Hunter Smith led Coupeville in scoring, steals and assists, netting team MVP honors and recognition as a First-Team All-League player. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Hunter Downes, who paced the Wolves in rebounding, was one of six seniors honored for their defensive prowess at a season-ending awards banquet.
They were a potent one-two punch and everyone noticed.
Senior gunners Hunter Smith and Ethan Spark combined to score 598 of Coupeville’s 923 points during basketball season, and that helped the duo earn First-Team All-Conference honors when Olympic League coaches voted.
Kaiden Parcher, a beast all season for league champ Port Townsend, claimed conference MVP.
Smith, whose 382 points was the most scored by a Wolf in a season since Mike Bagby netted 414 in 2004-2005, was named team MVP Thursday when CHS held its season-ending awards banquet.
With 847 career points, he finished as the 12th highest scorer in program history, while also leading his squad in steals and assists as a senior.
Coupeville coach Brad Sherman broke down Smith’s strengths:
“Talented floor manager, unique ability to get to the rim and draw contact (102 points from the free-throw line this season), difficult to defend, handles the ball well against pressure, great mid-range game, which is very rare in today’s high school basketball game.
“Quiet leader, amazing competitor.”
Senior Cameron Toomey-Stout collected the Wolf Pack Award, which honors a player who exemplifies “a team-first mentality, commitment and reliability, a positive and encouraging attitude on and off the basketball court, effort and work ethic, and all-around character.”
“His work ethic, character, and level of commitment are clear to anyone who has worked with or knows Cam,” Sherman said.
When it came time to honor the Defensive Player of the Year, Sherman mixed things up a bit, spreading love to all of his seniors — Hunter Downes, Kyle Rockwell, Joey Lippo, Smith, Spark and Toomey-Stout.
“We stressed all year setting the tone with our defensive intensity and five players moving and communicating as one,” Sherman said. “We recorded 217 steals and had 177 deflections and played well on defense as a group.
“When we sat down to determine one defensive player of the year based on several statistical factors, it became difficult to pick one, which is a good thing,” he added. “Ultimately we felt the senior group as a whole deserved to be recognized for the way they worked together to disrupt teams on defense.”
Smith led in steals, Lippo in blocks and deflected passes, Downes in rebounds, Toomey-Stout “was a defensive workhorse,” Spark recorded 48 steals and 30 deflected passes and Rockwell was “a skilled shot blocker and came up huge at the end of the season.”
In fact, that effort at the end netted Rockwell the Play of the Year for an offensive rebound and put-back which sealed an upset of first-place Klahowya on Coupeville’s Senior Night.
Rounding out the awards, Spark notched Sharp Shooter honors, for draining the most three-balls, while Chris Ruck was named Most Inspirational for the JV squad.
“I’m really proud of this group and thought they played so hard this season,” Sherman said. “Had some successes and moments that they can remember for years to come — 101-year anniversary, big win on Senior Night, winning record in league.
“Looking forward, we take this year’s positives and continue to build on them,” he added. “We lose a lot of seniors this year and our entire starting five, but with that comes a great deal of opportunity for our younger guys – and we have a talented group of young players that we are excited about.
“This will be a big off-season for us to develop and grow as a team, and Coach (Chris) Smith and I are really looking forward to what the future holds for this group of athletes.”
Varsity letter winners:
Jered Brown
Hunter Downes
Mason Grove
Gavin Knoblich
Joey Lippo
Dane Lucero
Kyle Rockwell
Hunter Smith
Ethan Spark
Cameron Toomey-Stout
James Vidoni
Varsity participation:
Jacobi Pilgrim
Ulrik Wells
JV participation:
Trevor Bell
Koa Davison
Sage Downes
Mason Grove
Tucker Hall
Alex Jimenez
Gavin Knoblich
Ryan Labrador
Jean Lund-Olsen
Daniel Olson
Jon Partida
Jake Pease
Jacobi Pilgrim
David Prescott
Chris Ruck
Matt Stevens
James Vidoni
Ulrik Wells
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