Unshakable belief between coach, players & community led San Ramon Valley to first state title
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wo flights of stairs below court level at Haas Pavilion on the Cal-Berkeley campus, San Ramon Valley High point guard Keith Smith is leaning against a hallway wall as he prepares to answer questions for a postgame interview. After playing all 40 minutes of a double-overtime California Interscholastic Federation Division I State Championship victory — the first in his school’s rich basketball history — it’s the least the wall can do to provide the Wolves’ point guard some much-needed rest. But tell the 7,000-plus fans who watched the 79-71 San Ramon Valley win unfold, and many might fight the imagery,
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SportStars™
April 2015
Story by Chace Bryson | Photos by Phillip Walton asking: Could it be that Smith was the one holding up the wall? This story is about leaning, and support. For 33 games of the 2014-15 season, the Wolves leaned upon their 10 seniors. Perhaps none carried the load more than Smith, who cranked out one of his greatest games on the biggest stage with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds against Chino Hills. But when he needed support, fellow seniors like Christian Fuca, Kyle Spackman, Gregg Polosky, Drew Kunde and J.J. Koski were all there to make big play after big play. Subscribe to s360 at SportStarsOnline.com
“It’s cliché to say they’re family, but that’s who they are,” San Ramon Valley coach Brian Botteen said of the seniors in the immediate aftermath of the state championship victory. “These guys have been so close for so many years. The first day in summer camp when we watched them as freshmen, they beat our seniors in a pick-up game. You knew there was something there because of their cohesiveness. They’re just family. That’s why they were able to pull it out tonight.” Then there’s Botteen. If it weren’t for an outpouring of support from the San Ramon Valley basketball community back in May 2014, the Wolves’ boys junior varsity coach of seven years would not have been hired as the replacement of the Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook!