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Archive for the ‘Basketball’ Category

“We both love the game of basketball”

Posted in Basketball, Student Voices, tagged , , , , on April 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Weston Dill is a double threat — he can shoot and write. (Photo courtesy Jenny Dill)

With Washington state schools closed down for at least six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re offering all Whidbey Island students a chance to be heard and stay connected.

Weston Dill, who wrote the following report on his favorite basketball player, is a 4th grader at South Whidbey Elementary.

 

Zach LaVine is an amazing basketball player and I will prove it to you.

Since I can remember, Michael Jordan has been my favorite basketball player.

The first time I saw Zach LaVine was in a slam dunk contest, he was wearing a Michael Jordan “Space Jam” jersey.

He was 19 years old. HE WON with a perfect score of 50!!

I think we have a lot of similarities.

Zach LaVine was born on March 10, 1995 in Renton , WA.

He was born into an athletic family.

His dad Paul LaVine played for the Seattle Seahawks and his mom Cheryl played softball in college. He also has 3 sisters.

Here are some amazing things about Zach LaVine: his awards are two-time NBA slam dunk contest champion, also NBA All-Rookie Second-Team (2015) and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team (2014).

Also, First-Team Parade All-American (2013).

AP Washington state player of the year (2013) and Washington Mr. Basketball (2013).

Zach LaVine went to Bothell High School.

He was a point guard and their main ball handler. His number was 14.

In 2013, his senior year, at 6’5” tall he averaged 28.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

He was the number 12 shooting guard and number 44 player overall in the nation.

Zach LaVine went to UCLA for college.

He played point guard. His number was still 14.

His stats were: 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists average per game, even after a six-game shooting slump.

He attended college for one year, from 2013-2014. After that he entered the NBA draft.

Zach LaVine was in the 2014 NBA draft.

He got drafted in round 1, pick 13 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played for them from 2014-2017.

In 2017 he got traded to the Chicago Bulls for a four-year 80-million dollar contract.

It was a big deal to him since Michael Jordan was his idol and Michael Jordan played for the Bulls.

Zach LaVine still plays for the Bulls. He is #8, small forward and shooting guard.

This season he averaged 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

His career high is 49 points with the Bulls in 2019. His net worth is now six million dollars.

Zach LaVine is also a role model off the court.

He loves to give back to the community. He gave 500 Thanksgiving meals to a local food bank.

He recently gave 12,500 meals to the Seattle Food Bank because of the coronavirus outbreak, to give back to his hometown.

At home he loves to play one on one with his dog in his backyard.

He also was on the Disney show “Kirby Buckets” in 2016.

He partners with Adidas, Uptime, Finish Line and Panini.

He is hard working and I look up to him.

Zach LaVine is my favorite basketball player currently playing.

He has the best dunk in my opinion. He is on my favorite team and loves Michael Jordan just like me.

Both of our parents train us hard and push us to our limits.

His dad would come up with amazing drills to help him be the best player he could be.

Every day I work on drills with my mom and my dad comes up with new ones too.

I think we have a lot of similarities and I hope to be as good as him someday, maybe even better.

We both love the game of basketball.

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“That school bus represents hope”

Posted in Basketball, community, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2020| 1 Comment »

Waiting for the lunch bus. (Photos courtesy Brad Sherman)

Ready to chow down.

Brad Sherman is Coupeville through and through.

A teacher and head boys basketball coach at CHS, he and his brothers are the third generation of their family to graduate on the prairie.

Now Brad and wife Abbey have four young boys who are beginning their own school journeys in the town where their dad and grandma Deb are both teachers.

As everyone adjusts to the school shut-down brought on by the nation’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic, Coupeville’s Connected Food Program has made sure local students are still being fed.

One teacher and father’s thoughts, as Brad Sherman shares his perspective with us:

Brady looks out the window each morning when it’s approaching the time for lunches to arrive – he knows once he sees the bus turn on Sherman Road that he’s got about two minutes before they get around the loop to our house.

And when he sees the bus, and his bus driver (shout out to Mr. Jump), and whichever staff member is volunteering on the route to hand him lunches each day, he grins from ear to ear.

The other day, Mr. Kemmer was that staff member.

When the boys asked for turkey sandwiches, he responded: “Gobble, gobble.”

They called my mom to tell her how funny he was.

Our kids don’t understand the magnitude of what’s going on around them. They just know something is very different.

They miss their friends.

They wonder why they aren’t starting tee-ball.

And for them, this is about more than lunches.

It’s about a little bit of normal. That school bus represents hope.

It represents the hard work of so many at a school district that sincerely loves its kids.

Proud to call Coupeville home.

Proud to call this my school district.

And proud to work with a whole lot of amazing people.

Go Wolves!

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Stone notches All-American status

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on March 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone, here with mom Eileen, continues to rake in college basketball honors. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville’s Makana Stone ends her college career as one of the best basketball players in the country.

The former Wolf, now a senior at Whitman College, was one of 25 players honored Tuesday when the D3hoops.com All-American teams were announced.

Already tabbed as the Northwest Conference Player of the Year and a First-Team All-West Region pick, Stone was one of five players to receive Honorable Mention status.

Erica DeCandido of Tufts University (Massachusetts) was selected as the NCAA D-III national player of the year.

Berea College (Kentucky) freshman Aaliyah Hampton was tabbed as Rookie of the Year, while Brian Morehouse, who led Hope College (Michigan) to an undefeated season, was named Coach of the Year.

The only West Coast player honored, Stone averaged 15.1 points and 8.3 rebounds a night as Whitman went 26-3 this season.

She collected 409 points, 225 rebounds, 37 assists, 26 steals, and 26 blocks, while shooting 166-316 (52.5%) from the floor and 74-96 (77.1%) from the free-throw line.

The Blues won their first two games in the NCAA tourney, and were hours away from playing in the Sweet 16 when the season was prematurely ended by the coronavirus.

During her four years as a Blue, Stone played in 110 games, including making a program-record 92 starts.

She finished as the #5 scorer (1,337 points) and #2 rebounder (837 caroms) in Whitman women’s basketball history.

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Stone snares major hoops honor

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on March 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone received another major college basketball award Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Her basketball season ended prematurely, but she continues to be showered in awards.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone, already honored as the Northwest Conference Player of the Year, was named Tuesday to the D3hoops.com West Region First Team.

The Whitman College senior, who averaged 15.1 points and 8.3 rebounds, joins Emma Gerdes of Wartburg, Caitlin Navratil of Nebraska Wesleyan, Taite Anderson of Bethel, and Hanna Geistfeld of Bethany Lutheran.

Two other NWC players, Jamie Lange of Puget Sound and Kory Oleson of Linfield, earned Third Team honors.

Stone collected 409 points, 225 rebounds, 37 assists, 26 steals, and 26 blocks, while shooting 166-316 (52.5%) from the floor and 74-96 (77.1%) from the free-throw line this season.

During her four years as a Blue, the former Wolf star played in 110 games, including making a program-record 92 starts.

She finished as the #5 scorer (1,337 points) and #2 rebounder (837 caroms) in Whitman women’s basketball history.

Sparked by the play of Stone and teammates such as Mady Burdett, Whitman went 26-3, won its first regular-season title since 2014, and opened the NCAA tourney with back-to-back wins.

The Blues were in Maine preparing to play Oglethorpe University in the Sweet 16 when the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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“We wanted to see the best … we weren’t disappointed!”

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on March 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Longtime coaches David King (left) and Jim Waller talk basketball. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was the big blowout before the big shutdown.

Washington state high schools capped the winter sports season by deciding their basketball champs during the first week of March, and former Coupeville coaches David and Amy King were there in person to witness the drama and excitement.

Their thoughts on what they saw, and how it relates to current Wolves:

Heading to a basketball or for that matter any state tournament is the ultimate goal of any coach or player.

We were lucky enough to be part of some teams in the early 2000’s for basketball that made it to state.

We also led a basketball team to regionals a few years back and coached a softball team to state about eight years ago.

So to attend a state tournament as fans is something we wanted to do. No pressure, just sit back and watch and enjoy.

We wanted to see the best of the best teams on both the boys and girls side of things along with seeing some of the best individual players.

We weren’t disappointed!

The atmosphere is something every athlete should experience.

Just walking in on day one of four we could tell the stakes were higher and the spirit throughout was awesome.

Players, coaches, even the refs, fans and the bands, how could that not be worth experiencing.

Then by day four everything was elevated ten-fold.

And to think we didn’t have a team we were linked to. But we matched the excitement of the day and games.

Here are some things we would like to share.

Each and every team felt like they belonged.

They each had an edge but not over the top. Confident, but not too cocky.

Well, maybe a few teams and players.

As coaches and fans of the game, we could see the dedication and discipline of each player and team.

If a team found themselves down, they never felt like they were out of it until the final buzzer. They stuck to their team’s game plan and kept fighting.

We saw some examples of that.

Annie Wright girls down with 0.4 seconds left and the ball 3/4 court away. They hit a game winning shot beyond half-court!

Or, in the boys championship game when one team seemed to dominate for most of the game, then the other team knocked down a three to send it to overtime. Then went on to win.

We saw players with resolve and nerves of steel. They would step up in crunch time with the ability to make free throws in tight games at the end.

Many of those were loser-out games.

Or players “wanting the ball” to be able to take that big shot for their team.

These players didn’t get there by “just showing up at times in the summer for summer practices.”

Or “coast through practices during their season.”

These players put in the time and effort to be able to play at this level.

We could tell pretty quickly that the team’s best players led their teams.

They did this by including their teammates. These better players wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for their teammates.

They were willing to give up the ball for better shots. They trusted their teammates. The encouragement by all was a sight to see.

Every player made it about the team, it was never about individual stats. Every player played their role.

Ball handling. This is one thing that is so important for a successful program.

We witnessed guards, wings, posts and centers that ALL could handle the ball.

A player that can dribble is someone that improves their team.

Lastly, something that stuck with us was the fight and grit.

Players played through contact. Very rarely did players complain or expect a call. They were there to play basketball.

They gave their all every minute of every game.

Anyone serious about excelling at a sport and to help their team make state should attend tournaments like these if they can. The atmosphere is second to none.

Anyone who attends would understand the heart and sweat it takes to get to a state tournament.

We hope this helps those attending Coupeville to dedicate themselves to their team and teammates and put in the work to be able to experience state as a player.

Now that we are all off from school for six weeks, dribble a ball in the house. Work on your shooting form.

It’s the player that does things like this that elevates their individual game.

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