Year of the Tiger in the Valley
This basketball season has seen some great players in Broken Arrow black and gold. To name a few, Marnard Grant, Seth Dennis and one of the most talented players this state has ever seen, Jake Toupal lead the no. 2 team in the state.
The Tigers clinched the Frontier Valley Conference championship by nearly going undefeated in conference play. That is no easy feat. “The Frontier Conference is extremely tough,” says Rusty Stecker, B.A. head coach. “The team set the goal to win the conference.” And they executed.
The championship is the second in Stecker’s tenure.
Stecker goes on to explain that this team has been good to work with, but in his comments, he reveals that even though he has a great squad, his approach to coaching might have something to do with it. “We didn’t put pressure on them, we took it one game at a time.” He shares, “we try to make our locker room a fun atmosphere. All the kids are different, but once we walk out on the court, we are a team.”
They are an explosive team at that. They never lost their focus on the goal to win the conference. And when trouble faced them, they never lost hope. These guys were down 17-0 at Jenks before they dropped one shot. At half, they were still down 16. The Tigers took the Trojans to double overtime and won at Jenks.
B.A. has four guys averaging in double figures: Grant, Toupal, Dennis and Drew Howerton. Additionally, Tyson Reed averages just over seven points per game.
Toupal is averaging over 18 points per game. He has led the team for two straight years, improving as he goes. Stecker elaborates, “Jake has improved in all areas of the game. He is averaging more points on fewer shots.”
The future looks bright for the Tigers, too. Haskell 8th grade boys have won the FVC Division II championship with an undefeated 13-0 season, making them the first team in HMS history to finish undefeated.
Updated 02-23-2010
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