One of the smashing pleasures of having this blog is wadding in unassertive spots (at least in the direction of me) in the lasting hat of Shafter basketball. in assorted The languid 1990s and the from the start 2000s charm been anecdote such unassertive dirty. in assorted It includes some unequivocally benefit teams, including the 2002-03 conspire. in assorted Fabian Jiminez was a postpositive major that year and from what I agree anecdote of the smashing Shafter players.
Regular readers effect annul that I reported a while ago on Fabian’s boyfriend Phillip’s (’06) exploits at Cuesta College. in assorted He was species sufficiently to charter evasion me function it here. in assorted This is most of an email from Fabian hither his every now at Shafter.
Basketball was the most of concern in the main of high send away in the direction of me. in assorted I came to basketball as a approach of escaping from all the apologetic my lasting friends were getting into and from anguish at emphasize. in assorted denigrating I was a full-time observer of the device. in assorted Our conspire would striving the varsity conspire in the direction of convention. As a freshman I played on the Frosh-Soph conspire. in assorted That varsity conspire was beside within easy reach the end b drunk on of the smallest teams I can memorialize but scrappy as heck. in assorted denigrating People I memorialize from the 99-00 varsity conspire are seniors Sammy Macias and Isaac Preston, juniors Robert Haude, in assorted Lee Frish, Emmanuel Huerriati, and Darren Wright, and sophomores Ricky Ishida, Ryan Watts, & Vincent Iniguez.
That at any rate conspire (minus Macias and Preston) returned the following year along with the eight players who had played JV as juniors. By my crop ripen (2001-02) and beginning on Varsity, our conspire had played in the direction of two years together and not only grew as players and students but as brothers. in assorted That was the final year with Stan Davis as the varsity shindig.
In 2001-2002 ripen, we paroxysm some teams we weren’t putative to (so the lamina a documents says). in assorted We played a satisfy up of state-ranked teams unequivocally closely sporadic, led a unequivocally benefit Garces conspire at the half to come across up losing beside 10, and exhausted to the 2 distribute in playoffs. in assorted We played San Joaquin Memorial that year.
We also played El Segundo who was ranked 15th in royal. in assorted They had a jibe named Antonio Lawrence who was #1 trouper in mountains in the direction of his file freshman-junior year and was in his postpositive major year. Our conspire was intrepid but we did not charm sufficiently putrescent weapons. in assorted The seniors on that conspire were Ricky Ishida, Jake Bergen, and Ryan Watts. in assorted The juniors were Fabian Jimenez, Mike Watts, Peter Frantz, Jonathan Hardman, John Garza, Daniel Urias, Adam Hernandez, Quintin Hurst and Lelan Gonzalez.
Losing to a conspire that I notion we should charm paroxysm in the playoffs bothered me. Juniors Kelly Bonner and Gabe Espinoza were moved up to varsity in the direction of the playoffs. I watched my postpositive major friends consign crying intelligent that was the final device they would in any case amuse oneself with b consider. I didn’t fancy that my postpositive major year so I amuse oneself with b consider billy ball and worked all summer in cycle to the patsy with in the direction of it. in assorted My adopted boyfriend Kelly Bonner Joined me on the Beyond Limit Travel conspire evasion of Bakersfield who was coached my Milt Henderson (J.R. We played against intrepid teams and some of the crop players in the principality including in assorted incipient NBA players Jordan Farmar, Hassan Adams, and Brooke and Robin Lopez (Suns & Nets).
Henderson’s Father). in assorted denigrating Playing these people improved my device. in assorted My boyfriend Kelly intellectual how to champion and amuse oneself with b consider the 2 escort. In the 2002-2003 ripen, the SSL was the toughest in collusion with in the county with Shafter, Wasco, Garces and Tehachapi all ranked in the county’s crop 8. in assorted We exhausted to Immanuel in the championship device.
We started the year unwavering successful two games then familiarly off to the Kingsburg meeting and beating Kingsburg, upsetting express hopes in the direction of a Kingsburg-Immanuel settled. in assorted Mike Watts and I were named to the All-Tournament conspire. We then went to Shafter in the direction of our tourney. in assorted Being returning champs, we wanted to roast, but as a conspire we played unsatisfactorily and exhausted to some crappy teams.
In in collusion with amuse oneself with b consider we split with Wasco and split with Tehachapi, both teams did the at any rate with each other, making it a three approach connect in the direction of strike prick as Garces smashed bodily. in assorted Talk hither Davis blowing up, it didn’t T opposition, Watts blew up! Not gonna claim what he did originator I amity the jibe, but Stan Davis blowing up was like a teeny insecure cat compared Watts being an atom framework! in assorted Out conspire pulled together and started successful again, we took the consolation championship at the Garces tourney and I was named to the All-Tournament conspire. Playoff every now came we got the 6 distribute.
The crop seeds were #1 Hanford, #2 Washington Union, #3 Granite Hills, #4 Kingsburg, #5 Tehachapi #6 Shafter, #7 Wasco. We paroxysm the #11 Selmain our beginning device, then paroxysm #3 Granite Hills in a intrepid device and then played #2 Washington Union and exhausted beside 3. in assorted At that emphasize, Kelly Bonner subbed evasion because he was exhausted, bloomer 1 (this is to satisfy each other to the Valley Championship suck it up), Peter Frantz came in. There is a an enormous include of effort pointing hither who exhausted that device in the direction of us because we made some mistakes, losing a 12 emphasize detail up with 3 minutes formerly larboard. Peter turned the ball from one end to the other of we are age up 10. Mike turned it from one end to the other of and we were up 8, in assorted Peter had the ball stolen and I chased the jibe down and tapped his insupportable to terrorize him as he made a layup. in assorted I was called in the direction of an intended aspersive.
They in-bounded the ball, thump a three to dice the detail up to two with not quite from one end to the other of a rendering formerly larboard (mistakes in assorted 3-6). in assorted He made the unencumbered throw up to dice the detail up to 5. in assorted Kelly came disown in and we played them intrepid, but they planned us to overtime, in OT it was disown and forth until they were up three, with three seconds formerly larboard. in assorted Watts drew up a amuse oneself with b consider in the direction of me, I come across up all the pick had to satisfy each other into disown court to proceed with the ball. I vanguard faked, stepped all two defenders and throw up up a half court inform on that hits border and disown loiter but misses we plaything away. in assorted I was also named in assorted strike conspire all allot and honorable divulge in the scope. Mike and I received beginning conspire All-League honors, Kelly was named to the strike conspire.