Mario Forbes isn't used to the weather in Tallahassee.

Forbes's home in the Bahamas sits just over 550 miles away from Florida's capitol, and despite being the Sunshine State, North Florida isn't the paradise that the island nation in the Atlantic Ocean is.

Often standing out on the court by wearing long sleeves, Forbes has a simple reason for his unique look.

"I'm from the Bahamas, so this is a little cold to me," Forbes said.

Despite the colder temperatures, Forbes is one of the hottest basketball prospects in the Big Bend.

A star for St. John Paul II basketball, the 6-foot-9-inch junior has established himself as one of the best interior players in the area.

Constantly a threat to record a double-double on any given night, Forbes is averaging 19 points per game and 16.4 rebounds for JPII this season.

His rebounding ability is something that draws attention from opposing teams, players and scouts alike. Forbes's ability to crash the boards has rewritten the JPII record books, as the junior is the program's all-time rebounding leader.

"I think rebounding is just about wanting it more, and me, I always want it more," Forbes said. "Our team needs the ball, so we're gonna get the ball. That's how I think about it, and the team needs me. I'm the guy that's gonna have to grab the rebound because we usually are the smaller team."

From top dog, to bottom of the barrel, back to the top

Forbes's road to becoming one of JPII's most influential players was far from smooth.

After moving Forbes went from being one of the top players in the Bahamas to fighting for minutes at JPII and adjusting to a new way of life in Tallahassee. While it wasn't always easy at times, the now junior found comfort in the gym, spending as much time as he could working on improving his game.

"It was a major adjustment coming from being top dog to bottom of the barrel," Forbes said. "I had to really work my way up in my freshman year and now you see what it's done. A lot of the fruits of my labor are starting to blossom."

Dedicating time to focus on rebounding and paint scoring, Forbes excelled in team workouts and independent work and was often the first one in the gym and the last one to leave. His drive to continuously improve his game comes from his desire to succeed at JPII and the next level.

"It's been a lot of late nights and a lot of after practice early morning stuff. A lot of coach having to get on me about everything I do. A lot of my teammates telling me hey, you got to be there," Forbes said. "People depend on me and I just want to make them proud. Helping them means helping my team win in the best way possible."

Forbes puts a lot of pressure on himself to be the guy for JPII, oftentimes producing eye-catching 20-point and 20-rebound games to spur the team to a win.

Panthers head coach Issac Selva said he admires Forbes's commitment to the team, but at times he needs to keep the junior from being so hard on himself.

"He puts the weight of the team on his shoulders and there have been times where he hasn't made a mistake and he just gets emotional and asks 'What could I have done better," Selva said. "There's been times where I have told him 'Dude you had nothing to do with what happened.' He just cares about his teammates so much."

'You need to want it more than anyone else'

Forbes and Selva have developed a strong bond, with the player and coach often challenging each other to improve. The junior has flourished under Selva's coaching, and the growth began when Forbes came to Tallahassee.

As Forbes arrived at JPII for his freshman season, Selva issued a challenge to the forward. The Panthers head coach wanted his new talented first-year player to work harder than everyone else, in part because the stakes were much higher for Forbes than some of his other players.

"I challenged him a little bit, I told him 'You need to want it more than anyone else because you came here for this, you had friends, you had family and you left," Selva said. "Everybody else, if it doesn't work out, they can just go home. You don't have that luxury.

Because of that, he needed to want it more and I think his success is attributed to his heart. He doesn't just play for his teammates, he knows that he's playing to make everybody in the Bahamas proud of him."

Forbes took those words to heart and dedicated himself to the game, working his way up the JPII rotation and making waves not only in Florida but back home in the Bahamas.

Despite his growth, however, Forbes still has a hunger to improve.

Wanting to round out his game, the junior spends all day thinking of ways to get better. More than anything though, Forbes wants to become the version of himself that people like Selva see in him.

"I want to become a better ball handler and be able to play on the perimeter and shoot the ball better," Forbes said. "I just want to become the person people need me to be."

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: JPII basketball star's growth sparked by burning desire to succeed