WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Family on and off the court has always been important for a member of the Florida Atlantic University basketball team from West Palm Beach.
The connection with his family has been a big part of Giancarlo Rosado's success as a college athlete.
His grandmother, Lois Gordon, was there to support him from as young as 10 years old when he first picked up a basketball. Even then she remembers him being driven.
"Gian was someone who got up every morning to wake me up for me to take him to the gym at 5 a.m., and we'd be there too early at the gym," Gordon said.
Speaking to WPTV via Facetime, Rosado said he's taking the same mentality to the Final Four with his family not far away.
"It's going to be an even more special moment to be able to play in the Final Four and have my family courtside watching me," Rosado said.
Back home, his former coaches at Palm Beach Lakes High School are still talking about the four-year varsity player and member of the exclusive 1,000-point club.
"It's a table that you want to sit at here at Palm Beach Lakes High School," assistant principal and former assistant boys basketball coach at Palm Beach Lakes High School Keith Marshall said. "For Gian, he's at the head of the table now."
Gian's other former coaches said he's inspiring the next generation.
"Gian making it to the Final Four allows me to have what they call street cred with the kids," former Palm Beach Lakes High School head basketball coach Lorenzo Hands said. "So now they're willing to listen to me and hope that I can give them some advice to not only reach their goals but also be better people and that's what the main objective is."
Gian's big brother, Arnesio Rosado, traces it back to family, faith and hard work.
"I'm going to say that I can’t be too surprised," Rosado said. "The work ethic, the motivation, the faith he has in God, the amount of time we've put into it."
Gina's long-term relationship with the sport is still going strong along with the support from his family.
"I'm not saying this just because I'm his grandmother, but he is a wonderful young man," Gordon added. "I love him."
He's playing the same game he has since he was 10 years old. Rosado's family said they will go to every game they can — including the Final Four Houston.
"It's fantastic," Gordon said. "I love it. I get so excited."
Rosado said he plans to do what he always has done — put in work.
"I learned a work ethic for my mother and my grandmother," Rosado said. "Those are two women who are just some real workers. I just learned from them. I saw them growing up working doubles."
For Rosado and his team, those family values have helped on the court. He called them a game-changer.
"They are standards," Rosado said. "That there's no exception to anyone everyone has to follow and everyone bought in and that's why we're Final Four team. There's not a lot of teams like that in the country that hold everyone accountable the way we do."
That same hard work continues in Houston and Rosado said he's brought his roots with him.
"I'm just putting on for my city, and I'm just respecting my family and representing them the right way," he said.
