Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Prep Basketball:

Family ties helping Foothill junior succeed at basketball

Starr family 2

Richard Brian

Foothill’s girls basketball coach Keith Starr talks to his team during a time out during a game at Cimarron-Memorial.

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Foothill's Mercedes Starr moves the ball during a game against Cimarron-Memorial.

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Foothill's Mercedes Starr inbounds the ball during a game against Cimarron-Memorial.

Expanded coverage

Having a father as a high school basketball coach has its advantages and disadvantages for Foothill junior guard Mercedes Starr.

On the good side, she gets more individual instruction with the man who draws up the plays.

"Not everybody can go home after practice and get the chance to watch film and practice more," Starr said. "I get more work in with him being my dad."

But having former Chicago Bulls guard Keith Starr as a coach and father can be demanding, too.

As former a UNLV assistant under Jerry Tarkanian, he expects the same level of dedication from his high school players as he did his college players.

Foothill, which has only been to the playoffs once since opening in 1999, has made tremendous improvements with Keith Starr as coach. They missed the postseason last year during his first year, but have won five of their five seven games this winter.

Fittingly, Mercedes Starr has led the team with 16 points per game

"She's very strong-willed and so I harp on her a lot," Keith Starr said. "As a coach I don't want to give her preferential treatment. I demand a lot out of her and sometimes I can be a little too hard on her."

Mercedes Starr displays many of the same skills as her father, who was a fourth round NBA pick out of Pittsburgh in 1976. Keith Starr played one year with the Chicago Bulls before a knee injury forced him to retire.

Mercedes Starr has a consistent jump shot and is not afraid to get aggressive on the court.

"Sometimes its hard for me to recognize him as a coach on the floor instead of my dad," Mercedes Starr said. "But he can be harder on me than on anyone."

Two weeks into the season, Foothill has already equaled its win total from last year.

Not used to a losing program, Keith Starr's first step to turning the team around was increasing the offseason work load.

The demands resulted in a smaller, eight-girl roster, but a more dedicated team.

"We have learned to trust his coaching methods," forward Whitney Welch said. "Even though it was difficult to get through the practices, we trust that in the end it will get us far."

Another welcome addition was the return of point guard Alysse Thummel, who missed much of last year with a leg injury.

Thummel, who averages eight points a game, said last year's losing season taught her plenty.

"We learned a lot about self motivation last year," she said. "Even though we weren't winnings games, we continued to fight and tried to better ourselves as much as we could."

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].

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