Throughout his time as a standout basketball player on the Arkansas prep hoops scene, Kansas freshman Issac McBride made a name for himself as a prolific scorer.
Last season, as a senior at Baptist Prep in Little Rock, Ark., McBride averaged 29 points per game and earned All State and Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
But he might not need to tap into those skills quite as much during his freshman season at KU.
“This is the deepest roster I’ve ever played on in my life, the deepest roster I’ve ever seen,” McBride said recently during a break in summer workouts. “I mean, I know our names don’t scream McDonalds All Americans across the board, but I feel like, at the end of the day, when you get to college, all that five star stuff and McDonalds All American designation goes out the door.”
So what can that type of talent and depth do for a player like McBride, who, when on the floor https://www.kansasjayhawksshop.com/tucker-vang-jersey-c-7.html, figures to be asked to run the team and get others involved before looking to add to his own point total?
“It definitely gives us confidence,” he said, speaking of KU’s point guards as a whole.
One of those point guards, of course, is sophomore Devon Dotson, who elected to return to KU for a second season instead of taking his chances in the NBA Draft.
Dotson took his decision down to the wire, pulling his name out of the draft just a few hours before the deadline hit. And McBride admitted recently that he was watching the entire time. But he never let what might happen factor into his thinking about the future.
“No, sir,” he said. “I mean, we’re just playing basketball. I know that may seem cliché or a vague statement. But at the end of the day we’ve got some players. I wished him [Dotson] the best of luck in testing the draft waters, but I had a feeling that he was going to come back and try to lead this team to where we need to go.”
Now that they’re here to do that together, McBride is eager to see just what he and Dotson can get out of the rest of the KU roster.
“When you look at this lineup Malik Newman Jersey, you see experience and you see guys that are ready to go each and every day https://www.kansasjayhawksshop.com/sviatoslav-mykhailiuk-jersey-c-5.html,” McBride said. “The team we have right now is experienced and we have a lot of depth and we’ll be able to shoot the ball better. It’s different out there during a camp scrimmage . But when you see it in a game, you’ll be able to see the improvements we’re making in practice.”
McBride very well could be one of those players who plays an important role as a shooter for the Jayhawks this season. During his senior season, McBride shot 47.5 from 3 point range and his elevation on every attempt and attention to proper technique are signature traits of his jumper.
McBride knows, however, that he still has some work to do before he gets a consistent opportunity to add to KU’s outside shooting.
“ Guys getting under me and playing at a faster pace, I’m going to have to get used to that, of course,” said McBride when asked what he planned to work on the rest of the summer. “I’m just trying to be me within the game and be aggressive, not be timid. That’s one thing I’ll probably continue to work on all summer.
“ I’m definitely getting used to the speed and the pressure. I could break anybody down in high school, but now Devon is pushing me and they’re telling me to push him https://www.kansasjayhawksshop.com/josh-jackson-jersey-c-6.html, but he’s definitely getting on me and he’s telling me, ‘Hey, man, we’re going to need you.’”
Five athletes, a coach, a team and a local fan will be inducted into the Ellensburg High School Athletic Hall of fame Sept. 21. Jack Kelleher, Peter Vernie, Marcus Mays, Erin Schnebly and Kayla Standish were chosen for their outstanding individual achievements. The most successful girls’ basketball coach in EHS history, Craig Faire, will join two of his former players on the dais. The 2009 EHS softball team will be inducted, and one of the school’s biggest fans, Bobby Bettas, will also be honored.
CRAIG FAIRE
When Craig Faire accepted the head girls’ basketball coaching position in 1992, he had already coached both freshmen and junior varsity teams, so the foundation was laid to build the Ellensburg girls’ basketball program into the powerhouse it became over his 19 seasons at the helm. Not only did he post 304 victories as a head coach, but his teams made a total of nine appearances at the state tournament and brought home a trophy in each of the last five years of his career.
Seven of his teams recorded 20 win seasons and his winning percentage was .619. Some of Faire’s players carved a spot for themselves in the state record books. Multiple players were named tournament MVP’s or were named to the state all tournament team. Three teams 2000, 2001 and 2002, were AA state Academic Champions. Five players joined the 1,000 point club during their varsity careers and one of them surpassed the 2,000 point mark.
2009 EHS SOFTBALL
Fastpitch is a game of statistics and by all accounts, the 2009 EHS softball team owned the Central Washington Athletic Conference because so many players led the league in multiple categories. Their stellar play led them to raise the second place trophy at the state tournament — the best finish an EHS fastpitch team had recorded to that point.
It was a year of firsts for the team. Behind a core of strong pitchers and an outstanding offense, they secured their first league and district titles and posted a 23 2 record of which they recorded shut outs in 17 games and added three new trophies to the case.
Pitcher Sarah McNamee was the league MVP and was named the state AA player of of the year. Even though the young team had only three seniors on the roster Killian Tillie Jersey, the CWAC coaches took notice and named three players to the first team and four earning second team recognition. Coach Dave Kopczynski was named the league’s coach of the year and the team earned the sportsmanship award. The team included Kelsey Bailes, Ariana Bauer, Jessi Broderius, Sarah Firman, Brittni Gant, Jessica Harris, Ellie Layman, Brooke Reeves, Sarah McNamee, Josie Savage, Cassie Sharon, Carla Stehle, MacKenzie Swanson, Melanie Swanson and Lizzy Vick.
BOBBY BETTAS
Every school seems to have that special fan. The one who inspires the team more than the team inspires the fan. Bobby Bettas was that person. Although small in stature and born with a disability, he was the most steadfast of sports fans, supporting the Bulldogs as well as the CWU Wildcats until his untimely passing in 2007. A fixture in downtown Ellensburg as he kept the sidewalks cleared of trash in the summers and snow in the winters for four decades. He hosted the EHS boys’ basketball team that placed fourth in the 1981 state basketball tournament.
JACK KELLEHER
After graduating from Ellensburg in 1939, where he starred in football, basketball and on the track https://www.gonzagabulldogsjersey.com/customize-jersey-c-20.html, Jack Kelleher took his considerable talents to Washington State College now WSU . He was a reserve on the Cougar basketball team that played in the 1941 NCAA final Four tournament. But he shined brightest on the track where he won races at the 440 distances and was part of the winning 4x440 relay team. He joined the army in the spring of 1942 and was killed in action in September of 1944.
PETER VERNIE
Ellensburg High School has had its fair share of state champion sprinters throughout the decades. Peter Vernie was not one of them. His achievements came by running two miles and longer faster than anyone else in the state. He was both a state champion in cross country and the two mile race in his senior year prior to graduating in 1975. Peter was not the first Vernie to excel in track and field. His father, Dr. Rudolph Vernie, was a national champion high jumper as a youth while growing up in the Netherlands.
MARCUS MAYS
At the beginning of each season, all wrestlers set a goal to go to the state tournament. Marcus Mays reached that goal four times in his high school career. He stood on the top step of the winner’s stand his senior year when he posted a perfect 34 0 record and won the 135 pound title in 1998. He was no stranger to facing elite opponents. As a freshman, he placed fifth in the 101 pound weight class he reached the finals as a sophomore at 115 pounds, finishing as runner up; and as a junior he claimed third place at 129 pounds. Mays posted and impressive career record of 119 16 and was never pinned in four years of competition.
He went on to wrestle at Central Washington University, where as a freshman earned All American status when he placed seventh in the NCAA Div. II national meet at 141 pounds. His record for the year was 29 10.
Mays continues to live in the valley on the family cattle ranch and coaches in the Ellensburg kid wrestling program.
ERIN SCHNEBLY
Erin Schnebly was a standout in three sports. but her greatest impact was as a tennis player. It was on the court that she and teammate, Taryn Smith, placed third at the state tournament in 2004 after a fifth place finish in 2003. That remains the best performance by a girl’s tennis duo at EHS. The pair were conference and regional champions those two seasons as well. She was named to the all league tennis team three times and was league MVP twice. Her basketball career was no less remarkable, receiving honorable mention three times and being named team captain her senior year. As a volleyball player, she was all league her senior season and was selected as the athlete of the month each year during her four years at EHS.
KAYLA STANDISH
Kayla Standish, who graduated in 2008 https://www.gonzagabulldogsjersey.com/kelly-olynyk-jersey-c-22.html, is easily the most decorated three sport athlete in EHS history. She played on three volleyball and three basketball teams which placed at state and was a stand out track athlete who earned 10 medals in three events at the state meet throughout the course of her high school career. Because of her quality of play, she was named MVP on several EHS teams, all league and all state teams.
Perhaps she was known best for her stellar play on the basketball court where twice she was named MVP of the state tournament. As a junior, she scored 84 points in four games https://www.gonzagabulldogsjersey.com/kyle-wiltjer-jersey-c-21.html, the most points scored by one player in the tournament. She pulled down 55 rebounds and was named MVP of the 2A All Tournament team. In her senior year, her team placed second and she again was named MVP of the state All Tournament team. She was also named an alternate to the McDonald’s All American squad. During that season her personal scoring record reached 2,076 points.
In the spring, she turned to track where she was a stand out in the 100m hurdles, triple jump and high jump events. Her strongest finishes were three second place medals in the 100m hurdles with her personal best time recorded at 14.76 and in the triple jump with a PR of 35’ 10”.
Kayla graduated from Gonzaga University where she played forward for four seasons for the Bulldogs and scored 1,583 points for an 11.5 average. Since 2012, she has played professional basketball for three clubs. She currently plays for the Perth Lynx in Western Australia.
West Virginia football players have been back home for a couple days now, celebrating the Fourth of July with their friends and families. Some are just going home to relax. Others are going to the beach. For Buford, https://www.wvubasketballjersey.com/teddy-allen-jersey-c-12.html Georgia native Tyler Thurmond, it was an Atlanta Braves home game just a short drive from his house. Little did the WVU right tackle know, he d end up on national television with a short clip of him going viral on social media.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate. He sent the first pitch he saw a 92 miles per hour fastball right down the middle of the plate just over the left center field wall. The solo home run landed right in front of Thurmond, who picked it up and threw it back onto the field https://www.wvubasketballjersey.com/maciej-bender-jersey-c-11.html, as is customary for home town fans when an opposing player hits a homer, especially a long time adversary like Harper.
There were a couple small catches, though. First, in the video Sagaba Konate Jersey, a small kid can be seen reaching for the ball as Thurmond who did not see the kid, nor even fight for the ball picks it up and heaves it back onto the field. Also, the ball was not only Harper s 200th home run of his career, but also his 1 ,000th hit, meaning it likely had some monetary value to it.
For his part, Thurmond a lifelong Braves fans defended his decision on Twitter.
I am not ashamed at all, he said. To quote former Braves outfield Jeff Francoeur that s a true fan and he s 100 correct on that statement. I m throwing that ball back every time.
The Braves would go on to score six runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a pair of home runs, leading to their eventual 9 2 win over their division rivals.
Thurmond, a redshirt sophomore https://www.wvubasketballjersey.com/esa-ahmad-jersey-c-13.html, is expected to compete for the starting right tackle job for the Mountaineers this fall. He was listed as a backup last season, but worked with the first team at points during the spring and started the spring game for West Virginia. Coming out of high school, he held a three star, 0.8351 rating in the 247Sports Composite as the nation s No. 113 offensive tackle. He committed to the Mountaineers over a dozen other offers, including scholarships from Charlotte, Old Dominion, and Ohio, among others. He redshirted in 2017 before seeing action in two games last year as a backup offensive tackle.
High school basketball phenom Jalen Johnson will play at Duke after he graduates in 2020.
“Next year I’ll be attending Duke University to play for coach K https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/brennan-besser-jersey-c-16.html,” the talented forward from Wisconsin told 247Sports on Thursday. RELATED New Orleans Pelicans Pick Zion Williamson First Overall In The NBA Draft
He picked Coach K’s squad over Wisconsin Harry Giles Jersey, Arizona and Kentucky.
Well, this one certainly stings for Wisconsin fans, but I’m not shocked he went to Duke. The Blue Devils just sent three kids to the NBA this past season in the lottery.
Coach K wins a ton, and puts players in the NBA. It’s what has made him the greatest coach in all of college basketball.
I have no doubt Jalen Johnson is going to flourish under Coach K’s leadership.
Having said all of that https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/jabari-parker-jersey-c-18.html, it’s still a tough pill for Wisconsin fans to swallow when a star player from the Badger state doesn’t end up wearing red and white in Madison.
We’ve really struggled to get the best players in the state lately https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/austin-rivers-jersey-c-17.html, and losing Johnson might be the worst of it all.
He’s going to be an absolute star.
Tough day for Badgers fans everywhere, but we have to just continue pounding the recruiting pavement. Sitting around upset won’t do anything to help us win games.