The O’Mazin’ O’Keefes (l to r, Gavin, Kramer and Kendra) are joined by JD Wilcox (red hat), Erik King (green hat) and the ’75-’76 CHS boys’ basketball squad.
Underrated.
If there is a theme to the 32nd class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, it is that.
These five athletes — three from the same family — and a milestone team in CHS history, didn’t always get the full credit they deserved at the time they played, but their legend only grows with time.
With that, we welcome to these hallowed digital walls Erik King, JD Wilcox, the O’Mazin’ O’Keefe siblings, Kramer, Kendra and Gavin, and, close to the 40th anniversary of their biggest moment, the 1975-1976 Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad.
From this point on, you’ll find them up at the top of the blog, enshrined under the Legends tab.
Our first two inductees were friends and teammates, united by a love of fun and a burning desire to carry their teams to greatness.
Whether on the baseball field or the basketball court, Wilcox and King played their hearts out.
As seniors, they hit a scorching .397 and .409 at the plate, respectively (career-wise King held a .325 to .316 advantage), and both led the teams in multiple stat categories.
King topped Coupeville in home runs, slugging percentage and being hit by pitches, while Wilcox was the main man when it came to runs, triples, stolen bases and fielding average.
Turn to the hardwood and they were a key part of several teams, most notably the 2009-2010 CHS squad which went 16-5.
Wilcox was always a dependable gunslinger to complement big stars like Hunter Hammer and Ian Smith, while King made his name by being the gritty guy who would run through every screen while shadowing the other team’s best player.
“He was a hard-nosed kid who never backed down from anyone or anything,” said current CHS assistant coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh. “I enjoyed watching and coaching him.”
The dazzling duo are joined on the dais by the triple threat O’Keefe’s, who just happen to be some of the best long-range gunners the Wolf basketball programs have ever seen.
Following in the rich hoops traditions of their older relatives (more on that in just a second), all three were money when Coupeville needed a huge shot.
Kendra made a regular tradition of hitting game-busting three-balls, Kramer quietly put together one of the best runs any Wolf boy has had in the past 25 years (he was a top-three scorer for three straight years, racking up 636 points) and I have rarely seen a player enjoy their time on the floor as much as Gavin.
He had to fight through a ton of truly unfortunate injuries, and yet, each time, he worked his rear off to get back, then exploded off the bench, huge smile on his face, when he was able to keep both of his legs in working condition.
During a down time in Wolf basketball, when the program was being rebuilt with very young players, Gavin was a rock for his coaches and they spoke about him with reverence. Exactly the same as previous coaches did with his siblings.
The O’Keefe name is a huge one in Wolf basketball history, deeply respected, and it began with the trio’s uncle, Randy, who played as Keefe before he, and most of the family, officially reinstated the O’ in recent years.
He was the second-leading scorer on our final inductee, the ’75-’76 Wolf hoops squad.
Keefe rattled home 278 points during the regular season, teaming with Bill Jarrell (327) and Marc Bisset (267) to form a three-headed monster.
Coupeville actually had five guys top 174 points as it rolled to a 14-6 record, including a thrashing of Island rival Langley, and returned to the state tourney after much the same roster got there the year before.
Once there, though, this squad did something no other Wolf team, in ANY sport, had ever done in what the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association officially views as the “state tournament” years — it won.
In two previous trips to state (’69-’70 and ’74-’75), Coupeville had played, and lost, two games.
The third time around, the Wolves were nipped in their opener by Wahkiakum, but rebounded to drill Columbia (Burbank) 80-63 on Mar. 3, 1976.
Though it lost to Rosalia the next day and was eliminated, that Coupeville squad retains its place in history.
While the Wolf girls’ basketball players of the late ’90s and early-to-mid 2000s made multiple trips to state and had deep runs several times, only two Wolf boys’ hoops team (’78-’79 is the other) have ever won a game at state.
As the first team to ever break through heads towards the 40th anniversary of maybe the biggest milestone in school athletic history, we want to give them a moment back in the spotlight. The place where they shone the brightest.
Inducted, together, as a team:
Bob Barker (coach)
Mike Gibson (assistant coach)
Marc Bisset
Randy Blindauer
Charlie Cook
Richard Cook
Mike Ellsworth
Foster Faris
Bill Jarrell
Randy Keefe (O’Keefe)
Jeff Rhubottom
Jeff Thomas
Charlie Toth
Steve Whitney
Mike Allgire (manager)
David Sem (manager)
