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Posts Tagged ‘Allen Black’

Two decades, two gunners, two shooting stars!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Wolf sophomore Mason Grove has torched the nets at both the JV and varsity levels this season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Allen Black, basketball gunner extraordinaire turned daddy, and the legend Grove is chasing.

   CHS basketball announcer Moose Moran bags the first of many interviews with Grove. (Renae Mulholland photo)

Shooters gotta shoot.

It’s hardwired in their DNA, the need to let the ball fly and the ability to make sure said ball hits nothing but net on the way down.

As Mason Grove tears up the court this season, it brings back memories of Allen Black, another Wolf gunner with no conscious and an electric shooting touch.

Black holds the unofficial CHS basketball scoring record for JV players, torching the nets for 347 points during his junior season in 2002-2003.

A year later, he was a varsity star, an All-Conference pick who led Coupeville in scoring with 305 points, including 39 against Concrete.

Grove, who is operating as a swing player during his sophomore season, is hot on Black’s trail, having dropped in 294 points through the first 15 JV games of the season.

With four games left on the schedule, Grove, who is averaging 19.6 a night, needs 54 points to top Black.

“Mason should be able to beat it, he’s pretty good,” said the always low-key Black, who remains open to the idea of the duo joining a who’s-who of past and present Wolf shooters in a three-ball competition.

“Three-point contest like an All-Star game, with a bunch of people, would be cool,” Mr. Easy Rider said with a small grin — the smile of a shark circling his prey.

For his part, Grove is heating up the rims at two levels this season, using brief bursts of varsity playing time to rattle home 42 points at that level.

That puts him in a fourth-place tie with Hunter Downes among varsity players.

Whether he gets enough floor time at the JV level in the final four games to catch Black or not, Grove’s explosive season has caught the eyes of coaches and fans alike.  

First-year Coupeville head coach Brad Sherman has first-hand knowledge of both Grove and Black, helping coach the former and having played with the latter.

“I just remember that Allen was seriously quick and hard to keep up with on the court,” Sherman said. “Mason really continues to impress from behind the arc this season.

“Similar styles of play, both hard workers on the court, and both with the ability to score a bunch in a really short span.”

That is proven by a quick look at their stats.

Black rained down 19 points in a single JV quarter against Concrete, the team he would return to haunt as a varsity star, while Grove has twice thrown down 17 in a quarter this season, shredding Port Townsend and Chimacum.

Grove has scored in every JV game this season, something Black also did in his day.

For the moment, Black has the edge in 20-point games (9-6), and double-digit scoring (17-13), but Grove returns the favor in 30-point games (3-1).

Having seen both of the gunners in their prime, Sherman, no slouch himself from the outside during a career where he finished #8 on the CHS boys career scoring chart, has a solid appreciation for what Black and Grove bring to the floor.

“As shooters — very quick releases are hard to defend, and (both) never afraid to shoot when they get a good look,” Sherman said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that these are the two at the top of this list.”

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Score today, star tomorrow!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on January 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Chris Ruck netted a three-ball Saturday, scoring his first points as a Wolf hoops star. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville’s young guns were firing on all cyclinders.

Mason Grove broke 30 points for the third time this season in a JV game, while the Wolf C-Team, making its debut Saturday, came from behind for a victory.

That made for a hectic, but largely satisfying day for CHS coach Chris Smith.

JV:

Sultan’s depth proved to be too much for Coupeville in a 72-54 loss, but Grove’s season-long assault on the net continued.

The Wolf sophomore, who has swung between JV and varsity this year, rained down eight three-balls on his way to a game-high 32.

That follows on the heels of 34 and 33-point performances against Port Townsend earlier this season, and marks the biggest scoring binge by a Coupeville JV player since the 2002-2003 glory days of Allen Black.

Grove has big shoes to fill, as Black, a junior at the time, went off for 347 points in 19 games as a JV player.

He then returned the next year and scored 305 points as a varsity star, earning All-Conference honors.

Grove, who also has 15 varsity points this season, has 235 points in 12 JV games, which means he’s currently ahead of Black’s pace (19.6-18.3).

Facing off with Sultan, Grove got support from Jacobi Pilgrim, who dropped a trio of three-balls on his way to nine points, and Ulrik Wells, who banged down low for six.

Jean Lund-Olsen (4), Gavin Knoblich (2) and David Prescott (1) also scored.

C-Team:

With a ginormous JV roster this season, thanks to a larger-than-expected turnout, Smith and CHS varsity coach Brad Sherman have been scrambling to find some games against C-Teams, as well.

After storming back from seven down at the half Saturday to win 42-39, the third squad travels to Sequim next Saturday, Jan. 20, where it will play their hosts and Port Angeles in a double-header.

Facing off with the Turks, the Wolves fell behind early, then turned on the afterburners.

Down 11-6 after one and 23-16 at the half, CHS sliced the lead to 29-26 heading into the fourth quarter, before turning the game over to Sage Downes.

The freshman singed the nets for seven of his game-high 17 in the final eight minutes, while James Vidoni added a pair of buckets to aid the late-game rally.

Tucker Hall banked home eight (while snagging five rebounds), Vidoni added six points and seven boards and Chris Ruck swished a three-ball for his first CHS points.

Alex Jimenez (4), Daniel Olson (2) and Trevor Bell (2) also scored, while Matt Stevens and Ryan Labrador saw floor time.

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“I had a blast!!”

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Allen Black, former CHS softball star Mandi Murdy and their adorable daughter, who is going to be the family's biggest star.

   Allen Black, former CHS softball star Mandi Murdy and their adorable daughter, who is going to be the family’s biggest star.

If you were a Coupeville High School boys’ basketball fan in 2002-2003, there was plenty to see.

Wolf senior Brad Sherman was closing out his stellar career, while freshman Mike Bagby was just beginning his. Toss in Brian Fakkema and Casey Clark, and CHS had four strong offensive weapons.

And yet, one wonders what could have been with a roster tweak or two.

Because, while that year’s varsity finished 5-15 a year after Coupeville had won a league title, the Wolf JV stormed to a 16-3 record behind one of the most explosive seasons put together at any level by a CHS hoops star.

Having recently obtained the JV score-book from that season, it’s a revelation.

Allen Black was a junior, and almost didn’t play in 2002, until the coach talked him into turning out.

Once on the court, he put on a show, breaking 20 points nine times, with a high of 32 against Concrete — not the last time he’d scar that team.

Black joined Bagby on the varsity squad the next year, where the duo both claimed All-Conference honors.

During the 2003-2004 season, Black went off for 39 in a rematch against Concrete, believed to be the most by a Wolf since Jeff Stone set the school record with 48 in the late ’60s.

Unfortunately, the varsity book for his senior year is one of two that have gone missing from Randy King’s 20-year run as CHS coach (1991-2011).

But looking at the JV book, one wonders, what would Black have done if he made his varsity debut BEFORE his senior season?

If I had a time machine, I’d love to go back and find out how a guy torches the nets for 347 points in 19 games and never gets the call-up.

When I talked to Black recently, he laughed it off, forever remaining Mr. Easy Rider.

“Can’t complain too much, I had a blast,” he said. “I was on the C-Team freshman year and that was probably the funnest year.

“But glad I showed up and kept playing.”

During his JV year to remember, Black, who was a team captain, opened the season with 21 in a 59-46 win over Granite Falls, and was the only player on his squad to score in all 19 games.

He topped double digits in 17 of 19 games, and while teammates Eddie Fasolo (24) and JJ Marti (20) each topped 20 once, Black went on a late season tear that is remarkable.

Facing off with league foes, he topped 21 or more points eight times in the final nine games — all wins for Coupeville.

Black started off with 21 against Concrete, then tossed down games of 24, 25, 27, 32, 23, 25, 14 and 27.

Frankly, he was lightning in a bottle all year, six times scoring in double digits in just a single quarter, with a high of 19 in the first quarter the night he scored 32.

He had a tendency to hurt teams right off the opening tip, throwing down nearly a third of his points (114) in the first quarters of his games.

So, in the end, what’s this all mean?

Well, that Allen Black was a heck of a baller at all levels, that he should have gotten the call to the big leagues sooner, and that we should take a moment to remember how good that 2002-2003 JV squad was.

There’s no banner hanging in the gym for them, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t kick some serious fanny. So, here’s a shout-out to them (and their high-scoring captain).

The complete scoring totals for the 2002-2003 JV squad:

Allen Black 347
JJ Marti 163
Eric Taylor 163
Blake Day 133
Eddie Fasolo 130
Bryan Sherman 72
Andrew Mouw 46
Sean O’Neill 39
Brad Rogers 37
Mike Duke 24
Andre Cooper 10
Danny Graham 7
Jack Armstrong 6

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Great athletes, better people!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on January 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Hall

   Courtney Boyd (left) is joined by (top to bottom) Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil (in purple), super fans Lisa and Eddie and Allen Black.

The three Wolf greats entering the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame today — two honored for their careers, one for creating one of the most memorable moments in school athletic history — all were very good in the arena.

But Courtney Boyd, Allen Black and Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil continue to make an impact every day, and, with six kids between them, are already starting to fill out future rosters (one hopes) for CHS teams to come.

As those children grow, their moms and dad can point to the top of this blog, where they’ll be in residence under the Legends tab, and say, “Hey, you have to listen to me, people think I’m a big deal around here!!”

Might work…

But before we get to the terrific trio, our other two inductees today are the biggest fans Coupeville sports have had in recent years.

Lisa and Eddie are at every Wolf volleyball, football and basketball game — Eddie is a master of the halftime half-court shot contest at CHS hoops games — and they truly live and die for their players.

And they are THEIR players, as the duo know them all and take a personal pride in their accomplishments.

Woe be to the ref who makes a call against Coupeville, because Lisa will take them out to the woodshed, verbally, and spank the offending official all night long.

It’s always nice to see when Wolf athletes choose to interact with the pair, and return a bit of the love the couple send out to all Coupeville kids.

It’s things like that which truly set small town sports apart from all other things.

Joining them in the hall is the smack-talking (at least back in the day) hoops hotshot himself, Allen Black, who schooled numerous teams in the early 2000’s.

A First-Team All-Northwest League pick during his senior season in ’04, an honor he shared with fellow Hall o’ Famer Mike Bagby, Allen was the real deal on the court.

He remains so even now, as he haunts the gym he once ruled, content to play with his adorable little girl (mom is the very  talented former softball diamond queen Mandi Murdy).

Sometimes I wonder, when I see former greats sitting inches away from the current players, do these young ones have any idea of the kind of ball that “old” guy could play?

I kinda think Mr. Black could take the court today and drop 20+ on these guys, but is content not to.

He seems very happy in his relative anonymity, and, having seen him come of age hanging out endlessly at Videoville, it’s nice to see him doing so well these days.

Sorry, not sorry, to blow your cover, superstar.

Our next inductee, Courtney Boyd, literally grew up in Videoville, hanging out behind the counter, running my computer, “liberating” my pastries and telling everyone I was her dad and “when are you going to pay mom her child support?!?!?”

On the field, she was an All-Conference midfielder in soccer and a three-year letter winner in basketball, where she was a feisty force of nature.

After graduation, she’s gone on to produce two of the cutest children to ever walk the Earth and can really do no wrong in my eyes.

Yes, she’s that amazing — though still quite capable of harassing me in front of strangers.

O’Neil, completing the trend started above, has three super-cute kids and is that rarity, a busy mom who can, and does, keep a million plates flying in the air at once.

Today we’re honoring her for a moment, one which still stands tall almost eight years later.

The night was Jan. 18, 2008, the opponent was that most dastardly of foes — King’s — and the Coupeville girls’ basketball squad looked doomed on its own home court.

After fighting from behind all game, the Wolves trailed by two with seven seconds to play in overtime, and had the ball in Hayley Ebersole’s hands.

The senior guard drove the ball up-court, where she threaded the ball to Kassie on the left side of the circle as the clock continued to run down to nothing as quickly as possible.

Every fan, every defender expected the same thing — a drive up the lane in an effort to net a foul call and a chance to tie.

Instead, Kassie threw convention out the window, went straight up and banked a three-ball off the glass a whisper before the buzzer, winning the game 33-32 and setting off a riot of celebration.

The win clinched a #1 playoff seed for the Wolves, caused most of the King’s players to break into tears (one would like to think, at least) and sealed the deal on the then-Miss Lawson being a legend.

Kassie would go on to play college ball before she started to build her own all-star team of young lads, but that one moment, when she showed guts and went for the glory, failure be damned, will remain her defining on-court moment.

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