Red & Blue Chaos

Fast-paced men’s basketball team takes to the court

Photos & Design | Kaitlyn Seiwert

Story | Cole Deutschendorf & Colin Shields

Usain Bolt. McDonald’s. The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team.

What do those three things have in common? They make their living based on how fast they are.

If you’re in Kansas and looking for the fastest basketball team around, you don’t have to look far. The Blue Dragons men’s team, who were at 17-3 heading to the Jayhawk Conference game on Jan. 26 against Barton, play at an extremely high pace. They run a full-court trapping defense and live beyond the 3-point line when they have the ball.

This makes watching their games entertaining from a spectator’s point of view, but there are some people who struggle to keep up. Three of those people who can fall behind are involved with the team directly, being radio commentators Glen Grunwald and Dan Naccarato, and team statistician and Director of Sports Information, Steve Carpenter.

At one point against Garden City, the Blue Dragons went on a 12-2 run in around one minute of game time.

“The stats were coming in so fast,” Carpenter said. “You were hardly getting the assist for one basket down before a turnover had already occurred.”

The action can come fast and furious for first-year Head Coach Tommy DeSalme’s team, with the Blue Dragons thriving after gaining momentum to their side. The players certainly seem to enjoy it.

Dribbling the ball down the court, #13 Angelo Stuart, East Stroudsburg, Pa., looks for an open teammate. Stuart averaged 21 points per game for the Blue Dragons.

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“It’s pretty awesome, we just go out there, fly around, have fun, execute, pass it around, share the ball, have a lot of assists, and just really push the pace and play like nobody else in the conference does,” said freshman Jayden Garrison, a Little River native.

Even those who think they know what it’s like to play fast don’t really understand at first when playing for DeSalme.

“I thought I played fast before coming to Hutch,” said leading scorer, sophomore guard Angelo Stuart from East Stroudsburg, Pa. “Under Coach

DeSalme and Coach Eric (Nitsche), I mean it is very fast, they say it all the time, we are by far the fastest tempo team in the country and that’s on both sides of the ball. So it is definitely a fun style to play in.”

#11 Jacquez Yow, a guard and forward from Newport News, Va., shoots a three point shot. Yow’s highest scoring game was 23 points on Feb. 12 against Colby Community College.

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Several times over the course of the season, they have had huge comebacks because of their style of play. Eight times, the Blue Dragons have scored in triple digits.

“They were playing Clarendon, Texas, and were down 20 points with seven minutes to go,” Grunwald said. “And in a minute and 34 seconds, they went on a 19-4 run and ended up winning the ball game. That’s just an example of how explosive they are.”

#12 Nate Goodlow, Del City, Okla., gains three more points for the Blue Dragons. The guard had 108 rebounds as of Feb. 24.

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As a radio color commentator, Naccarato can struggle at times to find time to give his explanations for what is happening on the court.

“I wait for dead ball situations and inject brief comments, usually less than three seconds in length,” he said. With so little time to analyze, Nacarrato has to be aware of what is happening during the game at all times.

One positive from how the team plays is their ability to climb themselves out of holes back into games.

“That’s what this team can do. You really never count them out,” Grunwald said.

Carpenter, who has been keeping stats for more than 30 years. He said he has only seen one team faster than the Blue Dragons, and that was DeSalme’s Cowley team from last year, which reached the NJCAA national championship game and lost to Coffeyville.

As experienced as Carpenter is with recording stats, there is one area in which he struggles with the men’s team.

“The biggest thing you’ve got to challenge yourself to do, is just not start watching, because it’s so easy to get caught up in the game,” Carpenter said. “Some people see the fast-paced action and think they’re flying around with their hair on fire, but there is a method to the madness.”

More than anything else, Grunwald said he simply loves the chance to commentate the games. “In one word, it’s just a heck of a lot of fun to call the games,” he said with a smile.

#24 Josiah Harris, New Castle, Del., defends the ball as he gets pushed by a Barton CC player. Averaging 4.9 points per game, Harris scored 9 points against Barton on Jan. 26.

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#5 guard Kobe Campbell, Kansas City, Mo., races down the court to start the next offensive play. On Feb. 12, Campbell scored 25 points against Colby CC.

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Fighting past a Barton CC player, #3 Jayden Hall, Wichita, manages to keep ahold of the ball. As a freshman, Hall had a total of 17 steals as of Feb. 24.

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Trying to get into an open position on the court, #4 Cameron Robins, Independence, Mo., gets caught in the middle of opposing players. Robins made 7 free throws as an 87.5 percent shooter from the line.

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#10 Tarese Morse, Springfield, Mass., dunks the basketball. The 6’5” forward scored 112 points throughout the season.

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Guard #22 Kaimen Lennox, Kansas City, Mo., attempts to put the ball through the basket while a Barton player reaches for a block. Lennox scored 10 points as the Blue Dragons won 95-89.

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