Wolf coach Anthony Smith, holding onto Carson Risner’s elbow, leads his squad through a run-through on one of their offensive sets. (Shelli Trumbull photos)
Nick Streubel, far left, and Aaron Trumbull hustle back on defense as Anthony Bergeron, trailed by Isaac Vargas, pushes the ball up-court.
The Wolves come hard and they leave it on the court.
At least one player may have also left something in a garbage can near the end of the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball practice Monday afternoon. If so, he was back on the court moments later, playing just as hard.
With head coach Anthony Smith and assistant Dustin Vanvelkinburgh putting 13 players through their paces, the Wolves rarely stopped moving. Intent on pressing virtually full-time, Smith wants his players in tip-top condition and always aware of where they are on the court.
As his players ran drills while wearing goggles that restricted their vision — making it impossible to cheat and look at their hands as they dribbled — Smith, who has a bit of Bobby Knight in him, but with a million more laughs, veered from firm commander in chief to supportive father figure. Reading each situation, he barked when he needed to, and offered quiet encouragement at other moments.
“Get a chip on your shoulder! Be aggressive!”
“Why do we not see good passes? This is NOT a P.E. practice, gentlemen! Know where you are at all times!!”
“Very strong. I don’t know quite what that was … it wasn’t what I was looking for, but it worked.”
With bigger numbers, more experience and a group of older players who led by example throughout the practice, Smith and the Wolves seem primed to turn the corner and rebound from last year’s frustrating season, when a thin bench contributed to an 0-20 record.
You can see it in players bouncing off the floor and sucking the pain back up, refusing to head to the sideline without a fight. Josh Wilsey and Drew Chan fighting through having to wear knee braces, with Chan crashing hard, only to bounce back to his feet to break up a pass.
You can see it in the battle for loose balls. The epic moment when football linemen Nick Streubel and Oscar Liquidano threw down, sumo-style, in a battle for control of a rebound, as smaller teammates gently tiptoed away as the floor shook beneath their fight.
You can see it in the senior leadership. Caleb Valko, matched up against Coach V (who can still shake and bake like in his glory days at CHS) in a drill and fighting every step the way, a brawny inside guy trying to somehow slow down a slippery back court guy.
You can see it in the bursts of sheer brilliance. Gavin O’Keefe commands the floor and is electrifying in the open court, while Aaron Curtin is a silky-smooth shooter who glides across the hard wood.
You can see it in the hustle. Morgan Payne contesting everything, Joel Walstad hauling butt to catch a bigger teammate from behind and rejecting his shot with glee, and sophomore Isaac Vargas making up for inexperience by never giving up.
You can see it in the potential. Established players like Carson Risner and Aaron Trumbull having made big leaps in confidence and skills and the raw promise of first-time player Anthony Bergeron, who can leap out of the gym.
And most of all, you can see it in the garbage can, where our unnamed player left his lunch.
I chose not to look in the can, though. Having seen their hustle, their determination, their will to win, I was content to believe merely on faith.
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