Tiny school selected randomly out of more than 5,000 entries to win shooting aid, and all the Bulldogs had to do was post stats on MaxPreps.
McDermitt Combined School and its players are excited to receive "The Gun" made by Shoot-a-Way.
Courtesy photo
McDermitt Combined School’s girls basketball team just proved that you don’t have to be big to win big with MaxPreps.
The tiny school with 132 students spanning from Kindergarten to 12th grade was chosen out of more than 5,000 schools nationwide in a contest to win a basketball shooting gun from Shoot-a-Way, called “The Gun.” The machine, valued at $6,400 including shipping, allows players to work on their shooting game all by themselves. Passes are programmed into the machine by location and time between passes, giving an endless stream of shot-ready assists.
“I’ve wanted one for our school for years, but because of budgeting there was no way we could have afforded one,” said longtime Bulldogs coach Jaimi Wilkinson, who has led the team at the school abutting the Nevada-Oregon border for 17 years now. “The kids who are graduating are sad it didn’t happen a year ago, but the younger kids are super excited and can’t wait until it gets here.”
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McDermitt (Nev.) won the machine just by doing what they have done for many years: Uploading their stats onto their MaxPreps team page after each game. She entered the contest, and by keeping her players’ info current, her school will now have a top-notch training device donated by Shoot-a-Way.
“I use MaxPreps for almost everything. I literally use every aspect. It just makes it easy,” she said. “I am also able to keep records of those kids and enter them into state record book because it tracks for all years. I love it.”
Those state record books might need an update after yet another great season for the Bulldogs. They finished as the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Division IV runners-up and went 26-3. Since the 2008-09 season, Wilkinson has registered a record of 147-49.
The little school with the big penchant for winning also has a big story to tell when it comes to basketball life. The low number of students combined with a jaw-dropping travel regimen make McDermitt very unique and appreciative of any good will it can come across.
“Our kids have to do everything. Literally every kid is involved in every single thing. There are times where a girl on the basketball team takes off her jersey and gets on a cheerleading uniform to go cheer for the boys team. They get to get their hands into anything they want to here,” Wilkinson said. “They average about six hours one way for every away game. We spend time playing at night on Friday and then more hours on the bus Saturday to the next game.
“Our kids are so far from the big city so they don’t get to play AAU ball. They are kind of on their own out here, so any time we can get a contribution is just great.”
McDermitt will keep gunning for more wins and more state tournament success. With “The Gun” heading to the home of the Bulldogs, MaxPreps will be watching to see what kinds of big things will be coming out of the small school.
