Stand Out (Zach Horstman)

January 31, 2011 6:02 PM


At six-foot-six, Zach Horstman stands out in a crowd, even if that crowd is full of other tall basketball players.  The height of the Winner senior has just a little bit to do with that.  But it's his talent that really sets him apart.

"He gets a lot of recognition for his scoring," said Winner boys basketball coach Jim Drake.  "But what I see is, he's matured as a leader.  Everyone thinks he's got to score, and certainly he has to do that for us, but what people forget is, he can get 7 or 8 rebounds, he leads us in assists, he leads us in steals and recoveries, and he led us in taking charges last year, so I see the leadership role more than the scoring."

The statistics back up that statement.  Yes, Horstman is the school's all-time leading scorer and averages nearly 19 points per game the past two seasons, but he is also the school's all-time leader in steals and defensive rebounds.  The stats he is most interested in though are wins.  After all, his team has a chance to be the fifth in school history to reach the state tournament.

"I love the competition," said Horstman.  "Teams are always looking to get us because of what they read and stuff.  I just love the competition part of it."

Since his freshman year, Horstman has been committed to SDSU, and next year, he will take his considerable talents to Brookings.

"I've really been working on my ball-handling and coming off screens and trying to move without the ball more.  I've been really working on defense and I need to get quicker and I need to get a lot stronger too," said Horstman.

If those things happen, there's no doubt Zach Horstman will continue to stand out, even at the next level.