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Hillcrest’s Apgar standing strong
Published 7:35am Friday, March 19, 2010It’s hard to pinpoint one particular reason why the Hillcrest boys basketball team stands just one win away from its first state tournament appearance in nine years.
Point guard Jared Schultz’s solid play and leadership has been crucial. Daniel Tungseth’s clutch three-point shooting has been huge (especially against Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the sub-section championship game on Tuesday night). Coach Gregg Preston’s deep bench and in-your-face style of defense hasn’t hurt either.
But perhaps one of the most significant reasons behind the Comets’ successful 2009-2010 season is the play of big man Devon Apgar.
The 6-foot-4 senior post from New Jersey has been the dominating inside presence that every team dreams of and has helped power the Comets to a thus far 22-2 overall mark.
“Devon is somebody that has been very consistent for us this season,” Preston said. “His intensity has been so high throughout the season and he does a lot of the little things that don’t show up in the box score in terms of hustle, good decision making and his ability to get the ball to a guard to allow us the set up our offense.”
Schultz would be one of the first to communicate just how important Apgar is to the Comets’ success.
“Devon brings all-around intensity when he’s on his game,” Schultz said. “It gets everyone around him fired up. The guys really feed off his energy.”
Apgar has averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Comets this season. His exceptional ball handling and passing skills make him not a typically stationed center, but a quintessential power forward.
“Most big guys don’t like to dribble or bring the ball up court, but if I need to I will,” Apgar said.
In other words, Apgar might just be the inside presence Hillcrest needs to not just make it to the “big dance” with a win over No. 4 ranked (1A) Ada-Borup on Friday night, but make some noise once they get there.
“Knowing that he’s on the inside gives me a whole lot of confidence,” Schultz said. “It makes the defense have to focus on another major key underneath the rim and that opens things up not just for me, but everyone else too.”
Preston said that Apgar’s newly found ability to control his emotions on the court has played a big role to Apgar’s on court success.
“His maturity and development off the floor has been the thing that I’m most pleased with,” Preston said. “Devon has always been someone who has played with high intensity and sometimes that would have led to a third or fourth foul last year. This year he has been able to control his emotions and it has allowed him to play a lot smarter basketball.”
Apgar acknowledged that controlling his emotions was a main focus of his during the offseason.
“Besides overall skill in the summer, I really focused on that,” Apgar said. “Last year I would get worked up and pick up a couple of early fouls. I wouldn’t be helping the team much by sitting on the bench.”
If the Comets are to take down the one-loss Cougars on Friday, Devon Apgar is sure to be a big reason why.
