Washington Boys Basketball

Wes Washpun enjoys life at Tennessee

He's been to Maui, faced Duke on ESPN and played before 17,000 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Yes indeed, Wes Washpun likes Tennessee just fine.

"It's been going really well so far," the former Cedar Rapids Washington star told the Metro Sports Report. "I'm getting into the flow of games, I'm starting to figure out how this whole college basketball thing works, find my niche, find out where I fit on the team and how I can help them win."

The winning part, or lack thereof, has been the hardest part. The Volunteers have a 3-6 record and a three-game losing streak heading into Tuesday night's home game against UNC Asheville.

New Tennessee Coach Cuonzo Martin wooed Washpun for Missouri State last winter, and when Martin became the new coach at Tennessee he invited Washpun along. Washpun gladly accepted, spurning a late offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Washpun said he feels good about his decision.

"It's a good place, I'm getting good minutes," he said. "It's really getting me ready for the next level, as far as physical-wise. The athletes you see coming through the SEC are going to be incredible, so it can't help but get me ready and make me a better basketball player."

Washpun is an incredible athlete himself, a 6-foot-1 point guard with a phenomenal vertical leap who can drape his elbow on the rim when he dunks. He was the slam-dunk champion at a prep all-star game at Linn-Mar High School last season, but he hasn't had an opportunity to slam one through in college.

"No, I haven't had any dunks yet," he reported, laughing. "I'm waiting for the first one."

Washpun has played in seven of Tennessee's nine games. He's averaging 13.9 minutes as a reserve and has contributed 11 assists, 10 points, three blocks and three steals. He's had only five turnovers in 97 minutes as a primary ballhandler.

"At this point I've been doing a really good job of playing defense and distributing the ball without turning it over as much," he said. "So I've been feeling pretty good about that.

"I need to work on a lot of my offensive stuff, being able to break down my man and score. I can get to the rim, but it's usually to dish off to somebody else or something like that, it's not really looking to attack hard to score."

Tennessee played three games at the Maui Invitational in Hawaii in late November, including a date with Coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils on ESPN. Washpun grew up watching Duke and "Coach K" on TV, and suddenly he was part of the show with Krzyzewski standing just a few feet away.

"You think about that kind of thing after the game," Washpun said. "In the middle of the game he was just another guy, another coach over there on the opposing team that was trying to beat us.

"I just kind of blanked it out, blanked out the name on their jersey and they were just another team that wanted to get a win. So I went out there and played them just like a regular game."

Tennessee lost to No. 7 Duke, 77-67, and dropped a double-overtime thriller to Memphis, 99-97, before finishing the three-game trip to Maui with a victory over Chaminade. Washpun said he enjoyed his time in Hawaii.

"It was really cool," he said. "I went out there and played hard and tried to do what I was there to do. Our team went out there and competed and we played really hard, and I feel like we put on a pretty good show.

"We've proven we can play with some of the top teams in the country. We just have to go out there every night like we are playing one of the top teams and not play down to our competition and I think we'll be fine."

The Volunteers opened the season with a victory over UNC Greensboro before 17,483 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., and had a home game against Pittsburgh two weeks ago that drew 17,249 fans.

Washpun likes those big crowds.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "I just go out with the mindset thinking that it's just like a Kennedy or Jefferson game as far as the atmosphere, but of course it is a lot bigger and a lot bigger stage. But that really helps me calm down and just play my game."

Washpun had to overcome a few rough spots academically during his years at Washington, but said he's off to a good start at Tennessee.

"I've been doing just fine academically," he said. "I wasn't in danger of any bad grades in any classes, so everything has been going pretty smooth."

Washpun weighs only 163 pounds, which is slight for a point guard in the Southeastern Conference, but he's playing as a true freshman and holding his own.

"The pace of the game is a lot faster, the guys are a lot more physical and stuff like that," he said. "I've learned my role as more of a defensive stopper, and I try to get the guys who have been here and can score a little better involved in the game and then stop my man on defense."

Washpun said he talks with former Washington teammate Josh Oglesby on a regular basis to see how things are going at Iowa. "I talk to Josh usually once or twice a week, just to check in and see how he's doing and see how they're doing and stuff like that," he said.

Washpun could have joined Oglesby at Iowa, but opted to stick with Cuonzo Martin and go to Tennessee even though it meant moving far from home.

"At first it was kind of hard," he said of the transition. "I do miss some of my friends and stuff, but being way from home isn't too bad. Not too bad at all."

J-Hawks work it out with Olson inside

Taylor Olson scored 23 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and Jefferson held off a game Washington, 68-52, Friday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Washington.

Winless Washington (0-5, 0-3) put up a good battle until about the 5-minute mark of the fourth quarter. That's when Olson took over for the unbeaten J-Hawks (6-0, 3-0).

Olson made 13 free throws in the second half. He moved from the perimeter where he usually is the J-Hawks' point guard, to a high post in the second half. That gave him the opportunities he needed to take the ball to the basket and draw the fouls that put him on the line.

“In the first half I was playing a little more on the perimeter but in the second half I was doing more post up stuff and I got fouled a lot more,” explained Olson.  “In the second half, their zone kind of bothered the up-tempo style we like to play, but we settled in and we were just fine.”

Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman said Olson is a multitalented player who can make the transition inside and out.

“Taylor finds a way to be effective and comes he seems to always come up with the play when we need it,” said Ordman.  “He makes everyone around him a better player; he’s just a special kid.”

In the first half Jefferson used an aggressive, trapping half court defense to create turnovers and take a comfortable 34-24 halftime lead.

But the disruptive defense put the J-Hawks in some foul trouble and that foul trouble gave the Warriors the breathing space they needed to launch a challenge that saw them
get back to within two points. But they never quite overcame the Jefferson lead.

“We got down and really battled back,” said Washington Coach Brad Metzger.  “Then it really disappointed me that we lost our composure and let the game get away from us.  We have been progressing at both ends of the court each game, but not enough.”

Alec Saunders was the beneficiary of Jefferson’s aggressive first half defense and led Jefferson with nine points at the break. But foul trouble limited his playing time in the second half.  He finished with 15 points.

“We love to make the other team scramble to disrupt their offense and create turnovers,” said Saunders.  “We took advantage of that in the first half.”

Jefferson was playing a little short-handed on the bench. Creighton Robinson missed his third straight game because of injury and the J-Hawks got a little thin when Saunders and Tyler Hemphill fouled out.

“We were playing without some kids because of injuries tonight so those fouls were a problem for us once they began mounting up,” said Ordman. “But we got through it.”

Washington was led in scoring by David Tann with 13 points and Jason Oney was also in double figures with 10.

Next up for Jefferson is a non-conference game at North Cedar on Tuesday night.

Washington is idle until after the holiday break.

JEFFERSON (68): Saunders 6 3-7 15, Kramer 3 0-0 7, Hemphill 4 0-1 9, T.Olson 7 14-21 28, Underwood 3 2-4 8, J.Olson 0 1-2 1, Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 20-35 68.

WASHINGTON (52): Tann 3 6-10 13, Butterfield 1 0-0 3, Moa 3 0-0 8, Holmes 4 0-1 9, Bredl 1 1-2 3, Oney 3 3-4 10, Nash 2 0-2 4, Bergstrom 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Clark 1 0-0 2, Kramer 0 0-0 0, Bil 0 0-0 0, Rosenthal 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 10-19 52.

Halftime — Jefferson 34 Washington 24. 3-point goals — Jefferson 2 (Kramer 1, Hemphill 1)  Washington 6 (Tann 1, Butterfield 1, Moa 2, Holmes 1, Oney 1).  Fouled out -- Saunders, Hemphill.

Warriors fall to 0-4 with loss at Wahlert

DUBUQUE - The Cedar Rapids Washington boys basketball team scored 60 points Tuesday night, by far its best output of the season.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, the other team scored 23 points more than they did.

Jake May pumped in 24 points and snared 14 rebounds as Dubuque Wahlert trumped Washington, 83-60, in a Mississippi Valley Conference ballgame in Dubuque.

Washington (0-4) had scored only 29, 32 and 35 points in its first three games, trying to rebuild after losing Josh Oglesby (Iowa) and Wes Washpun (Tennessee) to major college teams. The Warriors got their offense untracked a little bit Tuesday, but the defense sprung a leak.

Nate Burks scored 18 points for Dubuque Wahlert (2-2) and Riley McCarron popped in 17.

Peter Holmes had a big game for Washington with 20 points and nine rebounds. David Tann scored 10 points. Jason Oney collected five assists for the Warriors.

WASHINGTON (60): Montaves Anderson 0 0-1 0, David Tann 5 0-0 10, Brock Butterfield 0 1-2 1, Austin Bergstrom 1 0-0 3, Cybryan Moa 2 0-0 6, Peter Holmes 8 4-4 20, David Rosenthal 0 0-0 0, Logan Schulte 0 0-0 0, Jason Oney 3 0-0 7, Noah Burdt 0 0-0 0, Heath Clark 0 3-3 3, Sam Bil 0 0-4 0, Jacob Kramer 0 0-0 0, Sean Bredl 4 0-0 8, Paul Nash 1 0-0 2, Zachari Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-14 60.

WAHLERT (83): Riley McCarron 6 3-4 17, Sam Koenig 0 1-2 1, Brady Williams 2 2-2 6, Connor Krueger 0 0-0 0, Josh Tranel 1 0-0 2, Jake May 8 6-10 24, Nate Burks 4 10-12 18, P.J. Fricano 0 0-0 0, Chad Heidesch 4 1-2 9, Nick Nemmers 2 0-0 4, Kyle Steines 0 0-0 0, Alec Dietzel 0 0-0 0, John Burgmeier 0 0-0 0, Matt Varley 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 23-32 83.

Halftime - Wahlert 43, Washington 29. 3-point goals - Washington 4 (Moa 2, Bergstrom 1, Oney 1), Wahlert 4 (McCarron 2, May 2). Fouled out - Oney, Bredl.

Marcus Morgan doesn't let disability slow him down

Marcus Morgan is a polite young man who calls people "Sir," smiles freely, enjoys his classes in money management and biology, loves to play basketball, believes strongly in God and certainly does not feel sorry for himself.

"He's one of the nicest kids to be around," says Dan Rhine, his coach on the sophomore basketball team at Cedar Rapids Washington. "Very positive with his teammates."

Marcus plays basketball with one arm, essentially. And he plays it well, with passion. His left arm is not fully formed and is bent permanently at the elbow, a nerve-related birth defect that hasn't prevented him from succeeding on the court.

"I love basketball," he says simply. "I just don't let anything keep me down."

Marcus had two operations when he was younger in an attempt to improve his physical condition, but neither operation was a success. "After awhile I was like, 'Mom, God made me this way for a reason. Let's just keep it like this.'"

Marcus says his parents, Steven and Labetta Morgan, encourage him to try anything he wants, including basketball.

Marcus has been playing basketball since he was in the third grade. He's now the sixth man for the Washington sophomores, a 5-foot-9 guard who handles the ball well with his right hand, makes good passes, plays defense and brings a spark to the team with his quickness and attitude.

"He's remarkable for having the handicap that he does," says Rhine. "His dribbling and some of the passes he comes up with, you'd never guess that he would be able to make those kind of plays.

"I think his strength right now is defense. He's so aggressive and he's so good at slapping at the ball. And people just don't take him as seriously as they need to.

"Offensively, he gets going a little too high speed. He gets a little out of control, but he's soon going to learn how to handle both ends of the court."

Marcus wants to be treated like everyone else. No better, no worse.

"I actually hate when people kind of feel sorry for me, because I feel like I'm regular, like they are," he says. "I happen to have this arm, and that's about it. I look at it like God put me this way for a reason."

He enjoys proving people wrong, especially people who don't think he can play basketball with only one good arm. "Yeah, I love doing that," he admits.

To his teammates, he's just Marcus. They know how good he is and what he can do, but there's usually an element of surprise from other teams and their fans. He's heard people say "wow" or go "oooh" when he does something they don't expect.

"Some people after a game come up and say, 'You really inspire me,' or 'Man, you're really good, keep it up.' It feels great."

Marcus quotes a bible verse from Philippians when he's talking about his arm and his determination to succeed in all walks of life, not just basketball. "I can do everything through him who gives me strength," he says from memory. "That keeps me going every day."

Marcus cradles the ball to his body when he catches a pass, using his left arm for support under the ball. He's learned how to shoot with years of practice, although there's at least one thing he cannot do.

"We do a drill where you have to shoot a left-hand layup," says Rhine. "So he looks at me and goes, 'Not me, right?' Not you, Marcus."

Basketball players are taught to use their off-hand to support the ball when they shoot, but Marcus has learned to shoot his own way. "I don't even think about it. I just shoot it," he says. "It's like a routine now."

He can score, dribble, set up teammates for baskets, grab a rebound, play defense. "I can do all things," he says simply. "It depends on what I need to do to help my team."

Marcus does not play any other sports at Washington, but not because he can't. "I try to focus on basketball, because that's what I want to do when I grow up," he says.

He plans to play for the varsity at Washington next season when he's a junior. "Yes, sir," he says without a hint of doubt.

"He definitely has a chance to play varsity ball," says Rhine. "I think there would be a team that would be very happy to have somebody like Marcus on their team.

"He is a legit player. He is a legit person. He's just a darn nice kid to be around."

Marcus says he likes basketball for another reason, aside from playing the game. "Because I can inspire people," he says. "Through God, I can inspire anyone."

He thinks he was given a birth defect for a reason. "I would say God picked me. That's all I can say. Things happen for a reason.

"You have to trust in God and let him do his work."