Ben Gates
During the 2012-2013 basketball season, he averaged 9.5 points per game and scored 219 points through the season.
Those statistics earned Ben Gates a nod as an All Conference player his senior year.
Basketball head coach Josh Sandlian said Gates is a leader. He participates in every sport.
“That leadership shines through,” Sandlian said. “Gates can score, rebound, do all the things you ask him to.”
“I feel really honored that I received this (award) for All Conference basketball,” Gates said. “I was just glad I could play on the team and do whatever I could for the team.”
In the 23 games Gates played, he had 21 assists, 39 offensive blocks, 73 defensive blocks, 29 steals and 111 rebounds. Gates averaged four-and-a-half rebounds per game.
Gates plans to attend the University of Wyoming in the fall, and major in music education. He said he will probably play intramural sports while in college.
Gates plans to live with his brother Ransom.
“I hope that goes well,” Gates said.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith was named to the All Conference Basketball Team for a second year in a row.
The senior at Saratoga High School learned she was named All Conference shortly after the state basketball championships ,when her coach Matt Love called her.
Smith scored 244 points this year, with an average of 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
“Matt and my team have gotten me really far in my basketball career. It was a really nice honor to have,” Smith said.
Love said in an email it was difficult to get players selected on the All Conference Team when a team doesn’t make it to regionals.
“There are some great players in our conference this year, so it was good to see Taylor receive some recognition,” he said.
Smith has signed with Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., to play volleyball. Smith said she plans to concentrate on her studies and volleyball in college, but might play intramural games.
In working through the challenges, the team has some setbacks, but Love taught her not to dwell on the past.
“Every day is a new day and every practice is a new practice,” Smith said of Love’s advice.
“As long as you start over at every game and give 110 percent of everything you have in your heart, you should be satisfied.”
Smith’s favorite part of basketball was “hanging out with my girls,” Smith said. “We came together as a team this year and it felt pretty good.”
Smith said she appreciated her coach and all the girls who supported her.
Love said Smith will be missed next year, but he is excited about the team’s future.
Kyle Wessel, Gaven Pantle and A.J. Kuster
Only three 1A teams had All Conference players, Encampment, Cokeville and Little Snake River.
The boys were pretty excited to learn they had been named to All Conference.
Wessel, who has a 50-percent average, scored 290 points during the season, had 49 assists and 138 rebounds.
One of five seniors on the team this year, Wessel has played basketball with the other four players for five years.
As the team entered into regionals, it lost two of the senior players to injuries, and the team faced the challenge of adjusting to new starters, Wessel said.
Waddie Love was one of the highest scoring members of the team and helped the Encampment team with its winning streak, Wessel said.
“Kyle was our leading scorer. He made a lot of improvement. He got the baseline drive and was hitting the 15-foot jump shots,” head coach Dan Kraft said. “He had a really good year.”
The winning streak was Wessel’s favorite memory of the season, he said. “We were undefeated and all of the players were coming together,” Wessel said.
Pantle scored 40 percent of his 3-pointers during the season and accumulated 220 points, with 107 assists and 51 rebounds. Pantle scored 52 percent of his 2-pointers.
Pantle, who earned All Conference his junior year, said he was honored to be recognized for his efforts on the court.
“We all compete differently,” Pantle said.
Pantle agreed with Wessel in how the most challenging part of the year was dealing with all the injuries and getting a new starter to work with. The team had a lot of young players this year, Pantle said.
Pantle’s favorite part of the season was the bus ride home after a win. The team was celebrating their win.
“Gaven led our side with assists. He was an extremely unselfish player,” Kraft said. “A great person to have on the team.”
Kuster said he was really proud of his team and that three of the players were chosen for All Conference.
Kuster’s goal for this year was to finish first in rebounds. He accomplished that goal with 244 rebounds, Kuster said. “I am proud of myself for doing something I wanted to do,” Kuster said. This is his first year being named to All Conference.
Kuster scored 270 points, which gave him an average of 12 points per game, hitting 50 percent of the time.
Kuster said as the team approached the end of the season, it was good to look back and see how they had grown, and how he and his teammates had become strong role models for younger members of the team.
Kuster chimed in with Pantle and Wessel on the challenges of this year, those challenges being injuries. “Your game and mentality on the court is more important now,” Kuster said.
Kraft had similar feelings about Kuster’s performance on the court.
“A.J. really stepped it up this year with the rebounding. He was awesome on the boards,” Kraft said. “He really stepped into a leadership role and improved a lot this year.”
All three boys are headed for college in the fall—Wessel to the University of Wyoming, Pantle to Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in Laramie, and Kuster to LCCC in Cheyenne.
They all hope to play basketball.
“They are all great kids. We are certainly going to miss them,” Kraft said.
Kuster’s highlight of the year was how close he and his senior teammates have become during the past 10 years. “I watched them grow and we became a stronger family,” he said.
Pantle said the highlights of his high school basketball career were getting second in conference this year going into regionals and playing Baggs (Little Snake River Valley- LSRV) so closely.
Pantle said he was glad to have the opportunity to improve and have a shot at state his senior year.
The Encampment team lost to LSRV at regionals, losing their chance at state. LSRV went on to win the state championship in 1A basketball.
Four members of LSRV earned All Conference. “It was really cool they won state,” Wessel said. “We knew they deserved it.” Kuster and Pantle agreed.
Reader Comments(0)