Richins family enjoying the historic Warden boys basketball run together
I’ve always wondered if coaching your child is a blessing or a curse. My dad never did know how to yell at other people’s kids so he turned up the volume on me, until I finally pointed out I’m not the one messing up.
It seems like it's one extreme or another. Either you think your kid’s the second coming of Michael Jordan or a bum.
I used to cover Burns (Wyo.) High School where Gregg Sawyer played for his father Ron. The coach would call after the games to report the score and give us some comments. Ron would run through his scorers and I’d notice Gregg’s name wasn’t listed.
“So how’d Gregg do tonight?” I’d ask.
“Oh, he had 46, but don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Kid puts up half a C-note and don’t make a big deal out it? I’d have to turn in my fat, bald sports guy credentials. Gregg ended up going Division I to the University of Wyoming, where proud father could sit in the stands and be his son’s No. 1 fan. That I did write down.
It’s been a pleasure watching the Warden Cougars’ historic run this year. They are going to play in the Yakima SunDome for the first time in program history on Wednesday and the Richins family will enjoy this run together.
There’s coach Wes Richins, Adam, a 6-foot-1 senior averaging 18.6 a game, and Zach, a 6-2 sophomore. The team is like family and the Richins, well they are family.
“I went to school in Warden,” Wes told me after they beat Connell in the winner-to-state district tame. “I played in a game to go to state when I was a senior and we lost. I was never able to play at the state tournament.
“So it’s awesome to be able to take a boys team to state for the first time in the program’s history. There’s a lot of people that have put on a Warden jersey and some really good teams. We just haven’t had that chance. We were this close last year and the year before, to be finally going is something special for our team and our fans.”
It’s a pretty special time for Warden basketball. The Cougars rattled the cage of No. 2 seed Lynden Christian on Saturday up in Mount Vernon. The had a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Their motto all season has been live by the 3 or die by the 3. On Saturday, it was Lynden Christian with a couple of 19-foot daggers. But Big Blue is headed off to the Dome on Wednesday for the program’s first-ever game in the Yakima SunDome.
It will be historic for Warden basketball as they give Cougar fans in a wrestling town something else to get excited about.
For the Richins family, we can only hope the run goes as far as dreams will take them. It all changes from here on out with Adam graduating. I understand he’s drawn some interest from college programs in the area and maybe he’ll take that next step to the next level.
For the time being, it’s a state of mind for Warden and a family affair for those who support Cougar boys basketball.
Rodney Harwood is a sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com
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