Cathedral  High School’s Derrion Batieste has worn a Green Wave uniform for five different sports, but the one constant throughout his high school career has been basketball.

For the past four years, Batieste has made a name for himself as a shooting guard on Cathedral’s roster.

“It started when I was a kid,” Batieste said. “My dad is really into sports, and it was how I was raised. I was about 4 or 5 when I first had a ball in my hand.”

Since his youth, the senior has stumbled into just about every sport.

During his ninth grade year, Batieste started with basketball and also joined the swimming and baseball teams.

“Growing up, my favorite sport was actually baseball, until I hit high school,” he said. “I just saw a better future in basketball. I just love the sport in general.”

Since then, Batieste has also played football and ran track.

“He’s an athlete,” Cathedral coach Matthew Hall said. “You can stick him on a football field and he’s not going to miss a beat, but you can tell that basketball is really what he loves to do.”

Coming off a run in the state tournament last season, Batieste alongside fellow seniors, William Doss III and Connor Mire, had high hopes for their final campaign.

Under the guidance of Hall in his first year as head coach, Cathedral is now 4-13.

“It’s painful, to be honest,” Batieste said.

That hasn’t stopped the 5-foot-10 guard, however, in leading the Green Wave in scoring this year by averaging 17.4 points a game.

“I think his ability to take control of a game should never be overlooked,” Hall said. “I see it every game that they (opponents) put out their best player to play man-to-man with Derrion. They know that if he shoots lights-out, there is a chance we could beat them.”

And although the cap-off to his basketball career hasn’t been exactly he wished for, Batieste has still appreciated his time on the court.

“Sometimes my team doesn’t like me because I shoot too much,” he said. “The whole team can be mad at me, but every time I show up to practice the next day and think there is going to be tension, they are always cool. “

“For the last 10 to 12 games, I told (the seniors) let’s have fun and enjoy it,” Hall said. “It has been frustrating for them, but let’s make sure you have no regrets. (Batieste’s) leadership reflects on the next group of guys that is going to be on the team next year. I think for the most part he has done a good job on that.”