The Green River High School boy’s basketball team recently wrapped up their 2014-15 season with a banquet honoring members of the squad.
For the second-straight season, the Wolves coaching staff honored a member of the team with the Stan Dodds Award.
Senior Tanner Trumble was selected as the 2015 recipient.
The award is named after Dodds, who led the school to its first state title in 1965 and is the school’s all time leading scorer. He would later go on to star at the University of Wyoming and lead the team in scoring his senior year with 20.7 points per game.
Former Green River head coach Dan LaRose said the reasoning behind the award is they wanted to establish a tradition given the player that best represents Wolves basketball and they attributes they want in a player including positive attitude, work ethic, determination and team work. He said he decided to name the award after Dodds not just because of his success in basketball, but what he did later in life with teaching and coaching.
LaRose said while Trumble had some amazing stats and was the player they needed him to be, he was also the man they needed him to be and set an example for the rest of the team.
In an interview last week, LaRose referenced a quote from when Dodds spoke to the team in 2014 as a perfect description for Trumble and the award.
“Basketball will not define you, as men --- but, basketball will help define your character as men,” Dodds said. “Many things happen on the court, some just off the court…maybe just a few feet, that you may not particularly like...how are you going to handle those moments and or challenges? That is what helps build your character, as men. And believe me, it will pave a pathway for your future.”
In a letter to Trumble, last year’s recipient Alex Wilde said there is much more to the award than basketball.
“Everything the that award stands for is based upon life skills. Skills that you will need five, ten, 15 years down the road,” Wilde wrote. “You have worked your butt off for this, and wen the going got tough, you got tougher, and you learned to cope with what was thrown at you.”
Trumble was honored to have received the award.
“Winning the award was such an honor. I felt so lucky to be nominated by the amazing basketball staff, and by Alex Wilde,” he said. “It is definitely a great accomplishment. If we view the Stan Dodds award for what the man embodies and not just for the name, our athletics programs will be something to be proud of for a very long time.”
While LaRose did praise the character of Trumble, he also lauded an amazing senior season in which he was in the top 10 of six of the eight statistical categories in the 4A West conference.
Trumble was seventh in scoring with 11.3 points per game, ninth in rebounds with 5.2, ninth in assists with two, seventh in steals with 1.6, seventh in field goal percentage at 47 percent and third in free throw percentage at 79 percent.
Despite his resignation as basketball coach, LaRose said has been working diligently with High School Principal Darren Howard to keep the award going.
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