By Timothy Hubert
Casper College is unique in so many ways. The student living experience, professors, courses, and campus activities all have their own flare, and give many students and staff members a place they are proud to call home.
One thing that the students, staff, and community have the awesome opportunity to take pride in, is the Casper College athletic programs. These programs can be known by their on-court or on-field success but also by the team chemistry these diverse groups play with. Most of these players come from different backgrounds, but play with similar motivations. These motivations are to hopefully compete at the national level, gain the attention of higher level coaches and scouts, and eventually play at the highest level possible in pursuit of their lifelong dreams.
This is especially true of players on the T-bird men’s basketball team, specifically redshirt sophomore, combo guard, Ethan Connery. The Akron native, Ethan is attending Casper College for the second consecutive year after sitting out under redshirt status last season. After being part of the team daily in practices and being a vocal leader from the sidelines last year, Ethan looks to help lead the T-birds to a regional championship and a national tournament appearance. He will have a strong team behind him led by the Division 1 prospect, three level scorer, Abdul Bashir, the double-double machine, Stephen Osei, and sophomores Yel Deeng and Nate Sasser III to name a few. This group is poised for a very successful season that has the potential to leave a legacy in the Casper College community as well as each player’s personal basketball journey.
Ethan has faced his fair share of ups and downs in his basketball career. He was a member of the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School Basketball team, the same high school that produced basketball legend LeBron James. This talented squad brought home two Ohio State championships in Ethan’s tenure there. He then committed to Wittenberg University, a division 3 school located in Springfield, Ohio. After a season of struggling to find play time and opportunities and averaging just 2.8 points per game that season, Ethan felt he could prove himself more and accomplish his goals somewhere else.
“Things didn’t really go the way I planned and I definitely wanted a bigger path for me, especially getting to the D1 level and playing overseas, so I wanted to bet on myself and decided to come to Casper,” Ethan said. He then arrived in Casper slightly late, which factored into him and the coaches coming to a mutual agreement of him sitting out for a year as a redshirt.
As a redshirt player, Ethan spent the entirety of the season practicing with the team, pushing them to be better, while retaining that year of eligibility. Although he is in his third year of college, Ethan is considered a sophomore in athletics and has two remaining years as an eligible athlete due to the redshirt. Although he had to watch from the sideline, patiently waiting for where he is today, hearing his name called on game days, he took that opportunity as a chance to improve tremendously as a player and teammate. He looked at the redshirt opportunity, as a very good one, by trying to make the most of it. “I really wanted to take a year to grow as a player, and really just put in a lot of work to work on my body and get a lot better in the game of basketball” he said, about his redshirt year. Although his role on the team changed going into this season, his mindset for himself and the team remained constant.
He wanted to approach this season head on, compete day in and day out, hoping to see his hard work pay off. Some of that work has already been rewarded as he was offered his first Division 1 basketball scholarship this summer. This offer was from Radford University, in Virginia, while he continues to get looks from other major schools.
As a spectator, Ethan’s unique playstyle will likely catch your attention. He is a competitor on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. At 6’ 4”, he is oftentimes the shortest player on the court.
This, however, does not affect him on the glass, as he averages the most rebounds per game on the entire team with 8.2. He also is usually tasked with defending some of the opposing team’s best offensive players. He thrives on the defensive end of the ball, averaging nearly 3 steals a game. The passion he plays with is unlike many players. Through 9 games, Ethan is also averaging 12 points per game, on 45% shooting, as well as, 4 assists per game, in an impressive 32 minutes per game on the court. One of his best games of the season thus far came in an exciting matchup between them and Northeastern JC. In a game riddled with injuries, flagrant fouls, tempers flaring, and an overall intense game, Ethan matched and at times exceeded the intensity of the other players on the court. With the T-birds down 7 with just 3 minutes and 40 seconds to play, Connery hit a pivotal 3 pointer assisted by Parker Davis, drew an offensive foul on the defensive side, then returned the favor by assisting a 3 pointer to Parker Davis to cut the deficit to one. They proceeded to complete the comeback, winning 89-86 over NJC. Ethan would finish with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block to help lead the T-birds to victory.
Through 11 games, the T-Birds have a record of 9-2, with victories against North Idaho twice, Air Force prep, Fort Hays Tech Northwest, Northeastern JC, Yavapai college, Miles Community College, Lake Region State College, and McCook Community College. Their 2 defeats came at the hands of Monroe University and North Idaho in their 3rd matchup of the season. The stakes only will get higher for this Casper squad as they will play 6 tough games around the holiday season, before the highly anticipated start of conference play on January 16th, when Casper travels to Powell, Wyoming to take on Northwest College.
First they must head to Gillette for the “border wars” where they will take on Miles Community College for the second meeting of the season, and the next day take on North Dakota state college of science.