On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, basketball star Tyrese Haliburton returned to his hometown of Oshkosh after playing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games earlier this August.
Going from a North basketball player to winning a gold medal in the Olympics was a long journey for Haliburton, and a hard one.
“Last year I played in the FIBA World Cup, we lost, then they asked me to come back to play in the Olympics. It’s been a whirlwind of a time, but when I got asked, I was like of course, no questions. It was a lot of fun.”

Playing basketball since his sophomore year of high school at North, some might say Haliburton’s quite experienced with the sport. But compared to those on Team USA in the Olympics this year, he still has a lot to learn.
“I was the second youngest member on the team, everybody there I’d watched ever since I was a kid.”
At the Olympics, he learned many lessons from his older teammates, who have played basketball far longer than Haliburton.
“My biggest thing was asking them a bunch of questions and learning more about

their experiences. Being 24, a lot of my questions were like, ‘What are things you wish you knew when you were 24 years old?’ and ‘When did the turn of your career happen, and what led to that?’. That was big for me, to be able to peek in their brains and learn from those guys.”

From a young age, the North alumnus knew he wanted to play USA basketball. Since he started, his favorite thing about the sport is the connections he gets to make off and on the court.
“I knew I always wanted to play U.S basketball, it’s been a dream of mine. I’ve met some of the greatest people in my life because of it.”

He started his career in basketball as a sophomore, playing for the Oshkosh North basketball team and climbing his way to fame from there. Being from a small city like Oshkosh, it’s hard to get recognized. But Haliburton made his voice heard through playing travel basketball in the summer.
“I played locally, but I also played a lot of travel basketball during the summer, so I’d get out of Oshkosh and be able to do that. Once I got in front of college coaches, I got scholarship offers and was able to get into a big school from there. It was a little bit of a struggle for sure, but it only takes one person.”
In Oshkosh, his favorite place is Kwik Trip, where he admitted to eating almost every day in his senior year at North.
“I love Kwik Trip, I probably ate breakfast there everyday my senior year, went there a lot for lunch, so realistically it’s my favorite place in Oshkosh.”
Haliburton emphasized that it only takes one person to change your life.
“It only takes one person. Once you get in front of that one person, and they notice you, they’ll tell people and that will start to build.”