He’s got lightning-like acceleration, eye-opening elevation, incredible anticipation and long-range domination.
No, that’s not an excerpt of loony boxing promoter Don King describing one of his prized fighters.
It’s a list of some of the incredible talents I’ve seen Stanwood High School boys basketball player Kale Schmidt display the past few weeks. Schmidt, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, is a hyper-athletic hoopster who has helped the Spartans break through and qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2002.
Schmidt made a barrage of impressive plays the last two times I covered Stanwood (Feb. 11 vs. Cascade, Feb. 17 vs. Arlington). In addition to draining high-arcing 3-point shots, swiping foes’ passes and hustling to thwart what appeared to be gimme baskets for the opposition, Schmidt did plenty of skywalking.
He threw down three breakaway slam dunks in those two games. These weren’t mildly entertaining, barely-got-it dunks like I usually see. Schmidt rocketed up off the court, hung in the air and completed his jams with style. Two hands, one hand — he showed a little bit of everything.
Stanwood players call Schmidt their “track star on the basketball court,” Spartans senior Zack Johnson said. It’s true. Although Schmidt is a fine basketball and football player, his true calling is track and field. He recently signed an NCAA National Letter of Intent with the University of Washington track program.
The state’s defending high school decathlon champion, Schmidt plans to compete in that grueling 10-event competition for the Huskies.
So go see Schmidt on the basketball court while you still can. He and his Stanwood pals will play Wesco North rival Lake Stevens in the 4A District 1 championship game on Saturday at Jackson High. After that, Schmidt and the Spartans will see how they match up with the state’s best at the Tacoma Dome.
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