Options galore
Being at a size disadvantage against a formidable opponent on the road isn’t exactly the kind of situation Dierks Coach Kevin Alexander likes for his team to be presented with. But there was no way the Outlaws could sidestep the predicament they were in earlier this week against Magnet Cove.
“Man, they are big,” Alexander said of the Panthers. “6-8, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. … it was a scary matchup for us. And the thing is, one of our strengths is our inside game, and they made us look small. They kind of took us out of our inside game, and we had to do something else to get going.”
The good thing about Dierks is that they have no problem deviating away from one strong point and pivoting to something else that works.
With his leading scorer slowed against Magnet Cove’s huge frontcourt, Alexander turned to sophomore guard Andrew Mack, who scored 25 points in the first half to help Dierks (12-0, 3-0 2A-7), the No. 1 team in Class 2A, come away with an important 53-40 victory.
Senior forward Austin Mack averages a teamleading 18 points for Dierks but was held to just eight points in the game. Fortunately for the Outlaws, others picked up the slack.
“The biggest key with this group is that they all know their role, and every single one of them play together,” Alexander said. “They don’t care who scores as long as we’re winning. Magnet basically shut Austin down, but his little brother [Andrew] went off. And then Andrew Hill, my other big, had 17.
“But that’s what’s helped us all year. We’ve got three scorers that at any night can go for 30. But as long as we’re winning games, they literally don’t care who scores.”
Alexander put that theory into perspective when he recalled how his team reacted during a recent trip to Texas before Christmas break.
“One night, Andrew Hill went for 30, and then the next night, Andrew Mack went for 30,” he explained. “The next night, Austin Mack went for 30. That’s just how it is with this group. To them, they could care less if they score a point. They’re all about each other.”
One other benefit that’s aided Dierks’ hot start is the play of guard Ethan Starwalt, whom Alexander praised for his ability to take care of the ball.
“He absolutely doesn’t turn it over,” he said. “He knows his roll. Now, he can step up and shoot it if he has to, but he knows to get the ball to our big three. Against Magnet, he got us into a shot every trip, and that’s huge.
“He’s like another coach on the court. He’ll come to me and say ‘coach, we haven’t run this play, do you want to run it’? And I’m like ‘yeah, good call’. His twin brother, Evan, has been big, too. He does all the dirty work, like taking charges, getting the tough rebounds and taking on the other team’s best player if he has to. It’s just been a total team effort.”