Coupeville Sports

   Gavin O’Keefe always had a good relationship with the camera. (John Fisken photos)

Senior Night with dad Tim.

Gavin O’Keefe enjoyed himself.

While male high school athletes as a group seem to think they’ll only be taken seriously if they scowl in pictures, Gavin is grinning in almost every photo from his days as a Wolf.

He spent too little time on the court, twice suffering broken legs that curtailed his basketball career at Coupeville High School.

But he never stopped working, never stopped rehabbing, always fought to get back out on the hardwood.

And when he was there, the ball rat-a-tatting off the floor and his fingertips, he was happy.

Gavin embraced every moment he was allowed to have, from his days as a wide-eyed freshman to the final moments of his senior season last year.

The guy looks like an old school basketball player, like he could have stepped right out of Hoosiers, and he played the game with a joy that was infectious.

Part of a hoops-rich family that also gave CHS older brother Kramer and sister Kendra, Gavin celebrates his 19th birthday today.

And while he’s no longer suiting up for the Wolves, he’s still playing hoops, making an appearance at the recent Tom Roehl Roundball Classic.

As he hits another milestone, we want to take a moment to wish him the best.

Happy birthday to a guy who, win or lose, always had the time of his life out there on the court.

It was a thrill to watch you play, Mr. O’Keefe. Never lose that joy.