Sports360AZ
Story by Daniel Rios
Two things will stand out on the hardwood when catching a Prescott boy’s basketball game.
One being a 6-foot-10 center who looks like a man among boys in most match ups or a 5-foot-11 guard trying to break the rim every chance. Those two would be seniors Zane Gaul and Uriah Tenette. The two are the horsepower for the Badgers this season and take every opportunity to show off their competitiveness – Monday was no different.
The Badgers participated in the fifth Martin Luther King Dream Classic at Mountain Pointe HighSchool on Monday afternoon against the Barry Goldwater Bulldogs. The competitiveness was on full display for Gaul and Tenette, as they ensured it wasn’t close, the Badgers (8-1) handling business 89-26 against the Bulldogs (3-8).
“They’ve been in the gym since they were freshmen,” Badger head coach Travis Stedman said.”Zane and Uriah were starters as freshmen on the varsity team. Zane, specifically, is very vocal;he’s very competitive. Uriah is a ‘get on my back’ let me take you where we’re going. Zane is gonna tell you how to get there.”
It took 10 seconds for Tenette to introduce himself to the crowd on Monday afternoon. Right after Gaul won the tip-off, the ball quickly found the hands of Tenette, who slammed it down for the dunk and woke up the entire arena.Tenette finished the game with 22 points and accounted for five steals, mostly leading to even more dunks. He even decided to try a windmill in the middle of the second quarter that didn’t fall.
He took the lead early and sustained it, but he still showed aggression and energy on the defensive end, competing until the very last second he was on the floor.
It’s not just the hardwood but the football field for Tenette Being a two-sport athlete is demanding but seems effortless for the guard. He accumulated 3,044 yards and 36 touchdowns this past offseason. Some of those football traits indeed show themselves on the basketball court.
Aggression is one of them for him, as in the Badger’s full-court press, Tenette lets that natural aggression take over, making it hard for any guard to take the ball up.
“Just go out there and play hard on both ends of the floor,” Tenette said. “Being out in front of the press that’s big for us. To finish plays, and that’s what we wanted to do …..The aggression,the physicality, I don’t feel like I’m small out on the basketball court just because I played football.”
Gaul was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points. That vocal leader was displayed as the Badgers ran the full-court press. Gaul told his teammates when they needed to switch, and he was even vocal when they scored.
Being the tallest player on the court can come with its advantages. Gaul doesn’t see it that way, as he focuses on his game and sticking to what he does. He doesn’t overstep demanding the ball and focuses on crashing the glass, creating more opportunities for himself and his teammates.
“We know we have to play every game the same way, as hard as we can,” Gaul said. “So we can get ready for the better teams and the better games, more competition out there.”
The goal is straightforward with this Badgers squad – holding up a golden ball at the end of the season.
There is one aspect within this team that can separate themselves from others in the state and their conference. It’s not the eight seniors on the roster but the family and chemistry within this team. Most of the team has played together since middle school, since AAU. Developing and growing with each other is a significant advantage for the hardwood.
Multiple NBA “superteams” fail as they cannot figure out how to work together and never gain that chemistry. While the Badgers aren’t in the NBA, chemistry affects teams even at the highest level. The trust gained throughout years of playing with each other is evident.
It’s a clear advantage that no one can take away from them. It took patience and time to get here.
“It’s kind of Prescott in general,” Stedman said. “Like these kids have all grown up since they’re about four years old, and they’ve all done stuff, whether it’s little league baseball or y basketball or rec basketball, or they’ve done stuff, and they’ve all grown up like this group specifically is very, very tight.”
Growing up and playing together is something that people can experience once. Not many can say that doing it while playing a sport is special. This Badger team can, and it’s a bittersweet season for all eight seniors. Gaul and Tenette gave interesting answers about describing this team and season in one word.
Family and Unique.
“We all want the same thing; we all want to play hard, and we all want to get each other better,” Gaul said.
