Youth players earn trip to Oregon to compete in Elks Hoop Shoot

WASILLA — Free throw shooting might be the most deceptive part of the game of basketball.

An unguarded attempt, 15 feet from the basket seems easy enough right?

Maybe for the average armchair point guard.

In reality, it’s an art most players spend careers perfecting. A pair of local young hoopsters are off to a good start.

After finishing first in their respective divisions of the state event, Hannah Duguid and Blake Dinkel will represent the Valley and Alaska in the Elks Hoop Shoot regional competition Saturday in Portland, Oregon. In Portland, Duguid and Dinkel will compete against young shooters from four other states for a spot in the national event.

Both Duguid and Dinkel participated in a local event, hosted by the Palmer Elks Lodge at Colony Middle School in December of 2015. Duguid, a 13-year-old seventh grader at Wasilla Middle School, hit 23 of 25 possible free throw attempts during the local event. Dinkel, a 10-year-old fourth grader, drained 17 of 25 free throws in the event open to children ages 8-13. The scores of Duguid and Dinkel were compared to participants in their division throughout Alaska, and each was crowned a champion.

This marks the second straight year in which Duguid and Dinkel earned the chance to make the trip to the regional event in Portland.

Duguid, who plays basketball at Wasilla Middle and with the Elevate competitive program, has no problem being at the stripe, especially when the game is on the line.

“It’s awesome when you’re at the line and there’s a second or two left, it’s tied up, and you make the free throws to win the game,” Duguid said recently.

Duguid said she started playing basketball in about the third grade, following in the footsteps of her sister, Haylee, a sophomore on the Colony High varsity girls’ basketball team.

“I’ve been watching her games. I got caught into it, thought it’d be fun,” Duguid said.

Duguid lists competition and shooting three-pointers as highlights of playing basketball.

Dinkel is the youngest of seven children in a family with sturdy ties to the game of basketball. The biggest change for Dinkel in the competition this year was shooting from the official free throw line. Participants younger than 10 shoot from a shorter distance. The change didn’t seem to bother Dinkel.

“I already shot free throws in basketball games,” said Dinkel, who plays with the Valley Blaze basketball program.

Both Duguid and Dinkel have set high goals for the regional event. Duguid would like to hit 23 or 24 of the possible 25 free throws. Dinkel is leaving no room for error.

“Twenty-five,” Dinkel said with a grin.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.