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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
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