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Posts Tagged ‘Brian Shank’

Brian Shank is a beast!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

You can't contain Brian Shank, you can only hope the refs conspire to stop him. (John Fisken photo)

   You can’t contain Brian Shank, you can only hope the refs conspire to stop him. (John Fisken photo)

In the end, the refs were the true spoilers.

The trio on the court for Tuesday night’s JV boys’ basketball game robbed the world of a great finish by hobbling Coupeville right at the worst moment, conspiring to foul out Brian Shank one shot away from achieving sainthood.

Without their three-point-bomb-droppin’, power-move-throwin’-down offensive juggernaut on the floor for the final minute and a half, the Wolves were unable to pull out a last-second miracle and fell 40-38 to visiting Port Townsend.

A phantom fifth foul on Shank (he was standing straight up, regardless of what a blind ref thinks they saw, and I have a gym full of equally “impartial” fans who will back me up) was the only way anyone was going to stop the CHS junior on this night.

Up until then, the RedHawks were unable to do much of anything with him, as Shank threw down a game-high 16, including the bucket which staked Coupeville to its final lead at 35-33.

And he was scoring every which way possible.

At one point in the first quarter, Shank hit a trey after releasing the ball from somewhere out around the locker room, then followed that up with a soft jumper.

The punctuation mark?

On the next play, he blocked a Port Townsend shot, grabbed the ball before it could go out of bounds, then spun, led the charge up court and roared coast-to-coast for a bucket as RedHawk players wilted in his path.

But when the dastardly refs decided to knife Coupeville, the Wolves were left without the one player who was absolutely locked-in all night.

Not that they went down easily, as Hunter Downes, back in action after recovering from a nasty injury, sliced through the paint for a hard-fought bucket to tie things up at 37.

But missed free throws in the waning seconds came back to haunt the Wolves, who had a last-gasp trey fall short at the buzzer.

Coupeville led for much of the night, building its biggest lead at seven early in the fourth, before foul trouble and inconsistent shot selection conspired to make life tough.

Gabe Eck tossed in eight in support of Shank, while Ty Eck netted six off of back-to-back third-quarter three-balls.

Downes dropped in four, Cameron Toomey-Stout slid a pair of free throws through the net and James Vidoni sank a gorgeous ten-footer to cap the scoring.

Araiah Bepler, Andre Avila and Beauman Davis rounded out the players who saw floor time, while injured Luke Merriman played faithful water boy for his teammates while hobbling around in a foot brace.

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Run ‘n gun, then stun!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Luke Merriman (John Fisken photos)

Luke Merriman gets the offense out and running. (John Fisken photos)

Gabe Eck

   Gabe Eck (red shoes), effortlessly stylish while lounging. The kids next to him? Impressed, they are.

Brian Shank

Brian “The Destroyer” Shank, about to explode for two of his game-high 15.

Beauman Davis

Beauman Davis comes in hot.

team

Dare to challenge the Wolves? They will cold stare you down, fool.

Ty Eck

Ty Eck, using skills he picked up as a defensive back in football, denies the pass.

Every color of the rainbow is represented by CHS boys' basketball players.

Every color of the rainbow is represented by CHS boys’ basketball players.

Andre Avila

Andre Avila, a dribbling maniac.

Cruise control.

The Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball squad hit it early Friday night, thrashing visiting Concrete with a hail of three-point bombs launched from somewhere out in the parking lot.

In between the exploding treys, travelin’ camera man John Fisken snapped the pics above.

To see more (and possibly purchase some, thereby helping fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes) pop over to:

http://www.olympicleague.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=10052&league=21&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0

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You done shot the lights out!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Gabe Eck, seen here in an earlier game, was one of eight Wolves to score Friday as the JV romped to a win. (John Fisken photos)

   Gabe Eck, seen here in an earlier game, was one of eight Wolves to score as the JV romped to a win. (John Fisken photos)

Andre Avila (?)

   Andre Avila (32), playing defense earlier this season, was a wizard with the ball Friday night.

Brian Shank was feeling it.

As the ball sank through the net, another three-point bomb having hit pay dirt, the Wolf marksman looked at his fingertips like they were on fire, his eyes wide with glee.

Then he shook his head softly, grinned and headed back up-court.

It was that kind of night for Shank and his teammates, as the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball team shredded visiting Concrete 45-24.

Using the three-ball as their weapon of choice — four Wolves (Shank, Ty Eck, Beauman Davis and Luke Merriman) combined to net seven treys — Coupeville grabbed the lead a minute into the game and never looked back.

Trailing 3-0, the Wolves made their initial move in a hurry, knocking down three buckets in a 20-second span.

Shank banged home a rebound, Gabe Eck picked the pocket of a Lion ball-handler, then zipped in for a layup and then Shank capped things with a gorgeous trey off of an in-bounds play.

He wasn’t ready to stop there, adding a three-point play the hard way (slashing to the hoop for a bucket and an ensuing free throw), eventually raining down eight points in the first eight minutes.

But, even with Shank’s yeoman work, Coupeville was clinging to just a 15-13 lead after one quarter.

Enter Andre Avila and exit Concrete’s hopes.

The sweet-dribbling mighty mite brought his enthusiastic fan section to their feet with back-to-back highlight plays that broke the visitors will.

First Avila drew a pack of defenders, spun just out of their reach at the last second, and perfectly fed Merriman, who dropped a trey that barely ruffled the net as it went down.

On the next play, it was all Avila, as he spun, whirled, twirled, danced and broke approximately 17 ankles (maybe even his own) before dropping in the bucket of the night with a runner.

As the gym erupted and Concrete glumly called for a timeout, the hardest-working guy on the JV shot towards his bench, arms raised in the air, Rocky-style, huge smile on his face as Wolf varsity players chanted his name.

From there, it was put-the-hammer-down time, as Coupeville used a 22-6 tear over the second and third quarter to seal the win, which lifted the young guns to 2-4 on the season.

The Wolves got something from everyone on the roster, with Shank leading the way with a game-high 15.

Ty Eck added 13, including a team-high three treys, while Gabe Eck (6), Davis (3), Merriman (3), Avila (2), Ariah Bepler (2) and James Vidoni (1) all scored.

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Winners, one and all!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Birthday folks (clockwise, from left) Haley Sherman, Carmen McFadyen and Brian Shank.

Birthday folks (clockwise, from left) Haley Sherman, Carmen McFadyen (and grandchildren) and Brian Shank.

They are the diversity of Coupeville.

Three parts of Wolf Nation, all making impacts in different ways, and all celebrating birthdays today.

Brian Shank is the newbie, a multi-sport athlete (football, basketball, track, tennis) who arrived in town from Utah two years ago when his father, Dr. Jim Shank, became Coupeville’s new superintendent.

An easy-going guy with a quick grin, he, like older brother Matt and younger sister Ashlie, immediately fit in, making friends and becoming an integral part of the school sports scene.

Whether he’s lofting three-point bombs for the Wolves or goofing off with his teammates, he wears the red and black with class.

Carmen McFadyen is the Godmother, a powerful, highly-respected leader in the community, and, someone who tries her best to get me to show respect to all in my writing.

I may not always follow her advice, but I would be smarter if I did.

She has already given Coupeville two standout athletes in son Jason and daughter Aleshia, and has four rambunctious grandchildren who will likely blaze their own bright athletic futures.

Plus, she’s married to Jack McFadyen, a personal favorite of mine since my early days at Videoville.

So, she’s got that going for her too, which is nice.

Our third honoree of the day is a young woman who, simply put, IS Coupeville.

Haley Sherman is connected at the roots to this town, and every time she played volleyball or softball for CHS, her personal cheering section was comprised of a lot of the men and women who have made Coupeville what it is today.

Proud of her heritage, Haley was a talented athlete and a better person. She possesses a radiance that is rare and it has never dimmed, through good times and bad.

This trio, united by their birthday and the town they call home, represent some of the best of what Coupeville has to offer.

They have lived different lives, accomplished different things, but all three represent us extremely well. We’re lucky as a community to claim them all.

Happy birthday and thank you.

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You can take our hydration, but not our win!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

"No, I don't need to get closer to the hoop." Luke Merriman lives long-range. (John Fisken photos)

“No, I don’t need to get closer to the hoop.” Luke Merriman lives for the long-range bomb. (John Fisken photos)

Ethan Spark

Ethan Spark, about to create havoc.

R.I.P. the water bucket.

Friday night’s JV boys’ basketball game between Coupeville and visiting Port Townsend was a fairly thrilling back-and-forth affair that came down to the final moments, with the Wolves coming from behind to net a 46-43 win.

There were big three-pointers. Pressure-packed free throws. Crucial air balls.

But the moment that will be remembered is the sight of a Redhawk player losing his feet while trying to catch up with Wolf guard Ethan Spark and going face-first, at maximum velocity, into Coupeville’s water-dispensing machine.

Not merely brushing against it or knocking it down, he leveled it like Ray Lewis taking out a quarterback, blowing up the CHS bench in the process.

Five or six chairs went in different directions, Wolves and paper cups flew like bowling pins being knocked down and the Townsend player ended in a heap, on top of the machine, drenched, several feet away from the point of first impact.

It was beautiful, a moment to treasure for all in the stands.

Oh, and by the way, Spark, freed of his man, knocked down a crucial jumper that helped, ahem, “spark” a game-breaking 14-4 run.

Down by one, 30-29, entering the fourth, Coupeville caught fire, before, during and after the great deluge.

Brian Shank, playing perhaps his best game of the season, started the run on a beauty of a play where he released to the inside at the last second, took a pass and banged home the layup.

From there, it was a little bit of Spark (a jumper and a long-range trey), some Desmond Bell (a layup and a pair of free throws), another bucket from Shank on a strong drive to the hoop and just a touch of DeAndre Mitchell (a free throw).

Down 43-34, Port Townsend rediscovered its groove, holding the Wolves without a field goal for the final three minutes and cutting the lead all the way back to two.

But, even if they couldn’t hit from the field, the Wolves were able to remain in enough of a groove at the free-throw line to ice the game.

Hunter Smith, Bell and Shank each hit a charity stripe shot in the waning seconds to preserve the narrow lead, while the Wolf defense forced the Redhawks to air-ball their final two long-range shots as time expired.

The win lifted Coupeville’s young guns to 6-7 overall, 3-1 in Olympic League play. The Wolves have won six of their last eight.

Mitchell paced the offensive attack, pouring in seven of his 12 points in the first quarter.

He opened the game with a three-ball, put a rebound back up and in for another bucket and then topped things off with a flamboyant play.

Going airborne, he lost control of the rock for a second, then tipped it back to himself, snagged it and dropped the ball off the backboard over the fingers of two defenders.

Shank and Bell both dropped in eight points in support of Mitchell, while Spark banged home seven and Smith hit for six.

Luke Merriman rounded out the offensive display with a five-spot, hitting a running layup to beat the buzzer in the first quarter before stepping back to swish a second-quarter three-point bomb from somewhere out in the parking lot.

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