NOT HOOPS But a family update

Mom is having her knee replacement surgery Friday.

Sarah Graduates from SUNY Potsdam with her BA (in 2 1/2 years) Looking to go for her masters this fall!
She got her second Geek of the month award in Feb to go with the one she won in November at Best Buy!

And Marcus is asking a girl to the prom today! SCARY! ( she is one of the stars on our state runnerup girls Varsity basketball team too and a very pretty girl. Broke her nose and chipped 2 teeth in a game in January wears a Rip hamilton mask to finish the season with and in the sectionals and states averaged over 20 PPG. A very tough player that has drawn over 25 charges this year!)
And today he turns 17 !!
Geesh seems like yesterday we totted him home from the hospital all 11 lbs 3 oz of him!


Suppose to be 80 degrees today..............

So can I take the blower of the tractor and put the MOWER on? We have had many severe snowstorms in March in the past and in April too!

beat

Beat,

Sounds like never a dull moment. Congrats on Sarah, good luck for your mom and Marcus, and I don't know what to say when Syracuse is warmer than Southern California in March.

Outside

Beat,

Here's wishing your mom all the best with an operation that's never fun but which has become so much more commonplace over the years. She has been through a lot, and she deserves as quick and easy a recovery as possible.

From that first time we all met in Boston, I knew that Sarah was destined for some quality achievements in life. Masters aspirations sound about right. Many, many congratulations to her for getting up from a little setback 2 2/1 years ago and persevering. I'm not at all surprised, but I'm very, very happy for her.

As for Marcus.....17? Really? That really knocked the wind out of me! Obviously, he has broadened his priorities in life since we last met. Go Marcus! So this young lady has taken more than 25 charges this year. I guess there won't be any question of Marcus minding his manners at the prom. Here's hoping both of them have a blast. We'll need prom pictures.

And, as always, best of everything to the person who steadfastly holds it all together as you, Sarah and Marcus engage in all these adventures. You have a super family!

By the way, that's a great picture of two really good-looking young people.

Sam

Beat Hope your Mom makes out well with her surgery, one of our good friends just had his knee operated on, rehab is tough but if she sticks with it
she should be fine. God Bless her.

Sounds like the kids are growing up fast!! Where is Sarah going to go for her
Masters? I have a daughter who would still be in school if she could! She
loved school so much, did her Bachelor's at Suffolk University and her masters
at BC. Give the kids credit, they at least are working hard at it, good luck to her.


My best to you and your family, sounds like you raised terrific kids.

Thanks everyone

Here is a video of Marcus's girlfriend
She was the Post Standard (Syracuse) player of the week a couple weeks ago.

The video takes a little time to load so be patient but it is a nice piece done pretty well. Austin thinks she did terrible.

Here is the clip
http://highschoolsports.syracuse.com/videoplayer/3653702/honor-athlete-of-the-week-austin-stevens-of-south-jefferson/


beat

beat,

Quite a busy bunch down at the East end of the lake!

Good luck to your mom; I'm sure she'll do fine, just keep the rehab exercises going!

Sarah and Marcus just keep cruising along. Great to see Sarah get her undergraduate work wrapped up so quickly, especially if it saves mom and dad a little that they can turn around and put into Marcus' eventual school choice.

Marcus' girlfriend's team beat one of our local teams, Aquinas, for state champion. I think it was something like 47-41.

Pretty warm over here too, around 80 today and tomorrow. We've got all the patio furniture out and have already had dinner out there a couple of times. Very unusual for Western NY in March, but I'll take it!

Regards

NY Celt

Actually that game was a semi final and yes the score was 47-41 Austin played well and I believe had 17 points and 12 boards ( and drew 2 charges) plus she played a bigger girl on D and did pretty well. And like most of the games since the sectionals began she played every minute as the team is not very deep.

Plus wife just emailed me and he officially has a date for the prom!

Looks like baseball will be in a battle for his free time right now.

beat

beat wrote:NY Celt

Actually that game was a semi final and yes the score was 47-41 Austin played well and I believe had 17 points and 12 boards ( and drew 2 charges) plus she played a bigger girl on D and did pretty well. And like most of the games since the sectionals began she played every minute as the team is not very deep.

Plus wife just emailed me and he officially has a date for the prom!

Looks like baseball will be in a battle for his free time right now.

beat

Yeah that's right, semi's...my mistake.

Date for the prom's all set? "Dad, can I borrow the car?"

Michael is doing his best Marcus impression. Not being content with just Little League he tried out for a Babe Ruth League team this past fall. He did about average in the first day of the tryout but really came up big in the second, especially with the bat. As a result he's had practice every Sunday morning and every other Friday night since early January. They get outside soon, and the deal with the Babe Ruth team is they must maintain their place on their Little League team as well. I'll manage the Little League team again so he'll hopefully be one of my ringers. His baseball tournaments will take him up to mid-July and we start football practice Aug 1. We move up to full contact this year and I've already chosen my assistants, nearly all of whom have way more impressive coaching credentials than me (can you see a strategy on my part?). Our town will field 2 teams at the 8-9 year old level so I've got some pre-draft negotiation to do with the other coach. Wonder how he holds his beer...?

Regards

NYCelt

Still only has his permit! No rush to get the license.

"Son you can have the car but I'm riding in it too!"

Did I mention too that her favorite player is Rondo!

beat

A Rondo fan? Well there's a sign of an intelligent young lady!

beat,

She IS cute. Lucky Marcus. He better be a gentleman or she'll give him matching chipped teeth. Obviously, she's not afraid of elbows...I guess you're going to have to find yourself a new best friend.

Knee replacement is nothing. Hell, in this day and age hip replacement is no big deal anymore.

That's great news about Sarah. Scholars always welcome!

bob

.

Bob

here are a couple shots of her in action.

Guess who just a split second after this photo called a time out to save the possession! Smart too.



Here she is going in for a layup for 2 of her team leading 13 points in the final against defending 2 time state (now 3) champions Irvington.



beat

PS here is her story in the post standard


The emergency paper-mache project began with a trip to Michael’s craft store to buy rigid wrap. Roy Stevens and his daughter, Austin, hurried home and cleared out a spot in the family living room to work. There, Stevens began the process of dunking the individual strips of plastic gauze in water and delicately placing them to form a mold. The subject was his daughter’s face.


Austin Stevens now wears the result of that project. It’s a protective mask that allows the South Jefferson High School forward to play basketball. Friday, Stevens will lead the undefeated Spartans (23-0) against Rochester Aquinas (15- in a semifinal contest of the Class B state basketball tournament. The 10 a.m. game is at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.


Stevens, who broke her nose and cracked two front teeth in a horrific accident during a game in late January, has returned with a vengeance. The 14-year-old sophomore is averaging more than 20 points during the playoffs and leads the Spartans in rebounding, averaging 7.5 a game. Stevens has been selected as The Post-Standard’s honor athlete of the week.


“Her game has blossomed in the past month,” said South Jeff head coach Pat Bassett, who will hit the 300-win plateau if the Spartans win another state title this weekend. “She’s found this other level.”


Stevens scored 27 points in a regional championship victory over Oneonta last week. She had 23 in a Section III playoff win over previously undefeated Westhill. Stevens did so playing with a plastic mask strapped to her face following a collision in a Jan. 24 game against Altmar-Parish Williamstown.

-- Watch the video interview with Austin Stevens

Stevens said she dived on the floor for a loose ball. An opposing player accidentally fell on top of her, driving Stevens’ face into the court. She suffered a broken nose and cracked her front teeth.


For Roy and Sydney Stevens, it was a horror show. Austin’s parents waited in the stands until an assistant coached summoned them. It was suggested they visit a hospital emergency room.


“You’re just in shock,” said Sydney Stevens, Austin’s mother. “You try not to panic.”


Roy Stevens said his daughter never cried until they got into the hallway outside the South Jeff gym. He said she worried about missing the Section III tournament. Instead, she missed a handful of practices and one game.


Bassett said Stevens never changed her aggressive approach. She borrowed a plastic mask that Bassett’s son, Tom, used the previous season. At practice, Stevens drew a charge, causing Bassett to ask her if it wasn’t more prudent to take it easy. Stevens barked, “No!,” at her coach.


“I didn’t care,” she said. “I had to keep playing.”


Roy Stevens began investigating custom masks. He turned to Jeremy Murray, who has designed protective masks for NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Rip Hamilton. That led to the Stevens making a mold. He slathered a coat of Vaseline on Austin’s face, then placed one strip at time over closed eyes and her swollen nose. The process took more than an hour. It took another half-hour to dry.


“My dad is pretty creative,” Austin said. “He handled it well.”


They shipped the mold to Murray. A week later, the clear, hard-shell mask made of Vivak — a co-polyester compound — arrived via overnight shipping at the family business in Adams, a barber shop. The mask cost $500. Stevens said her parents and grandparents paid the bill. After some adjustments with the straps, Austin was good to go.


“When I’m happy, I play better,” Stevens said. “When you get on the court, its all business. I don’t like to sit back and watch. I like to stick my face right in there.”


Bassett said Stevens has become a more polished finisher around the basket. It has made the Spartans more formidable and taken pressure off South Jeff’s other big gun, guard Amanda Roberts.


“When you watch her play and the passion that she plays with, you can only admire a kid like that,” said Westhill coach Sue Ludwig. “The night we played South Jeff, we had no answers for her. She’s become the heart of that team.”


On Monday, Stevens had a root canal for one of her front teeth. She practiced that afternoon. That kind of toughness is a reason South Jefferson hopes it can win a third state championship banner for its school gymnasium.


Stevens said she feels a personal responsibility to add another title because of the school’s tradition. She’s mentally ready, toughened by the experience of her injury and the attention wearing a mask brings. Some fans have chanted “face mask” at her. Stevens doesn’t care and finds the attention, “kind of cool.” Bassett calls Stevens one of the toughest kids he’s ever coached.


“My team has kind of lacked a voice,” Bassett said. “Austin has stepped into that role. You hear her voice all the time. It’s almost like its becoming her team.”