people didn't know if he was going to play, and he didn't start,” Couch said. “And I want to say, after like a quarter, Sexton was down by like seven, he came in, he played three quarters of that game. They wound up winning easily by double digits. He had like 19 points, 12 rebounds, and like, you know, playing parts of three quarters. I mean, he was just incredible.”
Banks fell in love with the game of basketball as a child, and was unfamiliar with all of the directions basketball could take him. He was just playing because he loved the game.
His father would take him around to basketball courts during his childhood, and Banks would watch basketball games on TV. He never knew that one day he might be the person other people watch. And frankly, Banks didn’t enjoy the spotlight that those on TV got when it inevitably came to him due to his level of talent.
“I just didn't really understand it (the publicity), you know, like, you know, I heard, I knew a little bit, but, you know, going to the next level and really understanding what that meant. I really, I really never never got it,” Banks said. “So to a certain point, I mean, just to be honest, for a minute, in my life, I kind of fell out of love with the game. I really didn't enjoy playing the game of basketball anymore, because it was just, it was too much for me, you know, at a certain point, I was like, O.K., I don't like this attention. I really didn't like the attention.
“So I think that's why in high school, I really didn't try too… I didn't have as much drive, especially in my junior and senior year. Like I played, but the drive and the love for it wasn't all the way there.”
For a player looking to play at the next level, junior and senior years in high school are a crucial time for one’s recruitment. Not only did Banks not enjoy the game he once loved dearly as much, but he also did not understand the magnitude of his recruiting process.
Banks had been recruited to play at numerous Division I universities, Michigan State being one of them, where he and his mother sat down with Coach Tom Izzo multiple times.
The letters and interests came to his home early on in his high school career, but he didn’t know what to do with them after they came.
“Nobody sat me down like, all right, maybe you should have reached (out), who are you considering? I mean, who would you consider going to play for? And maybe you should reach back out to these schools to show you’re interested. And I really never did,” Banks said. “...especially in the senior year, there were some coaches that still contacted me, but you know, like you say, you want an honest story. I'll be honest.”
He continued, “I wasn't the best at communicating that back (interest), you know, I would just, kind of, you know, just do my own thing. I wouldn't really reach back out to coaches who did try to reach out to me. I'm like, alright, they reached out. So what? And not so much it was ‘So what?’ I just didn't understand how to reach back out to him, because I was just like I said, I was kind of a reserved guy, so just to reach back out to a coach, I didn't understand how to, I really didn't know how.”
Banks finished in the top 10 for the Michigan Mr. Basketball award, despite not being entirely enamored with the sport as he once was.
He struggled with grades in high school and faced taunts at times, but more importantly, he wasn’t quite prepared for the whirlwind that is college recruiting as a high schooler with little advice.
A visit to Utah State intrigued Banks, but it wasn’t a match for his personality. He ultimately decided to attend Odessa (Texas) College where NBA great Larry Johnson had also attended before his time at UNLV.
Banks’ grades and failed ACT – that he decided not to retake – factored in his decision to attend a two-year college over a larger university, as the offers were certainly there, as he could have redshirted for a year wherever he decided to go.
Beyond grades, personal issues within Banks’ life and his propensity to stay away from the limelight aided in his decision to go to Texas, but he quickly realized that it was no longer the place for him.
Banks was far from home, with no money. It wasn’t enjoyable for him to stay in a new place without financial means to support himself, notwithstanding a good season and liking the people he had around him.
Lansing Community College was Banks’ next stop when he realized he had to come back home. He was set to play, but eligibility issues arose and prevented him from playing; that was when he stopped playing altogether.
Banks didn’t touch a basketball again for nearly four years, according to him.
After his extended layoff from the sport, while working full-time at Sparrow Hospital and spending time with his children, Banks started playing men’s league basketball. He was older and hadn’t played basketball in a long time.
He crossed paths with LCC Head Coach Mike Ingram once again, who mentioned to him that he still had eligibility to play. He says that Banks was still playing at a high level after his layoff in a competitive league.
“Guys were really starting to razz him (in men’s league), you know, a little bit about not playing because he was so good, you know,” Ingram said. “And the only way you could get (to) him was to say something like, ‘Yeah, but, but you're not playing anywhere, you didn't do anything,’ or something like that.
“I mean, he never got angry about it. But there was an opportunity. When that opportunity came up, I think I just happened to be sitting there and just went up to him and said, ‘Hey, let's see if we can, you know, if you're interested in getting back in,’ and, you know, to my surprise, he said, ‘Yeah.’ (He) said it quick, you know, ‘Yeah, yeah, I'd like to do that if I get the opportunity.’”
Ingram still speaks to Banks to this day, and said he always applauded that he never “big-timed” Ingram during his recruitment when he could have due to the magnitude of schools recruiting him, such as Syracuse and MSU, compared to a community college.
Banks decided to join LCC’s basketball team once again, this time, at 28 years old. Banks knew he was older than everyone else on the team; that was no secret, but it was as if he didn’t miss a beat.
He became a mentor and was finally having fun again. Barely removed from nearly giving up on the sport at all, Banks was enjoying his time and felt rejuvenated, ready to play at the university level for the first time after he put up great numbers and led LCC to the NJCAA Division II tournament.
Academically, Banks was committed to finishing out his time in school at LCC, and then at his next stop, despite still working full-time with his children and his wife at home, too.
Banks opted to attend California University of Pennsylvania after two in-state schools – Ferris State and Grand Valley State – told him that his age would affect his playing time. Education was indeed important, and so was staying close to his family.
But Banks wanted to play; it was, after all, his last shot at a dream. It was his last shot to be like those he watched on TV that helped him love basketball in the first place.
A friend of Banks’ was one of the people who ultimately steered him in the direction of California University of Pennsylvania, where he was introduced to Head Coach Bill Brown. His time there was one that Banks looks back on fondly, but it also proved to be difficult, as he wasn’t able to move his wife and children with him.
Whenever he had the chance to, Banks drove back and forth to make sure he saw them. To complete his studies, he was taking 18 credit hours, rather than the usual 12, meaning he was often in class right after he finished with practice. The work led to Banks making the honor roll.
The reticent, quiet Banks has taken an unlikely path to get to where he is today. Not often do once highly touted recruits have a chance to get back into basketball without a sour taste in their mouths.
There is no time limit on success, and Banks has taken the path less traveled to get where he is. Desmond Ferguson, owner of Moneyball Sportswear and former Lansing Everett basketball star, played with and against Banks.
He said he’s been following Banks’ journey and even got to see him in Pennsylvania during his time there.
“Ron was very laid back, easy-going type of guy, not overly vocal, you know, but vocal when he when he needs to be. He's always had kind of (an) even keel, you know, personality,” Ferguson said. “He's not too high, not too low, you know, whether it be on the court, you know, off the court. So during our high school years, we got a chance to hang out with each other, everything as well.
“And, you know, I could probably speak to more after his high school career than others can, because I'm so proud of what he did.”
These days, Banks loves his alone time when he gets the chance. He’s a busy person who, even after he’s done coaching, is taking his 11-year-old son to his sporting events, in whatever sport it may be.
An interesting peregrination brings wisdom, most often, and Banks wanted to offer up words to young players who may be going through their own journeys in sports or life.
“Humble yourselves. Just be humble. Love the game, play the game the right way, treat it right. I mean, if you love it, it’ll love you back, if you treat the game the right way, that's all I say,” Banks said. “Just play the game. Just love the game and enjoy it while you can, because once it's over, it's over. And that's what I tell all my kids right now. You know, once it's over, you gotta put your best foot forward, that's it.”
