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NaTorrius Truitt has a career to remember on the hardwood at Callaway High. The shooting guard/small forward’s career is not ending just because he graduated high school, Truitt finally got the right college offer and will be attending Minnesota North College Vermilion starting in the fall.

It will be a big change in scenery for Truitt. The Georgia native might just be in for a culture shock at first. 

“It’s exciting and scary,” Truitt said. “It’s going to be super cold up there, but I want to feel a different kind of atmosphere.”

Truitt had other offers to play in college. The former Cavalier could have stayed closer to home, but he was always looking for that right fit. There was a time when he thought that the right fit might not come along.

“It was hard, but I wouldn’t give up. I stayed humble and prayed every night that my time would come,” Truitt said. “I was really getting depressed every night thinking I wouldn’t find the right home for me. Then the coach reached out to me and it just felt great, it felt like the right fit.

That sense of despair quickly turned to elation earlier this week when the coaches from Minnesota North College Vermilion reached out and officially made him an offer. 

“When I got the offer I was happy and I immediately told my mom and she was loud, there were tears, everything,” Truitt said. 

Truitt was on a constant upward trajectory with his development but made real strides coming into his senior season. His elevated game helped the team rebound from a tough season during his junior campaign.

“I felt like I had a great senior season. I was injured and missed a few games, but I felt like it was my best season by far,” Truitt said. 

That was a lot of doubt surrounding the Callaway boys basketball program heading into the season and in the early goings. The team was transitioning from head coach Andre Johnson to first-time head coach Kenny Coleman this season and questions lingered over whether the team would be up to the task. Coleman and the team responded by winning the region championship and making the round of 16 of the 2A state playoffs with Truitt being a large piece of the puzzle.

“A lot of people doubted our school, our city and a lot of other people, so it felt really great to beat the no. 1 team in the region and win the championship,” Truitt said. “I love going against great competition like that.

“I’ve been playing with most of those guys my whole life, so the chemistry was there and we were able to show it this year.”

With so many eyes on the talent in the big cities, it can be hard to be noticed on the hardwood in a place like Troup County. It made the recruiting process a difficult endeavor. Through it all, Truitt remained determined to find the right college fit.

College hoops have been a dream since he was a little kid. There has rarely been a day off for Truitt as he worked to perfect his craft. When he was not during the preseason or season with Callaway, he was playing travel ball or finding his way to a gym somewhere somehow.

Truitt had to work for what he got. Never the biggest or the strongest, Truitt had to work his way up the ladder and earn his shot to play in college.

“I played JV in ninth and 10th grade year and I let all the young guys on the team know that it’s ok to not be playing varsity right away,” he said. “I had the potential to play varsity, but there was a few things holding me back and I had to work on those things.”

Truitt spent a little time on the gridiron, but the basketball court has always been home for him whether that court is in LaGrange or Minnesota.