“Positionless” basketball is a phenomenon that’s been sweeping across the National Basketball Association in recent years, and it can also be seen with Ignacio High School boys basketball star Trace Crane.
High school basketball is a different world than the NBA, but Crane is the perfect embodiment of this positionless trend. The senior’s combination of size, versatility and relentless stamina is allowing him to have a very strong season so far for the Bobcats.
Crane began playing in first grade in a rec league, being invited to play on a traveling AAU team in fourth grade. In seventh grade, he transferred to Ignacio and played point guard on the middle school team. He earned a varsity spot his sophomore year of high school and has been there ever since.
As a sophomore youngster on varsity, it took Crane time to grow into the team leader he is today. His sophomore season, he averaged around four points and three rebounds per game. Crane stepped up his junior year, putting up about nine points and nine rebounds per contest, but still shooting 35%. This year, as of Friday evening, he’s averaging almost 18 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 52% from the field.
Crane attributed his progression to his confidence growing year-to-year. Head coach Trae Seibel puts a lot of pressure on him, but also puts a lot of confidence in him, allowing him to grow and be a leader.
“He's such a great kid,” Seibel said. “He's got one of the best attitudes, and he works harder than anybody. His team works hard, but Trace is just that leader. What's carried him and helped him evolve every year is the hard work that he puts in.”
Crane’s size and strength at 6-foot-3-inches and 180 pounds make him a natural power forward or center, especially at the 3A level. His rebounding is one of the most important parts of his game and is key to the Bobcats’ success. Crane has had it drilled into his head from the beginning to box out.
He also times shots very well and puts the ball right back up on the offensive glass, according to Seibel. In the couple of games that Crane was injured, his rebounding was sorely missed.
Another key part of Crane’s game is his endurance, which comes from running track and cross country. Seibel coaches the team to play a run-and-gun, freestyle “rez ball” brand of offense. They play fast and intensely, often utilizing full-court presses and getting up and down the floor as much as possible. Not only does Crane’s running ability help him be effective in this style, but he’s able to stay in the game start-to-finish and play well even if he gets tired.
Despite Crane’s size, his dad has trained him as a guard from the beginning. This means he has all the ball handling and shooting skills necessary to bring the ball up the court, distribute and shoot in the right situation.
Seibel said Crane has really taken off with his guard skills this year, making him truly able to play any position and a threat at both ends. He plays on the block a lot, using his size inside. Depending on the personnel IHS has on the floor, he’ll swap into the point guard role and create offense from there.
“Some teams … put a post player on me and then I can take them to the rim, others put a guard and I post them up,” Crane said. “It scares the other teams a little bit. So they play a lot of help defense, which gives me the option to kick the ball out to one of the other players and let them do what they need to.”
Crane’s teammates stepping up has been the other story of this season for the Bobcats. Crane is the only returning starter from last season, with this season’s starting lineup composed of players who have developed and stepped into the role. Crane has been able to put his trust in them, and they do the same with him, building confidence both ways.
This confidence and growth has allowed Ignacio to start the season 6-3 overall as of Friday evening. Last season, IHS went 11-13, losing 68-29 in the first round of the 3A state tournament to eventual champion Resurrection Christian.
Crane noticed last season that the team was more separated, sometimes playing like individuals instead of a team. The squad focused on changing that coming into this season, practicing and playing together over the summer.
Sebiel and Crane both want to make the state tournament again and see what happens from there. They also both want to continue to focus on getting better and working hard for the whole season.
“I want (Trace) to continue to stay disciplined mentally and to just continue to work as hard as he can work … and to lead by example and not put too much pressure on himself for leadership, but more importantly, just continue to grow individually,” Seibel said. “The team will feed off that.”
ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
