January 12, 1978 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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January 12, 1978 |
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a new age of basketball success that is
-- /
!The Owls
i:
By STEVE PATCH
: If Shelton High did as Mary M. Knight
does, something on the order of 450 Climber
boys would be playing with leather-covered
air bladders this year.
Of course, with only about 25 fellas in
il their entire school compared to Shelton's
male enrollment of around 600, the MMK
i Owls hardly have cause to erect minidomes
ijust because a team sport happens to draw
i I nearly 80-percent participation - as does
Knight's basketball program this season.
I With this year's varsity team enjoying its
:first real success in practicall cons
nowever, Owl fans are more than packing
!the schools crackerbox gymnasium, and
! Head Coach Jim Getchman is anything but
ic°ncerned about the future of his sport at
the tiny backwoods school where he's spent
ii eight of his 11 years as a coach.
"There have been years when we've had
itr°uble filling the jayvee team," he conceded
ilast week, but this has not been one of
them - not with 19 boys out."
After lean times the past few years -
'two victories last season, one the year
'ibefore, just three in 1974-75 - the Owls
:!switched this year from the Pacific B League
:to the easier Northern B League and
i;!ipromptly got on the winning track•
The varsity's 87-58 thrashing of visiting
raig, Alaska last Saturday raised the squad's
':OVerall record to 5-4, and with a league mark
of 1-1 the Owls look with genuine
anticipation toward their first district
:91ayoff berth in ages.
i "I think we have a real good shot at it,"
idrtGetchman. "We hope to finish at least
'' n - and four teams go on to district,
ihich begins February 13 in Montesano and
entralia."
Getchman and first-year assistant Bob
:ohnson count seven on the Owls' varsity
oster, and the coach notes most of them
have been playing together for years.
i Holding down the team's starting center
osition is 6-5 senior Hans Mak, a
W
-headed lad whose feathers in his cap
irrently include team leadership in both
lcoring and rebounding, with per-game
verage oi" about lb a,d 13, respectively.
On the front line with Mak is a pair of
!angy juniors, 6-4 forward-center Dan Cook
]nd 6-4 forward Jay Rothrock. Cook is
,'cond on the team in rebounding, grabbing
n average of about a dozen every game,
,hile Rothrock complements a strong board
ame of his own with a scoring punch
apable of, say, 34 points in a single game.
That's how many the wiry junior tallied
t Saturday in the Owls' victory over Craig•
Point guard for the Owls is senior Tim
ggle, at 5-10 the team's leading steal and
Jsist man. He's joined in the backcourt
triously by senior guard-forward Butch
arr, 6-1; junior Martin Crabtree, 5-11, and
)phomore Jeff Armstrong, also 5-11.
All have seen steady and considerable
Laying time, and it's the resultant depth
lat brings a smile to the face of Coach
etchman, who'll welcome back four of his
Ven regulars next season.
Another thing Getchman refuses to lose
eep over this year is his team's height
ituation. With his front line averaging about
-4, he's not hurting - and his Owls' average
er-game advantage of 46-32 in the
f ,: Knigh t finally
rebounding department is ample testimony.
"And we're 'unning better, too," he
said, adding that the resultant increase in
fast-break opportunities has helped the team
boost its fieldgoal percentage from around
30 last year to better than 37.
Although the Owl jayvees have won only
once this year, Getchman is encouraged by
what he sees as the development of some
good, sound skills - and, of course, the
experience never hurts.
Jayvees include two seniors, one junior,
four sophomores and five freshmen. One of
them, junior Kelly Richmond, was injured in
a chain saw accident recently and Getchman
expects to be without the 5-11
guard-forward perhaps the balance of the
season.
Otherwise, the roster is intact. Seniors
are 5-10 forward Keith Shipley and 5-6
guard Gale Dick; sophomores are 5-4 guard
Doug Siehl, 5-11 forward Bruce Adsero,
5-10 forward Fred Crabtree and 5-10 center
Roy Johnson; and freshmen are 5-4 forward
Blake Adsero, 5-4 guard Doug Anderson, 5-3
guard Dennis Anderson, 6-0 center Daryl
Beckwith and 5-6 guard Rick Hickson.
The Owls have two managers this year,
eighth-grader Mike Bateman and
seventh-grader Joey. Rothrock.
In Saturday's runaway victory over
Craig, the Owls cruised to a 50-27 halftime
lead, threw up a halfcourt press after the
intermission, further stymieing the visitors,
and finished with a 37-91 success mark from
the floor.
Scoring leader Rothrock not only
managed to connect on 15 of 33 attempts,
but Getchman noted most of them were
from around 15 feet away.
Unfortunately, however, the junior
forward also managed to sustain a painful
hip injury during the game, and his
effectiveness for this week's games is
somewhat in question.
Rothrock's hot performance Saturday
was not isolated. Frontline mate Cook
canned 18 points and point-guard Diggle 13,
while the Owls' impressive 64-rebound
performance (to Craig's 43) was paced by
Mak's 14 boards, Carr's 13, Cook's 12 and
Rothrock's 11.
Other Owls hitting the scoring column
were Mak, with nine; Carr, with six; Martin
Crabtree, with three; Armstrong, with two,
and Dick, up from the jayvee squad, with
two.
A practiced gentleman in defeat, Coach
Getchman has to admit he really prefers the
alternative. "It's an up-and-down
proposition when you're coaching at a little
school like this," he said, "and you definitely
look for the ups. It's certainly nice when
you win."
Getchman does count one blessing, at
least, from his small-school condition. "It's
easier to build a team when you don't have a
lot of players," he observed. "The guys get
used to playing together, often for several
years."
Ano.ther bonus: With such a limited
resource from which to draw for basketball
players, no one really fears the stigma of
failure.
In short, there are no cuts - no one
asked to hang up his sneakers just because
tbey both happen to be lefties.
Jay Rothrock
Junior Forward
Hans Mak
Senior Center
Butch Carr
Senior Forward
Dan Cook
Junior Center
e the dawn
T
LOOMING OVER much of their opposition this season are
Knight's reigning big men, from left, Dan Cook, Hans Mak
and Jay Rothrock. Dan and Jay stand 6-4, Hans 6-5 --
giving Coach Getchman some of his best ranginess in years.
"When it comes to height around here, it tends to be feast
or famine," said the coch, smiling.
COACH JIM GETCHMAN, in his eighth year as the Owls'
coach, poses with his varsity seven. From left, they are
Butch Carr, Hans Mak, Jay Rothrock, Jeff Armstrong,:
Martin Crabtree, Dan Cook and Tim Diggle. The Owls, now
5-4 on the year and 1-1 in league play, look with genuine
anticipation to their first district playoff berth in
practically eons.
Jeff Armstrong
Sophomore Guard
Martin Crabtree
Junior Guard
Tim Diggle
Senior Guard
OWL ACTION durinn practice last week s .
Saturd , . ees
ay s game with visiting Craig, Alaska .^5 °ach Getchman's top dogs at work preparing for
• -,urn tort: Dan Cook; Butch Carr putting a move on Jeff
Armstrong; Hans Mak; Martin Crabtree (left) and Armstrong battling beneath the boards; Tim Oiggle
(left) and Crabtree wheeling in on a Diggle jump shot; and Jay Rothrock.
Thursday, January 12, 1978 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 17