HERE'S TO A SLAM DUNK SEASON! - 1

T22 PREP BASKETBALL PREVIEW FOSTORIA REVIEW TIMES, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012
Garber
Continued from page T21
pretty busy.
“After the state basketball tournament
(March 22-24), I was not home
one weekend until June,” Garber said.
“It was pretty nuts for a while.
s soon as I got back (from Italy)
e had a tournament in Columbus,
then one in Minnesota, then Virginia,
then another in Columbus, then Fort
Wayne, then Columbus again, then
San Francisco, and then Cincinnati.
“The rest of June, I was off.”
With a little creative manipulation
of residency requirements, an
issue the Ohio High School Athletic
Association hears plenty about
every season, Garber and some of
his AAU teammates
could form
an extremely talented
high school
basketball team.
Garber knows
that idea has been
out there.
“I heard the
rumors,” he said.
“I heard I
was going from
anywhere in the
BVC (Blanchard Valley Conference)
to Findlay to Toledo St. John’s to
Toledo Whitmer to Dayton Dunbar
to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary ... all
kinds of schools.”
Instead, one of the state’s best big
men will play at one of Ohio’s smallest
schools.
Garber has seen other parts of the
world and most of the country. He’s
gone toe-to-toe with some of the best
players in the game.
But sitting at the dining room
“We’ll never get this
year back. Hopefully, we
can enjoy it while we can
because before you know
it, it’s gone.”
table in the family home, Garber
looks the part of exactly what he
wants to be, a normal, average American
teenager enjoying the final year
of his high school career.
“My friends and I painted ourselves
for volleyball games and we’ve
dressed up in old (basketball) uniforms
like John (his step-father John
Kloepfer) used to wear.
“I went to every (high school)
event I could. I’m enjoying all the
experiences,” Garber said.
“I’ve been here since third grade.
The other seniors on this team —
Linden Smith, Lee Summers, Dylan
Watson and Josh Clymer — and I
have played together since fourth
grade and we got another senior who
hasn’t played basketball since eighth
grade, Joe Wagner, out this year.
“This is the last year we can all
be together like this before we go
off to college and
ZACH GARBER,
VANLUE BASKETBALL PLAYER
do other things. I
think you need to
enjoy high school
and do as many
things as you
can.”
Garber is
embracing that
philosophy to the
max, and not just
on a basketball
court.
A 4.0 student, Garber will likely
be valedictorian of his class. He was
junior class president, a member of
Vanlue’s quiz bowl team, he shows
dairy cattle at the fair in 4-H, and,
“because of my mom,” plays trombone
in the school’s concert band.
Athletically, he’s left his mark in
more than one sport.
Garber was a second-team all-BVC
pick at defensive end this fall. He had
12 tackles for losses, an interception
and has been Vanlue’s punter.
“It’s our senior year, our last year together.
We want to enjoy this year because people
graduate and go their separate ways and
you lose that bond that you have.”
ZACH GARBER,
VANLUE BASKETBALL PLAYER
“We may not have been very successful,”
Garber said of Vanlue’s 1-9
season. “But we had fun. I got to
play with friends and we won our
last game.”
In the spring, he pitches and plays
first base for the baseball team and
qualified for state in the discus in
track.
“Barring any unforeseen injury,”
as he puts it, Garber will graduate
with 16 varsity letters.
“That’s something not many
people can say they’ve done.”
Garber’s versatility could be an
asset.
“I think it’s a common misconception
that college (basketball) coaches
don’t want kids playing football,”
Garber said.
“At UT, they said they like the
physicality football players bring to
basketball. I’m not afraid of contact.
I always joked that my favorite part
of football was hitting people and
punting.
“Now-a-days, it seems that a lot of
big men like stepping out and shooting
the ball. With me, playing football
and all, I don’t mind the physical
stuff.”
Garber can expect a lot of physical
play this season as opponents double-
and triple-team the 6-10 senior. But
the way Garber sees it, he’ll have a lot
of his friends there to help him out.
“We want to be successful,”
Garber said. “But we want to have
fun, too.
“It’s our senior year, our last year
together. We want to enjoy this year
because people graduate and go their
separate ways and you lose that bond
that you have.
“We’ll never get this year back.
Hopefully, we can enjoy it while we
can because before you know it, it’s
gone.”
File photo
NICK SHUMAKER started several games for St. Wendelin last season
as a freshman and is expected to again be a primary contributor for the
Mohawks this season.
The Ohio OAS Since 1945
Automotive Supply Co.
Best of Luck
To All Area Teams!
525 W. Main Cross, Findlay
419-422-1655