Guest Posts on County 10 are provided by contributors and the opinions, thoughts, and comments within are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of County 10.
We were holding our own against Class 3-A Wheatland in the championship game of the Wrangler Invitational, but the odds were quickly turning against us. Wheatland came out in a 2-2-1 half-court trap. They were bigger than us and covered the court well, but my point guard, Harlow Kenyon, was a magician with a basketball. I used to claim that Harlow could dribble through a chainsaw. He passed well, too.
The Bulldogs never let up, staying in that press the entire game. Harlow picked up his third foul early in the second period, and his fourth just minutes into the third.
We led Wheatland 34-33 at the half and built the lead to six points. Pinedale, under head coach Pat Scissons, left early for home after playing St. Stephen’s for third place.
Pat called me later in the week, asking what had happened. He thought we had the game in hand. We did, until Harlow had to sit.
Wheatland went on a 30 to 8 tear with Harlow sidelined. I put him back in to start the fourth quarter, but he picked up his fifth foul and the Bulldogs started running a layup drill. They put up 47 points in the second half and blew us out by 30.
The message here is the importance of a solid point guard. You can’t win without one. They’re the equivalent of the quarterback, middle linebacker, and catcher. Football is dependent on the quarterback offensively and the middle linebacker defensively. If you don’t think the catcher is the key to a winning baseball team, then you don’t watch or know much about the diamond.
Two teams played over the weekend without their point guards.
Shoshoni senior Andrew Garcia suffered a horrendous break in both bones of his lower leg on a routine layup and foul at Ethete last Thursday.
The Wranglers have a good season going under head coach Taylor Dick. They don’t have a lot of size or exceptional quickness, but they play gritty defense, shoot the ball from the perimeter well at times, and were in almost every game they played this season. A lot of that success came from Garcia, who was the quickest of the Wranglers.
A shooter prone to hot streaks, Garcia could light up the nets when he was on, but his forte was ball handling and setting up the offense.
Bewildered and still reeling from the scene of Garcia’s injury on the floor of Alfred P. Redman Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday, the Wranglers didn’t fare well against a Kemmerer team that had won just two games going into last Friday’s tilt. Kemmerer dominated Shoshoni 77-49 in Lincoln County.
Another Fremont County team, one that practices every night at the “House that Al Built,” the Alfred P. Redman Memorial Gym, suffered without its point guard over the weekend.
The Lady Chiefs struggled with the Lady Blue of Shoshoni on Thursday, with the notable absence of sophomore point guard Paisley Blackburn. She was sidelined with a leg injury, and the Lady Chiefs just didn’t click offensively throughout the opening half. They led Shoshoni by just two points as the opening half ended. They went on to win the game but didn’t look as crisp as an Aleta Moss team usually plays in February.
On Saturday, the 5 and 15 Rocky Mountain Lady Grizz handled the Lady Chiefs 51-36. Yes, it was an unusually low-scoring game for Wyoming Indian.
Rocky almost pulled off the upset of talented Tongue River in Sheridan County on Friday, dropping a close game 44-42.
Yes, the point guard is that important in basketball at any level. If you can’t get into your offense or stop the opposing point guard from setting up there own, you don’t win many games.
On a somber note, former St. Stephen’s head coach and Riverton High School standout Ricky Blackburn is returning home after an extended stay in the hospital. It’s not good news for Ricky. He’s coming home to hospice care.
The congenial competitor, the man with the smile on his face and good words for everyone he meets, is returning home for the final time.
Ricky is an inspiration to the youth of not only the Wind River Reservation, but to kids across the county and the state.
As a Wolverine, he was a talented guard. As a coach, his teams were always tenacious defensively and put up a lot of points. He is that rare mix of a coach who excelled on both ends of the floor.
If you get a chance, drop by and say hello. Ricky enjoys people and would love to talk with old friends.
The season is in its final weeks. Class 1-A/2-A Regional basketball opens two weeks from Thursday in Riverton and Lander.
Wyoming Indian appears to be on a collision course with Thermopolis for not only the West 2-A championship but for the state title as well.
The Lady Chiefs had a setback last Saturday, but look for them to rebound with a vengeance and reach the finals in Wolverine Gym once more. They’ve won the West 2-A tournament that no one, including Aleta Moss, can say for sure how many regional titles they’ve won.
A couple of teams with chances at state tournament berths play tonight. The last time the Fort Washakie and St. Stephen’s Eagles met at St. Stephen’s it was a close, entertaining contest. They play again, this time at the Fort.
Both boys’ teams have a solid shot at snagging one of the top four spots and playing in Casper in three weeks.
For the girls, the West 1-A is tough, extremely tough, with powerhouse Cokeville ranked first in the state. Little Snake River, Burlington and Farson-Eden round out three of the other four positions, and Saratoga is ranked seventh overall.
It’s far from preordained that these four will advance; if it were, why would we have tournaments?
Enjoy the last few weeks of basketball.