Former high school star Shaun Noriega adjusting to life without basketball

Shaun Noriega has packed a lot of living into his 31 years.

The all-time leading scorer in the history of North Port High School basketball once worked for Homeland Security. He was a financial crime investigator for the Department of Financial Services. He also spent time as a juvenile probation officer.

Noriega wore all these hats because he never got to don the one he really wanted. The one signifying “NBA player.”

“My dream was to play in the NBA,” he said, “and I don’t mean that in a fantastic way. When it didn’t happen… I never feel like I reached my potential in basketball. I could play at a high level. I played against a lot of NBA players.”

Noriega was considering a career with the FBI. He had taken all the necessary tests, and, in fact, was coveted by the agency, when Noriega heard the familiar hoop call, and heeded it — “I missed basketball,” he said.

Noriega wanted to try his hand at high school coaching and felt the best way to achieve that was to become a high school teacher. So, for the last two years, the seventh-grader who was cut from his middle school team, has taught at Lakewood Ranch High.

“I inspire, educate, and create the hearts and minds of the future,” he said. Last year, Noriega taught U.S. history, world history, and economics. This year, it’s world history and psychology. “I never thought of myself as a teacher,” he said, “even though my mom was a teacher.”

Last year, Noriega was an assistant coach on the Mustang varsity basketball team. But he took this season off to focus on his side business, JumpShot Hackers. Want to learn and perfect your jump shot? Be able to get it off with a defender’s hand in your face? Through individual sessions, Noriega conveys this knowledge.

“I break (the shot) down completely and rebuild it. It’s another side hustle. I have all this knowledge and put so much time and energy in through the course of my life. I could really shoot. That’s what got me a scholarship.”

At the University of South Florida, Noriega became the shooting specialist for then-head coach Stan Heath. During the 2011-12 season, he played in 28 games, started 10, and helped the 20-13 Bulls earn their third-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

But that was Noriega’s high point at the school. As a senior the next season, he played in eight games before breaking his foot. Saying the foot never healed, he would break it twice more over the next two years.

But this first time widened a gap with Heath that had already been opened. “I didn’t have a great relationship with Heath,” Noriega said. “I was complaining about (the foot) and they tried to pressure me into playing. Heath even said I was faking it. They saw it was broken. They wanted to win so badly. They would just use me. They didn’t care at all about my health.”

His treatment at USF convinced Noriega to transfer to the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. Once there, he had his foot examined by a doctor, who told Noriega he already should have had surgery. He did, and while he was still under the USF athletic medical plan, the school refused to pay the bill.

In a bill addressed to him, Noriega saw he was on the hook for $50,000. “I was furious,” he said. Representing himself, Noriega sent the school a letter of demand, threatening to sue. USF eventually paid the surgery bill. After leaving Texas, Noriega played professionally in Mexico. Following three breaks of his foot, he didn’t have the explosion he once did. Then, it was over.

“When you don’t do it anymore, you have an existential crisis," he said. "Your whole identity falls apart and you have to rebuild, step by step. And I guess, in some ways, I still am doing that. And it’s not easy. It’s devastating. I was searching a lot to find out who I am. What is my identity? Where can I get value and be useful? That was very hard.”

In addition to teaching and his private shooting lessons, Noriega takes a weekly acting class at the Florida Studio Theater. Over the summer, he dabbled in improvisation. “Doing it for self-improvement.”

Noriega’s working with his former improv teacher on skits involving team building and communication. The two are scheduled to appear and perform before the University of Connecticut women’s soccer team. “This could be a side business,” he said.

If the story of Shaun Noriega is one of inspiration and dedication after the future he had mapped out didn’t materialize, he’ll accept it. But every so often, he’ll look back at what might have been.

“I felt like that in the past. Even now, if I think about it too much. I feel a little bit like that, but I like to frame it as a positive thing. I played professionally. I made my dream come true. Obviously not at the level I wanted to be at.

“I eventually did what I wanted to. I didn’t quit.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Former high-school star Noriega adjusting to life without basketball