The ball is being dribbled down the court and you can feel the anticipation in the gym. With a calm and relaxed look, Senior Kasen Dickerson throws a lob to his teammate, who slams the ball down through the net, and the crowd goes wild. Dickerson, in his third year of varsity basketball, always keeps his cool.

   In the last month, Dickerson has been playing extremely well, with a 31 point performance against Point Loma High and shooting 11 for 16 field goals, which is an extremely efficient 69 percent (Maxpreps.com). He attributed his success to his work ethic. “To practice, I always put up jump shots, and work on my dribbling to keep myself warmed up,” said Dickerson.

   According to MaxPreps, Dickerson is averaging 11 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season (Maxpreps.com). He explained, “I enjoy basketball, because it has always been fun to play with my friends.” He then added, “I started playing in middle school when I played in a League where all my friends and I would just shoot the ball and enjoy ourselves.” Dickerson continued, “My goal for this year is to win a banner. Our team is really good, and I think we are in a great position to do it.”

   Varsity Basketball Head Coach Terry Stonebreaker has enjoyed coaching Dickerson. “The rest of the team feeds off of Kasen’s energy. It’s been great to watch him grow as a player,” said Stonebreaker. After watching him for four years, Stonebreaker believes Dickerson can do some damage at the next level. He explained, “Kasen has the skills and mentality to play higher level basketball, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on a college team.”

   His teammates have high praise for him as well. Senior Luke Minnick has been playing with Dickerson for two years and shared, “It’s fun playing with Kasen, because he’s a good passer and makes the game fun for the rest of the team.” He continued, “He passes to everyone, and kicks the ball out to people so they can get their shots up.” 

   When Dickerson is on the court, the flow of the game becomes more calm and relaxed, the way Dickerson likes it. Minnick added, “Kasen is a really good player. His presence on the court changes the defense to being more spread out, giving our team better shots.”

   With college on the horizon, Dickerson isn’t 100 percent sure about what he wants to do but, like on the court, he will go with the flow. “I don’t have any offers from colleges yet. It would be cool to walk on to a state school, but playing at Mesa would be cool too,” he added.  

   Senior Dylan Pursel said of Dickerson, “I’ve been playing with him for four years. He is a great leader and a fantastic point guard.” He added, “I don’t know exactly what Kasen will do next, but he definitely has the potential to compete at the higher levels.” Whatever path Dickerson finds himself on, UC High will have been lucky to have him.