HUMBOLDT — Sam Hull understands there is a finite number of times he’ll continue to don the orange and black in his high school career.
The Humboldt High senior has made the most of his athletic opportunities so far, earning multiple league or state honors in football, baseball and basketball.
But with football in the rear view mirror, basketball season in the latter half of the season and an all-too-brief baseball campaign ahead, Hull appreciates his time with his teammates and coaches.
“I’ll definitely miss it,” he said. “I’ll miss the people. Our coaches have always been pretty good, and my teammates and I have all grown up together.”
Hull’s work on the basketball court, averaging more than 15 points per game for the 11-2 Cubs, prompted readers to select him as the Register’s Area Athlete of the Month. He received a gift certificate to Rookie’s in Iola for the honor.
Hull harbors high hopes for the rest of his basketball career, even with Humboldt facing one of the toughest Class 3A Substate groupings in Kansas, with a potential gauntlet of upper echelon teams like Wellsville, Iola and Franklin County looming.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “We always look forward to the tougher teams on the schedule.”
Leading the charge for Humboldt is the 6-5 senior, who leads the team in scoring and assists, while ranking second in rebounds and blocks. He also averages 2 steals per contest.
But it’s also shortsighted to discuss Hull’s work on the hardwood without taking note of his prolific dunking ability.
Invariably, if he or junior teammate Colden Cook gets a clear shot at the rim, they’ll set the Cub faithful abuzz with a rim-rattling dunk.
“I’d like to get one every game,” he said. “It gives the team a momentum boost.”
The only blemish on an otherwise stellar senior campaign came at the opening of last week’s War on 54 Tournament when Humboldt fell to Crest in the opening round.
“It was a rough game,” Hull said, “a rough week.”
That said, Humboldt’s upperclassmen, along with coaches David Taylor and Jason Weilert know the steps to rectify any kind of letdown.
“It’s a matter of working together, and rotating the ball better,” Hull said. “If we’re making better rotations, and on defense as well, we’ll be OK.”
