High School

Tarik Skubal played high school basketball? Yes, and he was good

And his mom was good at getting kicked out of high school basketball games, he says

Mike Swanson

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates after a double play in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates after a double play in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tarik Skubal dropped an F bomb during his Game 2 start against the Cleveland Guardians.

His mom didn't like it, responding on social media with the dreaded middle-name treatment: "Tarik Daniel!!"

Then in the aftermath of that, we learned from the Detroit Tigers ace that his mom, Laura Skubal, shouldn't be one to talk considering how many high school basketball games she got kicked out of.

"She wants to make that comment, but I’ve seen her get ejected out of plenty of high school basketball games," Skubal says. "I guess it might run in the family.”

Wait, Tarik Skubal played high school basketball?

He did, and he was good at it.

Many know he came from a tiny town in Arizona, Kingman, that's known more for stopping on the way to somewhere (Vegas, Phoenix, L.A., the Grand Canyon) than its high school sports programs.

It's been well-documented that Skubal's high school baseball team at Kingman Academy didn't have a baseball field. Or locker room. Or proper pitching mound.

But the Tigers (yes, the current Tiger also played for the Tigers in high school) did have a basketball team, and Skubal had a really solid senior year on the hardcourt, averaging 11.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

How many ejections did his mom average?

We couldn't find that information. Sorry.

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive | @sblivesports

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Mike Swanson, SBLive Sports
MIKE SWANSON

Mike Swanson is the VP of Content for High School On SI. He's been in journalism since 2003, having worked as a reporter, city editor, copy editor and high school sports editor in California, Connecticut and Oregon.

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