Seniors key in Mt. Spokane’s early success

Sometimes, contrary to conventional wisdom, it is more about the destination than the journey.

At least that’s the conclusion one could draw from a conversation with Mt. Spokane basketball coach Bill Ayers and several of his senior players whose recent turnaround has given the Wildcats four victories in their last five games and a share of second place in the Greater Spokane League standings.

“I can’t say we haven’t had our challenges,” said Ayers, “but what I’ve noticed recently is that our kids are starting to understand what it takes to push each other every day to be better. They’ve watched other seniors in previous years, and now they’ve realized that it’s their time to get it done.”

Unlike many coaches with a more minimalist approach, Ayers carries 13 players on the varsity, including eight seniors.

“We preach commitment and loyalty to our kids all the time,” he said, “so we need to give it back to those who put in the time with us.

“First and foremost, we stress the reward of being part of the team. Just having that uniform should mean something, and the camaraderie and hard work that are part of a team sport will pay off later in their lives as well.

“These seniors have been together a long time, and they like each other a great deal. They’ve always held themselves accountable individually, but now they’re pushing each other harder in practice, and I think that’s the reason for our recent success. They battle each other every day.”

Several of Ayers’ players concur.

Reserve post Andy Vanderpool said that he and his senior teammates have realized lately that unless they have a breakout season, they’re probably all done with basketball.

“We didn’t really sit down and talk about it,” he said, “but we realized it anyway. We just don’t want our last season to end with a losing record.”

Singled out by Ayers as a guy who goes hard day in and day out, Vanderpool said his role is “to do the dirty work, get the rebounds, play hard-nosed defense and give 100 percent all the time.” By playing hard, he said, he gets others to do the same.

Teammate Danny McKinnon is another guy whose hard work is appreciated by his coach. And he remembers a day this season when, in his mind, things turned around for the Wildcats.

“During one practice, two of our guys kind of got into it, and it seems like after that, the level of intensity just picked up. When you practice with more intensity, you find out that you’ve got more in you than you thought you had.

“What we’re doing now is taking the way we practice into games, learning that we need to play 32 minutes, not 28 or 29.”

Edwin Miller, Mt. Spokane’s leading scorer in three of its previous four games before Tuesday night, says it’s also been a matter of chemistry.

“This year, as seniors, we try to fill in the gap left by last year’s seniors. But early in the season, we didn’t fill it in a way that gave us good chemistry. Now, I think, we are figuring out our roles and how we can contribute the most to the team.

“In doing that, we’ve finally started to complement each other’s roles. Everybody is doing what they need to do. It’s a matter of accountability, of rising above my own expectations so that I can be a better player on a day-to-basis.”

In addition to those three, the other Wildcat seniors are Curtis Justice, Adam Morris, Cam Sower, C.J. Barschig and Dwight Bond, all of whom are making important contributions.

“Especially after we got off to a slow start,” Miller said, “people were quitting on us. Ever since we started relying on each other, we’ve been more successful.”

And success, while sometimes elusive, has been their destination all along.