CV’s Michael Hannan took his shot when it came

Call him a late bloomer.

Say he’s making up for lost time. More than anything, though, Central Valley basketball player Michael Hannan is making the most of his opportunity – and then some.

The son of a former high school coach who played professionally in Australia and the grandson of a former college coach, Hannan has had to make himself into a player despite the bloodlines.

Hannan, a senior, has had a varsity uniform the last three years. But not until this season has he broke a sweat in it. The majority of his playing time came on junior varsity the past two seasons.

“You can’t help but appreciate what he’s done,” CV coach Rick Sloan said. “He’s bided his time. He never complained about anything. He always maintained a positive attitude. Really, in life you can’t control when the coach plays you, but you can control when you do play. I just love the kid.”

When one looks at his statistics, the first question that comes to mind is: “Where has this kid been?”

The easy answer is he’s been toiling away, trying to make himself a better player.

The long answer is he’s spent a lot of time in the gym or out back at his home with his younger brother retrieving shot after shot for him.

“I read somewhere that John Stockton used to shoot a thousand free throws every day,” Hannan said.

Shooting was the part of Hannan’s game that lacked the most. So that’s what he poured himself into last summer.

“I took about 2,000 shots a day,” Hannan said.

Consider where he is. He scored 21, 17 and 22 points in three games, all wins, last week. That vaulted him atop the Greater Spokane League scoring list at 16.1 per game going into the week.

The 6-foot-1 wing is shooting 53 percent overall (82 of 155) and 70.5 percent (12 of 17) from 3-point range. He leads CV in rebounding per game (9.7) and steals (3.1).

He’s had nine double-doubles in 15 games, and he’s one of the best defenders in the league.

He’s been described as CV’s Swiss Army knife. He has a lot of tools in his tool belt.

Sloan knew before last summer that if Hannan could play defense he’d earn more playing time. Sloan stresses defense before offense.

The offense has been more than a bonus, though.

Hannan goes about his business drawing no attention to himself.

“You have to watch him a few times to truly appreciate what he’s doing,” Sloan said. “Summers aren’t always a quantified evaluation, because we don’t keep statistics. He always had the ability at the lower levels to get his hands on a lot of balls. But he wasn’t a consistent scorer. His game is more rounded now.”

Hannan admits it was difficult to sit on the varsity bench the last two years knowing his only chance of getting into the game was if the Bears were winning by a big margin.

He didn’t get the chance to shine on JV, either. He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer last year (6.5 ppg) because Sloan saved a quarter or two for varsity in the oft chance that Hannan was needed.

Hannan was caught in between, but he understood why.

“That’s how Sloan’s system works,” he said. “You have to wait until it’s your turn. Most of the time there aren’t multiple-year stars. He develops kids.”

Hannan is the poster child of a program player.

So he kept his mouth shut, never complaining.

“That’s not who I am,” Hannan said. “I try to keep a positive outlook on everything. I figured my turn would come. I just believed if I kept working everything would work out.”

Hannan generally guards the best scorer on the opposing team. During the holidays, CV had a home game against Richland, the State 4A runner-up last year. The Bombers’ top player, 6-2 junior guard Steven Beo, has been offered scholarships by the University of Washington and Boise State.

Beo scored a career-high 49 points in Richland’s season opener against Wenatchee. He followed it up the next game with 47 against Davis of Yakima. He’s averaging 25.5 per game.

Hannan limited Beo to 11 in CV’s 59-44 win. It’s the second-lowest total Beo has had this season.

“He got two on me at the end of the fourth quarter. I was hoping to hold him to single digits,” Hannan said. “I’ve always taken pride in defense. You don’t have to be athletic or strong to play defense. You just have to take pride in it.”

Hannan wanted to contribute more this season than just defense, so he went to work.

“My shot had mechanical issues,” Hannan said. “I wanted to look to score more and be an offensive threat. I think my dad has changed my shot about five times throughout high school.”

Hannan and his teammates have the green light to shoot any time as long as the shot is in rhythm and in the context of the offense.

“I got a lot more confidence over the summer,” Hannan said. “Sloan wants me to have more confidence and not be afraid to fail.”

Hannan wants to continue playing in college. He’s been in contact with a handful of schools.

After practice Monday, Sloan huddled with his players to pass out Bear chips – a token the size of a quarter that the players earn for team goals met and individual feats in previous games.

Against Gonzaga Prep last Thursday, Hannan scored 17 points, hauled down 15 rebounds, had four steals and four assists. Against Shadle Park on Friday, he had 22 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Hannan earned four Bear chips. For every chip, a player can turn it in for a sports drink Sloan keeps stocked in a refrigerator at school. Hannan is hording his chips, which he estimates is up to 25.

Hannan’s cache is bound to grow.

“I’m going to clean out the fridge after the season,” Hannan said. “That’s my goal.”