YOUR AD HERE »

Summers living out his own Hoosiers story

Steve Yingling and Matt O'Neill

Freshman sensation Nick Summers may have more in common with his idol Jimmy Chitwood than he thinks. Chitwood, the star player from the film Hoosiers, has been a inspiration for the left-handed shooting guard, as Summers watches the film before every game for inspiration.

Summers was evern heard saying after the Warriors’ win over Tonopah, “It’s another Hoosiers story.”

In fact, Summers and his backcourt mate, sophomore Nestor Flores, were busy putting in extra work shooting jump shots like Chitwood, after the Warriors final practice before heading to Reno.



If any school 60 miles from the state basketball tournament in Reno can have a home-court advantage, it’s the Whittell High Warriors.

For Whittell High basketball fans, today’s 9 a.m. starting time isn’t the inconvenience that it is for the other three teams in the Nevada 2A boys state tournament.



Whittell fans can actually sleep in until 6 a.m. today and still leave their homes an hour or so later and still make the Warriors’ first state tournament game in seven years comfortably.

But the backers of the three other schools are the real road warriors. They almost need to make a week of it. Consider that West Wendover on the Utah-Nevada border is approximately 397 miles away and Tonopah in Southern Nevada must travel 236 miles to Reno. But the longest haul belongs to the The Meadows of Las Vegas – 446 miles.

At least these schools aren’t logging all these miles for one game – like the tournament format in recent history. The NIAA has added a consolation bracket for the 2A, meaning today’s semifinal losers get an extra game at 6:10 p.m. Friday at Sparks High.

In addition to making its first state tournament appearance since 1994, Whittell is representing more than its Zephyr Cove following.

The Warriors are the only Lake Tahoe school playing at state – boys or girls. After struggling in basketball and football for the latter part of the 1990s, Whittell has found immediate success against schools with similar enrollments in the 2A classification. In the previous fall, Whittell ended a 21-game losing streak and went on to qualify for the state playoffs this last season.

Tonopah coach Dean Schultz hasn’t seen enough of Lincoln County, which has ousted the Muckers from the state tournament the past three years.

But Tonopah won’t have to worry about meeting Lincoln County at state this week.

“The kids wanted Lincoln here. I did too,” Schultz said.

The Muckers lost last year’s final to Lincoln County by two points and were eliminated by their nemesis in the semifinals the previous two years.

However, Schultz and his Muckers do get the opportunity to play West Wendover, a former league foe.

“I’m used to West Wendover. I’m comfortable with the matchup, and I think it’s going to be a real good tournament,” Schultz said.

Schultz expects to have the services of senior forward Dexter McNair, who left last Saturday’s division championship game with Whittell in the third period because of a severely sprained right ankle.

The Tonopah coach is thankful McNair was wearing an ankle brace when he was injured.

“Dexter is fine. He is going to be playing,” said Schultz, who kept the 6-foot-2 player out of practice Monday and Tuesday.

Freshman sensation Nick Summers may have more in common with his idol Jimmy Chitwood than he thinks. Chitwood, the star player from the film Hoosiers, has been a inspiration for the left-handed shooting guard, as Summers watches the film before every game for inspiration.

Summers was evern heard saying after the Warriors’ win over Tonopah, “It’s another Hoosiers story.”

In fact, Summers and his backcourt mate, sophomore Nestor Flores, were busy putting in extra work shooting jump shots like Chitwood, after the Warriors final practice before heading to Reno.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.