Pasadena’s Binns didn’t go the Cliffs Notes route

Whatever gifts Othella Kennedy receives the rest of her life, whether they come on her birthday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or Christmas, nothing will top the present she received Wednesday, when her youngest son, Armon Binns, signed a letter of intent to play football at Cincinnati.

“I’m the happiest lady breathing,” she said. “He’s worked so hard. He’s dedicated himself in the classroom and on the field. To see that sacrifice pay off.... It’s the best day of my life. It can’t get any better other than the day he was born.”

Forgive Kennedy for being a proud mother, but she has every right to feel gratified for the job she has done as a single parent.

Binns, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound wide receiver at Pasadena High, has a 3.3 grade-point average. His mother required him to read 25 books a year from the seventh grade until late in his freshman year.

“By high school, he was totally upset with me treating him like he was 3, making him read,” Kennedy said.

She soon ceased her reading demands, giving him instead the option of choosing 30 words he didn’t know each month from a thesaurus and learning their meaning.

It was all about building his vocabulary and preparing him for the SAT, which could decide his college future.

“It was a big impact,” Binns said. “She instilled the importance of education early. Now it’s become part of me. She doesn’t have to be strict.”

All the while, Binns kept a focus on basketball and eventually football. He was on three basketball teams in junior high. Football, though, wasn’t a priority.

“I always watched football and was fascinated but never really interested,” he said. “I liked scoring and hated getting hit.”

A growth spurt enabled him to go from 5-10 to 6-2. Suddenly, he was the giant on the field. He went out for football as a sophomore at Pasadena, caught 13 touchdown passes for the junior varsity, then became a varsity standout, catching 11 touchdown passes last fall.

He’s still playing basketball, averaging 10 points for a Pasadena team that was 14-0 in the Pacific League, is 25-2 overall and is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section II-AA playoffs.

But it’s how he approaches sports and academics on and off the field that has left an indelible impression.

He gets along with everybody, answers, “Yes, sir, no sir,” to adults and understands that talent alone doesn’t guarantee a sports scholarship.

“We have a lot of talent in Pasadena, but a lot of people because of grades didn’t get to go to the next level,” he said. “I didn’t want to be one of those who couldn’t play Division I sports because of my grades.”

In basketball, Binns is a dunking machine. He has a vertical leap better than 35 inches.

“I’m a high flier,” he said.

Coach Tim Tucker said he remembers a summer game in which Binns had “eight or nine dunks.”

“He was dunking from every angle you could imagine,” Tucker said.

Binns uses that leaping ability to his advantage in football too. If the quarterback lofts the ball, Binns is eager to have a one-on-one duel with the defensive back to see who’s going to catch it.

“I love jump balls,” he said.

Football is in his genes. His half brother, Marques Binns, was an All-City defensive back at Los Angeles Dorsey and played three years at Oregon before transferring to Grambling State. His father, Mark Binns, encouraged him to try football, believing in his athletic ability.

His mother didn’t play football, but her toughness is unquestioned.

“He said I have the quickest backhand ever, meaning if you look or act wrong, I can pop you,” she said.

Except her son has been more than obedient. He has set an example for his many nieces and nephews about how to live.

“He really does try to do the right thing,” his mother said.

Binns, 17, is ready to move on to the next chapter.

“I’m aiming high,” he said. “I want to play my freshman year and see how far football can take me.”

And when he steps onto the campus in Cincinnati and finds out how many books he’ll have to read, he’ll be thanking his mother again for her focus on academics.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.