Garrett Carter leads Etiwanda boys to victory

Garrett Carter of Etiwanda talks about being the hero in 52-49 win over Mater Dei.

Every good basketball team has a go-to player right?

Well, wrong?

The Etiwanda boys basketball team has a roster full of go to players.

The Eagles turned in a thrilling 52-49 win over Mater Dei on Tuesday in the Open Division semifinal and have earned the right to face top-seeded Bishop Montgomery for the championship of the Big Boys Division.

It was junior guard Garrett Carter with the heroics – a game-winning 3-pointer, a key defensive rebound and couple of free throws all in the last 15 seconds of the contest.

Asked after the game who the final play was drawn up for, coach Dave Kleckner said “whoever was open.”

That says two things. One, Klecker and his coaches trust their players on the floor to make the right decisions.

Second, he trusts any player on the floor to make that shot if they’re the one that gets the ball. No need to rely on one guy.

That’s why Etiwanda wins year in, year out. They have an excellent coach, maybe the best in the business. It has players that buy into the system and are all invested in their role. And no one is bigger than the team.

Other schools and other coaches should take a cue from what Kleckner has built at the school.

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