Basketball is so ingrained in Lick culture that sometimes it is easy to overlook how it brings the Lick community together, especially during the big game at Oracle.
Lick students and faculty are inspired by the men and women on the L-W basketball teams as well as a host of college and professional players.
We stopped Julian Chavez ’18 in the courtyard; he relaxed on a bench as he pondered the question. “A player that inspired me?” he asked incredulously. He thought for a moment, “Muggsy Bogues.” He mimed a pump-fake while crouching, imitating the man who, at 5’3, was the shortest NBA player ever. “He was an All-Star!” Chavez exclaimed. “He was part of the national team when they won the FIBA World Cup. He was in the NBA for 14 seasons. Muggsy proved that height doesn’t matter when you’re playing basketball, and that [smaller people] can still be big-bodied in a tall body sport.” Many Lick students are motivated by the smaller players who excelled in a sport dominated by physical giants.
Natan Johnson-Potter ’18 described his inspiration, Nate Robinson, who despite standing at only 5’9 won the NBA dunk contest in 2006. “Nate Robinson’s work ethic is what inspires me to work hard,” said Johnson-Potter. “Being that short and playing at that level requires a lot of work.”
We found Shaun Lopez, Lick-Wilmerding History Teacher, playing basketball in the gym, throwing lazy layups and trying the occasional three pointshot. “You’re not going to know who he is, guys,” he warned, taking two dribbles and adjusting his aim. He took the shot and it careened off of the backboard. He grimaced, then adjusted his attention back to the question. “His name was Omel Nieves, and he played for Fresno State [University],” he said. As a young person, Lopez had seen Nieves become the first Latino on the Fresno State basketball team, in a community that was predominantly Hispanic. “He wasn’t the star… and he sat on the end of the bench,” said Lopez, “[but] he was Latino and he looked like me and like all the other Latinos in the community.” From those revelatory moments in his childhood, Lopez has harbored a lifelong passion for basketball. “He was the only guy that looked like me and he made me want to play,” he said, before taking another shot.
For many, the greatest players have always been those with the uncanny ability to make those around them better. Steve Nash, whose career spanned two decades and included a coveted MVP award, is a hero of Jared Ticktin ’17. A model athlete, Steve Nash excelled in multiple sports including soccer and ice hockey. “His tremendous work ethic, and his ability to pursue as well as be good at multiple sports really inspired me to work hard in multiple sports,” says Ticktin, who in addition to being a basketball fan, is an avid soccer player. “His passion for soccer, which he took into basketball… has showed me that anything is possible. He was a great passer. That was a really large part of his game, to be able to set up others with balls. He could take charge of the court… His ability to make the players around him better was incredible.”
If Lick’s basketball culture could be attributed to one man, it would be Coach Eliot Smith, who, in addition to heading the Athletics Department, coaches the Varsity Boys’ basketball team and organizes the annual Lick vs. University game at Oracle. We pulled him aside amidst a hurried conversation to ask him about his basketball inspirations. He paused before describing a high school player that made a mark on him while he was in middle school. “When you’re in eighth grade, and you see the attention that he gets, and you see the fans screaming—When I was a kid I wanted to be that guy. You watched, and that was what you worked for. I wanted to be on varsity someday, I wanted to make those shots.” He paused again. When he resumed, his demeanour was milder, some of the emotion gone. “And you know, when you [get older] you realize that it’s not as important—back then it meant everything.” He smiled, looking back at us. “But as I have gotten older,” he said, “the kids have become like heroes to me.”
Coach Smith thought about the characteristics that make a player. He contemplated, sat back on the bench, and responded simply, “Players make plays…When you look at their heart, their attitude, and how they cope during adversity, that’s when you know you’ve found a great role model.” Motioning back to the court, he said, “Having a positive attitude, high-fiving your teammates, and being a leader are all significant characteristics of a great player.” For Coach Smith there are no greater role models than the young people that work hard to achieve their dreams. He smiled when he described the player that had such an impact on him in his own formative years: “Watching him… gave me passion for the game of basketball. It made me work day and night. It made me work harder to achieve my dream because I knew there was no shortcut to success.”
In basketball, the court is just where the game is played, not where it ends. For members of the Lick community who grew up with the sport, the athletes that overcome difficult odds to achieve unlikely success are a lasting source of inspiration.
