Spring Break
Lane Basketball hopes returning player will lead the pack
Kyle Winkler has all the confidence in the world from the men's basketball coaching staff.
Bob Rodgers
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports
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"He's going to be the heart and soul of this team. He's going to lead us in our journey," Head Coach Bruce Chavka said. That's high praise for a guy who didn't lead the team in categories like scoring and rebounding just a year ago.
"He has a lot of intangibles and good qualities: he's confident, a good teammate, a big time competitor, hates to lose, is always prepared," Chavka said.
Winkler considered many options after graduating in 2005 from Southridge High School in Beaverton but knew he wanted to continue playing basketball. He had contemplated enrolling at Portland State and Linfield College. "I really wanted to live on my own and play away from home," Winkler admitted. The 5'11", 180 pound sophomore made a call to the coaches at Lane to see if they were interested.
Chavka said, "I was hired a bit late after the recruiting process of that year. Coach Ron Richards did a really good job of getting him (Winkler) to play here, we're very fortunate to have him in our program."
After the struggles of LCC basketball last year, Winkler spent his offseason driven to improve his own play. "Between working my summer job back home, I upped my conditioning by running more frequently, lifting weights and increasing my shooting drills. It seemed like I was always in the gym," Winkler stated.
Winkler described the team with very similar off-season goals. "The team this year is very different than last year. The guys are more in shape, more athletic and there are a lot more guys that can dunk. We've all put in a lot of hard work. I'm getting really excited to actually start playing some real teams."
Aside from his love of playing basketball, he does enjoy school as well. During the basketball season he takes about 13 credits, but takes more in the off-season. Winkler hasn't declared a major yet, but he is leaning towards a business degree. "Although business seems to be what is interesting me most, I'm not really positive on a major because I've taken some interesting classes since I've been here. I really enjoyed my photography class."
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