Yes, Spokane fans, Ethan Newell plans to continue wearing the white headband he wore Tuesday.
Why not, after Newell netted a career-high 27 points in the Owls’ 62-55 home-opening triumph versus Hollister.
It was the first game the Spokane junior forward had ever played while wearing a headband.
“All my teammates say I pulled off (the look) pretty good,” Newell said of his impromptu fashion statement. “So, I guess I'll wear it for a few games and see how it goes.”
Newell wasn’t trying to be in vogue. The headband was actually necessary to protect a cut on his forehead that he suffered in practice last Thursday. Feeling a bit woozy the next day, he sat out Spokane’s season-opening win last Friday at New Covenant.
“We were doing a drill and I grabbed a rebound off the backboard. As soon as I turned around to make a dribble, I collided with a teammate,” Newell said. “His mouth hit me.
“It was a little rough for a couple days,” he added. “I went home and laid in bed all weekend, so I could hopefully play today.”
“He had a pretty severe cut,” Owls coach New Starrett said. "He could have needed stitches, but they were able to glue it back up."
Newell’s mother thought ahead by getting him a headband.
“My mom got it from Academy (Sports in Springfield),” he said. “We were going to make sure I was going to be able to play. Today, I was feeling better, so coach told me to throw the headband on and we'd see how it goes.”
The first half Tuesday played out as well as anyone could have hoped. Newell scored 18 points in the first 16 minutes.
“I was nervous coming out, with it being my season-opener,” he said. “But I told myself that at the end of the day, it's just another game. I did my best for my teammates and our fans and it turned out good.”
The 6-foot-2 Newell proved to be a matchup problem for Hollister and could present a similar challenge to opponents all season.
He showed off a capable 3-point shot late last season, making five treys in a District loss to Greenwood. Now, with his inside game improved, it will be interesting to see how defenses try to match up against him.
“I've been working real hard to get stronger so I can do a little bit of everything,” Newell said. “This year, I feel like I can drive better.”
“He's always been able to shoot the ball well,” Starrett said. “He’s had to develop his inside game and he's done a good job of that. Teams that have a smaller defender guarding him outside, he's going to take advantage by taking them inside. He's got some speed to him, too. He doesn't look like he'd be as fast as he is off his first step. But he's got a quick first step. That can catch people off guard who put a bigger guy on him. He can beat them off the dribble.”
Starrett felt Newell’s points total Tuesday easily could have been in the 30s.
“He missed a few shots inside I felt he should have made, so he probably should have had more,” Starrett said. “Maybe he was pushing it a little too hard or he was too excited. He was also starting to cramp up. I called timeouts to let him rest and he powered through it.”
“It was a little tiring out there, with it being my first game,” Newell said. “I drank a lot of water and pickle juice. I gutted it out.”
Newell didn’t make a field goal in the fourth quarter. But Spokane held onto the lead, with Ricky Riott scoring six of his nine points in the fourth quarter while going 6-for-7 at the free-throw line down the stretch.
Riott, a senior point guard, is taking on the role of floor general for the Owls in his third season as part of their backcourt.
“He's got our most varsity experience and brings a lot of leadership to our team,” Starrett said. “He struggled offensively tonight, just a little off night for him. But that's not going to happen a lot.”
Spokane opens play in the Forsyth Tournament next week against Branson.
