When looking back at any championship high school team and the success they have had over time, parental involvement is just as important as the talent on the field or court.
When Sherman seniors Kyle Fields, Isaiah Coles, Maverick Winslow and Max Martin and some of the younger players were seven and eight years old, they were in camps, traveling for tournaments, and on the court for hours at a time.
“Bill Martin, and Tracy Fields did a great job of getting them together at an early age, I think the second grade,” said Joe Justesen, father of Jacob. “Then Todd (Coles), Doug (Martin) and everybody played huge parts in their development by getting them against tough competition. They paid for tournaments, paid for camps and did all those things. They gave those kids all the tools to be successful. It has made a huge difference.”
During his four-year tenure, head coach Bill Blevins has amassed an 87-27 overall record and a 43-7 standing in Big Sky Conference action, finishing the last two campaigns with two district titles and state championships.
While he was entrusted to lead this talented group to bigger and better things, Blevins inherited a roster that was fundamentally sound, tough and dedicated.
It was matter of having the fathers playing a vital role through encouragement, constructive criticism, positive reinforcement and believing in Blevins’ philosophy that made the process work.
“I think our families have been extremely supportive of what we have been doing as a program,” Blevins said. “We couldn’t do the fundraisers that we do, we couldn’t go on the trips that we go on, without the parents. I tell you what, they worked their tails off as well to help make their sons successful. I can’t say enough about the support that we not only get from the parents, but from the community as well.”
Coming off a season where he earned 1A Player of the Year, Max Martin averaged 17.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.8 steals a game and was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year in the 2016-2017 season.
In his last high school game, he scored 20 points.
With time running out in Sherman’s title-clinching victory over Powder Valley, Max exited the game, and shared a joyful embrace with his father Bill.
“My dad is my hero. I love him to death. To share this win with him today could not make this experience any sweeter,” Max said. “My dad has been a huge part of my life. He’s everything. Without him, I don’t think myself or anybody else out here would have the type of success that we’ve had. He is a special dude, that’s for sure.”
Before winning back-to-back 1A titles, the Huskies endured some tough times that Coles and Justesen said made them even more fired up to win.
As freshmen, Coles, Max Martin and Fields went 14-11, but were bounced in the district tournament and did not make the playoffs.
The next year, the Huskies posted a 21-7 record and headed to Baker on a roll, but a virus struck the team and several players were sick on the bench and some had to be checked into the hospital for evaluation.
Over the past 61 games spanning this year and last, the Huskies have a 52-9 record and have gone 14-0 in Big Sky contests.
Sherman won six straight state games in Baker City by an average of 18.3 points.
“You think about the virus year a lot, but you just have to enjoy the ones you earned,” said Jacob Justesen. “Our freshman year was kind of a letdown, but when that happened, it made us hungrier to come out and win. Then we came out this year with the same mentality that we needed to work even harder. We knew we couldn’t afford to take anything for granted. We knew that we were going to face tough competition and that were going to be tested to get this second one.”
While Sherman loses four seniors, the team has Treve Martin and Justesen, Makoa Whitaker, Reese Blake, Keenan Coles, and Luke Martin and some eighth-graders coming up to help fill that void.
“With us losing all our seniors, we are losing a big part of our team,” Luke Martin said. “We just got to keep working and stay hungry and not be complacent. We still got a good group of guys coming back and we will come out fighting and hungry as ever, and hopefully we can compete for another state title.”
Much more than all the wins and accomplishments, Justesen remembers the seniors for paving the way through professionalism, scholastics, work ethic, sportsmanship and showing the young players how to do things the right way.
“The senior class is full of great leaders and they have shown myself and all the underclassmen how hard work can pay off,” Justesen said. “They set a great example of how to win, how to win with class and everything. I am so proud of them. I am going to miss them all.”
While Coles was part of something special and has two rings to show for it, the program will still be relevant for many years.
That winning attitude will help fuel the drive during summer ball, football and basketball next winter.
“We really wanted to win. Our whole lives, we have wanted to win,” Isaiah Coles said. “It is a nice thing to realize something that you have always dreamed of. To win a state championship after winning one last year, shows that we had the hunger. It comes down to being hungry to win and doing whatever we could to end up on top. I want the young guys to keep trying for another one next year. We have the players to get it done.”
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