Chase Talich got dialed in from deep, helped Central win state

“From that point on, he dominated the rest of the year. If he wasn’t the best player in the state from that point forward, he was one of them.”

A shoving match with an opposing player while coming to the defense of a teammate was what got Talich benched for games with Campbell County and Cheyenne South. Statistics back up Shaffer’s assertion.

Talich averaged 20 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in the Indians’ final eight games. He shot 52% (58-for-112) overall and a staggering 52% (27-of-52) from behind the 3-point line.

At the Class 4A state tournament, Talich averaged 19.3 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 57% (16-for-28) from the floor and 41% (7-of-17) from deep. Those efforts helped Central win the state championship and earned Talich Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports’ Cheyenne staff.

Talich agrees that an already good season became great starting with the Indians’ visit to Laramie, which was his first game back in the lineup.

“I hadn’t been shooting the ball well the entire season, but my teammates were taking any chance they could that night to tell me to keep shooting,” he said. “… Before that, I was shooting and I wasn’t confident those shots were going to go in. I was always worried about people being mad I was taking so many shots, so I started passing up shots.

“Them telling me to keep shooting showed me they didn’t care how many I shot and that they thought my shots were going to start falling eventually. The coaches were also encouraging me a lot and helping me keep my head up.”

Talich made just 18% (13-of-73) of the 3s he took and was averaging 10.2 points during Central’s first 18 games. He finished the season with averages of 32% (40-for-125) from 3 and 13.2 points.

“Shooting is such a confidence-based thing,” Shaffer said. “If you don’t feel like you can make it, your mindset isn’t right and you get what a lot of people call ‘stinking thinking.’ To be a good shooter, you have to have some ability and be fundamentally good, but you also have to have the confidence you’re going to make the shot you’re taking.”

Prior to finding his 3-point shooting touch, Talich’s points came from getting to the rim both in the half-court and through turnovers Central’s defensive pressure forced. That helped him shoot at a 58% clip (62-of-108) from inside the arc through the first two-thirds of the season. Eventually, though, teams started sagging off of him defensively and daring him to shoot from deep.

“That made it harder for me to get to the rim and it was putting more pressure on Joe (Sawyer) and Sammy (Shumway) to get things done instead of all three of us being able to do whatever we wanted,” Talich said. “Until I started shooting the ball more and being a major contributor to the team, I was mostly out there because I was big and athletic.”

Talich — who was a four-year varsity player for Central — missed the bulk of his junior campaign after breaking an ankle over Christmas break. He didn’t return to the lineup until the regional tournament but that may have actually been too soon, Shaffer said.

“In retrospect, we probably hurried him back and didn’t do anyone any favors,” the coach said.

Talich earned second team All-East Conference honors, which rankles Shaffer. That distinction kept him from being considered for the all-state team. Talich should have been in the conversation for first team all-conference and all-state accolades and would have been if the votes had been conducted after the state tournament, the coach said.

“It’s ridiculous to me,” Shaffer said. “I think the reason he wasn’t (as highly-regarded) was because of the first half of the season he had. He’s definitely an all-conference and all-state kid in my mind.

“There’s no question in my mind he would have gotten selected after the state tournament he had. It’s unbelievable he didn’t get that recognition.”

Others recognized for their efforts:

• Cashlynn Haws and Bradie Schlabs, girls basketball, East: Haws, a sophomore forward, averaged 10.3 points and 7.3 points to help the Lady Thunderbirds go 2-1 and win third place at the Class 4A state tournament. She made 48% of her shots on the weekend (13-of-27).

Schlabs, a senior guard, averaged 14 points, 2.7 teams, 2.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in those contests.

• Drew Jackson, boys basketball, Cheyenne East: The senior guard averaged 16 points and 5.7 rebounds to help the Thunderbirds go 2-1 and place fifth at the Class 4A state tournament.

• Joe Sawyer and Sammy Shumway, boys basketball, Central: Sawyer, a senior, averaged 16 points and 2.3 assists to help the Indians go 3-0 and win the Class 4A state championship.

Shumway, also a senior, averaged 15 points, 5.3 rebounds and three assists while shooting 62% (13-for-21) from the floor and 73% (8-of-11) from deep.