Gilroy High boys’ basketball coach Bud Ogden was justifiably
concerned with what he had available Tuesday for the Alumni Game at
Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium.
He had just eight players suited up against 29 for the
alumni.
Gilroy – Gilroy High boys’ basketball coach Bud Ogden was justifiably concerned with what he had available Tuesday for the Alumni Game at Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium.
He had just eight players suited up against 29 for the alumni. In fact, Ogden contemplated having his team play one or two 10-minute quarters. When he saw the effort he got, he opted for a third 10-minute session.
Although no scorebook was kept, the current-day Mustangs defeated the Alumni 41-36 with Marshad Johnson sweeping the boards clean with 20 rebounds.
It was a different story in the girls’ game. With Dana Schoeneman controlling the middle and Vanessa Wilkins using her quickness on the outside, Gilroy beat the Alumni 45-37. Schoeneman finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Wilkins handed out four assists.
But scoring and statistics took a backseat to fun and a large crowd seemed to enjoy the festivities.
The Alumni men took the court to Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town.” They were able to run fresh players in at any time.
Meanwhile, Ogden had just Johnson, Ryan Costa, Stephen Galtman, Elijah Harrell, Derek Jensen, Destry Jones, Michael Martinez and Kevin Siha available. Jason Conrad missed the game because of sickness and Kameron Handy sat out after getting elbowed in the eye during Monday’s practice. And Spencer Ford, Lorenzo Dobson and Javin Charlot await their Dec. 1 eligibility hearing by the Central Coast Commission.
“It feels great to be back,” said Grant Richards, GHS class of 1986. “I love basketball. I coached at Gavilan and never miss any of the games. I see five, six Gilroy high games a year.
“This is a good group of guys. We had 32 in all show up. Last year we had 12. The word’s getting out. Next year, I turn 40 and will come back in really good shape.”
Conditioning seemed to be a big problem with the Alumni girls. Kristen Campos did toss in a couple of treys, much like during the last three seasons when she was the Mustangs’ best long-range bomber.
“None of us are in shape,” said Campos, a member of the Santa Barbara City College team that recently won a junior college golf state title. “I think if we were in better shape we would have won, if we could have had practice.”
Former GHS coach Kari Williams, who coached the Alumni, smiled when it was suggested that her team wasn’t in the best of shape. Campos remembered how Williams made the girls do lots of running and how it prepared them for the long season.
“I miss the girls,” said Williams, now the golf coach at Columbia University. “Golf (doesn’t offer) quite the adrenaline rush as you get on a last-second play to win a game. This was a good, fun event.”
