The high school basketball players at Shawano Community High School weren’t even born when Duke star Christian Laettner hit his famous shot in 1992 to defeat Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.
That didn’t matter, though, as the former NBA athlete ran SCHS boys and girls through drills Friday at the school.
“I hope they learn his story, his last-minute chances and develop that kind of energy and that kind of hope, that kind of belief system, because now they have met the guy,” Sacred Heart athletic director Randy Panzer said. “And although he is tall and athletic, he is nothing that extraordinary. He is an average guy that they can relate to, that achieved at the highest level.”
Sacred Heart Catholic School has tried to give back to the community with an event each year, Panzer said, which is one of the reasons he asked Laettner to visit Shawano. Panzer has built a relationship with Laettner over the past year in the hopes of bringing him here to help the community.
“I think this turned out to be a lot bigger than we could have ever expected,” Panzer said. “Just going back to the excitement, watching their appreciation, meeting him afterwards. I’m excited moving forward.”
After working with SCHS athletes Friday, Laettner will conduct three camps Saturday for athletes of all ages from throughout the area. The camps are designed to help the youngsters work on their skills before getting to the high school level.
Laettner focuses on teaching the basics of the game: catching, passing, dribbling and rebounding. With those skills, any basketball player should be able to find some level of success, no matter where they play, he says.
“I liked that he picked up their level of play to a point where they were physically fatigued quickly,” SCHS boys basketball head coach Dave Ambrosius said. “I thought it showed them that when you play the right way, one, you have to be in great shape, and two, when you do things the right way and work hard, good things happen.”
Now, Ambrosius needs to make sure everyone retains the information they learned until practices for boys and girls open next month.
“We’ll remind them what he taught them,” Ambrosius said of the first few days of varsity practice in November. “I’m sure most of them won’t forget because this is an unforgettable experience for most of the kids.”
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