New Richmond – Laken Toler has spent all four of her years at Wyoming East on the basketball team. But even as a senior her playing time is minimal at best.
For most players that have dedicated that much time to see limited action, there would be a feeling of disinterest or even resentment. With Toler it’s different.
While not as accomplished on the court as her teammates, off of it she’s proven indispensable.
Following a 54-47 victory on the road in a Region 3 co-final at Chapmanville, senior guard Abby Russell noted the impact Toler had on that win, giving her much of the credit for it.
“Laken is one of the players I think deserves the most playing time,” Abby Russell said. “She shoots the best in practice, she hustles all the time and she’s always trying no matter how much she doesn’t get to play. She still contributes to us. Without her, I don’t think we could’ve beaten Chapmanville. She studied them. She runs the plays the other team runs and she never complains about it. I think she deserves the most playing time out of all of us.
“She wrote down everything Chapmanville did, everything they were good at, everything they weren’t good at and she got everybody set up. She pointed out they were good at shooting 3s and that they didn’t really have a defined post player. She pointed out that in their 3-2 they come over too far and the middle was always wide open. Stuff like that was why we won that game.”
The intricacies she picked up when scouting Ravenswood ahead of the team’s 67-37 win over the Devilettes in the Class AA quarterfinals Wednesday helped immensely as well.
“We rely on Laken a lot,” junior guard Maddie Clark said. “She can scout people and she’s a great person. She’s always here. She really just helps you out. The way she scouts, she gets plays you need to know. Defensively she knows what you need to do. Like some people dribble two times to the right and if it’s not there they’ll stop and she can pick up on those things. She was watching film and she noticed Ravenswood’s away and home jersey numbers are different. We would have never known because she scouted the home games and if we would’ve gotten numbers off that we wouldn’t have known. The way she picks up on little stuff is important. On their offense we know what screens to switch and who can shoot and that really helps out a lot.”
While it’s not easy, Toler continues to grind with the philosophy of we > me.
“I think I just want to win,” Toler said. “Everybody wants to win and no matter what it takes, I’m willing to do it. Whether it be playing or scouting or cheering I’m ready to do it. I just want to win.”
The senior’s motivation to scout came early in her career as she wanted to improve her game as well.
“It was like freshman or sophomore year,” Toler said. “I’ve always done it. It was selfless but I felt like if I watched it I’d get better. When we’re scrimmaging or something I can play like the other team.”
When she puts on the film she has a list of tendencies she looks for. Even the smallest one can make the difference. She scouts everything from the home and away jerseys so that there’s clear communication ahead of time to what defenses teams like in particular situations.
“I put what hand they dribble with, what they shoot, how they play defense, if they jump for balls and I look at the jersey numbers,” Toler explained. “We write down something like, ‘No. 1 is right handed and No. 5 shoots with her left.’ It’s stuff like that I try and look for. I think out of bounds plays are the ones that help us a lot because we’re scoring right off the bat and stopping them on defense.”
East head coach Angie Boninsegna has been at the helm for five state championship games and 13 seasons overall. She acknowledges the effort Toler puts in to scouting benefits the team, but as a person she’s indispensable as well, only adding to her value.
“I have a lot of respect for Laken,” Boninsegna said. “She’s one of the biggest cheerleaders on the team that we have. She does a lot and watches game film. She studies a lot and watches a lot. She’s such a positive influence for all the kids. In this day and age you don’t find a kid like that that will stay around. She’s been an excellent kid to have on the team and always positive. Even when things don’t go our way she’s always uplifting and we’re blessed to have her.”
Email: tylrjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94