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Show 2001 tg Cv3 1 A Dixie Sun Special Deport Questions about SWACs future The switch from player to coach proves rewarding loom as tournament commences By Stephen Vincent Editor in chief Dixies Gary Colbert stvmcent77hotmail.com looks to pass during This years Scenic West Athletic Conference basketball tournament comes at a tumultuous time. With the announcement that two of the SWACs 10 schools, Ricks College and Treasure Valley Community College, will soon be the Rebels win over Snow last Saturday night in Ephraim. departing the league, questions must be raised about the conferences future. In particular, the future of Track & two SWAC sports Field and Cross Country (Dixie State College does not currently compete in these sports). With the absence of Ricks, photo by Brooke Hansen By Brooke Hansen Photographer thedixtesunhotmail.com Last year, my mother made a home video for my birthday. As a highlight, she included each one of my younger brothers and sisters telling the camera their favorite memory of me. (I felt like I was watching my funeral, but it was funny.) brother, Lan-doMy remember the time when I assisted him in breaking his collarbone by taking a comer too fast in the Red Flyer. I still feel temble about that. Brittany's comment is classic. "She always used to take me outside and help me learn how to play basketball, but whenever I did something wrong she would make me do it over and over and over again. That's why 1 like Tosha to help me." Great memory. No, they love me and being the oldest of 13 was probably perfect experience for working with the women's basketball team. Eleven-year-ol- P lease see SWAC, page S8 Basketball is life for Dixies quiet star point guard Marcus Banks By Marjorie Keele News Editor thedixiesunhotmail com Tearing up the court as point guard for Dixies basketball team is sophomore Marcus Banks. To him, basketball is life. I just like being with the guys everyday, Banks commented. Originally from Las Vegas, Nev., Banks attended Cimmaron High School, where he led the Spartans to state championships in football, as a star quarterback, and basketball, before coming to Dixie College. At Cimmaron, Banks was also recognized for outstanding play for the Spartans, as he was selected as a high school He has enjoyed his stay at Dixie, despite living in the dorms. But Banks has dominated on two-ye- Dixies Marcus Banks finishes cutting down the nets after the Rebels captured the win over Utah Valley on Feb. 24. SWAC regular season championship with a photo by Brooke Hansen Please see Banks, page S8 d I spent my first 18 years in Standrod, Utah. Where? Practically off the map. Limbo or 30 miles from the nearest post office. Population: 22. Everyone always wonders why we all like to play basketball. Then they hear where we live and assume that basketball was all there was to do. I played at Raft River High School in Malta, Idaho and then spent my freshman year at Ricks College playing ball and running After that the Heavens track. I saw the light. On a and opened, whim, I transferred and now I just have to figure out how to fit "I Love St. George" on a license plate. I played last year for Coach Dave LaVetter, Coach Casey McClellan and Coach Mark Larsen and can honestly say I have never enjoyed basketball more. As a player, you care about your game. As a coach, you get to care about a person. They probably don't know how I even fee! and not to get mushy or anything, but I am forever grateful. After the season was over, I would have been willing to do anything to stay, so when Coach LaVetter asked me to be a student assistant coach, I was ecstatic. Literally. Since I crossed over and am on the "other side," I realize that it is actually a whole different dimension. As a player, you mostly cared about one thing, your game. You are dependent on your skills and how coachable you can be. Whether you like your coaches and the girls you play with or not, you have made a commitment, and it must last the whole season. Life becomes an adrenaline roller coaster of bad and good practices, demanding coaches, victory and defeat. Mental strength is mandatory. Everything depends on how well you can make your life revolve around basketball. Oh yeah, and if practice is really hard, you get to throw up. Coaching is all about love and stress. I don't get the opportunity to coach a whole lot, so I don't know everything about strategy, but I do get to learn, observe, be with and help my younger sis, Tosha, who is on the team, and see the more personal side of it. We are their parents right now. We are with them everyday, and we care about everything from who Please see Hansen, page S8 |
