KINGSTON — KT Deam and Connor Wall broke school records recently. But the two senior players won’t take all the credit for themselves.
Deam broke the record for points in a game Feb. 1 against the North Kitsap Vikings. Deam scored 31 of the Bucs’ 81 points; the Vikings lost with 56. The previous school record was held by both Sam Byers and Zane Ravenholt, who each scored 28 points individually.
Richie Sander’s 3-point total of 59 in a season was surpassed by Wall Feb. 5 against the Klahowya Eagles; the Eagles lost 70-33. Wall increased his total 3-pointers this season to 61. And the Bucs still have at least two more games this season.
When asked about their performances, the first remarks the two made were not about themselves, but about the team.
Deam gets a lot of shot opportunities because of everything the team is doing around him, he said. The team’s passing helps, as the Bucs are able to “find open guys a lot,” he said. In fact, the Bucs “have so many different factors” that it becomes a challenge in not finding players to pass to.
However, Deam undersell’s himself.
During the game against the Vikings, as he worked his way to a school record, Deam seemed unstoppable at times. The senior Buccaneer can find a hole to the basket, sometimes even when there isn’t one.
And it’s not just shots Deam is making, as he often has a high amount of assists for the team as he works to keep the ball in the Bucs’ possession. Deam had 10 assists against the Vikings, something head coach Blake Conley respects him for.
“The points are great,” Conley said. “But to have 31 points and 10 assists, it shows what kind of player he is.”
When it comes to Wall’s 3-pointers, he credits the rest of the team and the coaching staff just as much or more than his own performance.
Wall did not think about the record during the games, he said. Before and after the games, it was a different story. Getting the school 3-point record was a goal of his from the start of the season.
Wall said all of the coaching staff makes sure to give him pointers on how he can improve, or adjust, in making those long baskets — not just after a game, but during the game.
“It’s nice to know that the coaching staff is always watching, to tell me what I can do better,” Wall said.
Wall said that without his team, he wouldn’t have those open shots. The team is able to make focusing-in on one Buccaneer player difficult, giving him time to sink those 3-pointers.
The team isn’t always relying on a few players, however. Wall said the Bucs “play to our individual strengths each game.”
Conley told Wall at the beginning of the season he needed to hit the threes as one of his roles on the 2012-13 team. Wall was not selfish when it came to making 3-pointers, Conley said.
Though Wall had the school record on his mind, he said he wasn’t even thinking about the record after the victory over the Eagles. It wasn’t until coach Dave Cox congratulated him that he realized he had achieved his goal.
