Butch Estes era kicks off at Shoreline CC

Published 1:44 pm Monday, December 22, 2008

Point guard McCall returns to lead Dolphins

By Tony Dondero

Enterprise reporter

SHORELINE

The Butch Estes era of Shoreline Community College men’s basketball is underway.

Estes, a former NCAA Division I coach at Furman University and assistant at the University of Miami, was hired last spring to replace Jeff Menday, whose contract was not renewed after three years.

Shoreline started the season 4-4 in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges as the players hope to grasp Estes’ system when league play starts Jan. 3 at Peninsula.

“We’ve been slowed down in our growth because of the learning process,” Estes said. “A lot of new players and a brand new coach and the combination of that means there’s a lot going on for them. It just takes time and we have to be patient.

“But it’s been a fun group and we’ve been getting better and I’m looking forward to January and February and seeing what we can do in conference,” he said.

Returning starting point guard Stephen McCall said the coaching styles between Menday, a protégé of a Bobby Knight assistant, and Estes, a Dean Smith protégé who played on North Carolina’s freshman team in the late 1960s, are a contrast of “night and day.”

“Estes knows what we’re going through, the bumps and bruises,” he said. “He’s more of teacher. I’ve learned more this season than I’ve ever learned in basketball — more than I’ve ever learned in basketball growing up.”

Estes, who learned the game from legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith as a student assistant, uses Smith’s system today.

“We do a lot of what North Carolina does,” Estes said. “We’re a fast break team, we’re a balanced team.”

McCall of Las Vegas, a 5-11 sophomore guard, averages 12 points per game to lead the Dolphins. McCall is one of only two players to return from last year. Theron Laudermill is the other.

“I really think he’s a college prospect,” Estes said of McCall. “He’s got leadership as well as ability.”

Jonathon Lackings, a 6-0 sophomore guard out of Rainier Beach High School, fills the shooting guard spot for the Dolphins.

At small forward is 6-3 freshman Ryan McCorkle, a versatile player who averages six points and six rebounds a game.

Evans Ojwang, a 6-3 sophomore forward from Garfield with great jumping ability, speed and quickness, according to Estes, averages 10 points and nine rebounds.

The team’s center is 6-4 sophomore Obinna Okolie from West Seattle who averages six points and five rebounds.

Okolie shares time with 6-8 sophomore Laudermill, who recently came back from knee surgery, and had 15 points and 10 rebounds in his first outing against Portland Community College.

The Dolphins’ best hustle player off the bench is 6-0 sophomore guard Eric Perry, a 2006 Shorewood grad, who returned to Shoreline from California where he had been playing college football.

“He slowly but surely worked his way into our top eight with tenacity and toughness,” Estes said. “He’s so competitive, works so hard.”

The Dolphins have a lot of new faces and it will take time for them to jell, but McCall believes they will improve.

“We’re scoring more points than last year and are more defensive-minded,” McCall said.

“It’s coming along,” McCall said. “It takes awhile. We’re learning from each other. We’re getting that nucleus together.”

Division rivals Bellevue (first), Whatcom (seventh) and Olympic (eighth) are all ranked in the NWAACC preseason poll.

“I think the North is the toughest division,” McCall said. “I think we can compete with any team any given night.”