By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DAYTON, Ore.– It wasn’t the senior year that Dayton’s Lane Garrison had hoped, watching from the sidelines for the second half of his final year in a Pirates uniform, but it did help him become a better leader. A broken forearm didn’t stop Garrison from being the leader that he wanted to be as he continued to support and care for his teammates as Dayton went on to reach the 3A State Playoffs this past season.
“When you’re not on the court and you can’t play, you learn that you can change the game without playing. I couldn’t do anything to change the game, but I could do what I could do. Iff that’s leading, if that’s helping some of the guys on the sideline, but I knew it was super important, and it helped me become a better leader,” said Garrison.
Thankfully for Garrison, this wasn’t the end of his prep career.
Now cleared and getting back into basketball shape, there was a silver lining in it all. On Thursday afternoon, in the same basketball gym, he made a name for himself the past four seasons. He signed his Letter of Intent to play College Basketball at Linfield University. Joining the Division-III program down the road from where he played his high school ball, giving him an opportunity to get back on the court.
“I thought that chapter was done and I was always going to fight to play college ball…I’m super blessed to go play for Linfield and I’m going to give it my all,” said Garrison of the opportunity.
Garrison wasn’t alone in signing on Thursday. Sitting next to him was Clyde Rosenberg.
In two years at Dayton, Rosenberg made a name for himself down in the post and occasionally popping out to hit a three-point shot or two when defense’s least expect it and when his team needed an extra shooter. Rosenberg was PacWest Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All-League selection to end his High School career as he embarks on his next journey in California, where he’ll play at Pomona College in Claremont, California.
Joining a Sagehen program that went 15-11 this past season and reached the SCIAC Conference Tournament.
“I’m really excited to go play basketball there and go to a school like that where it’ll be a really good challenge,” said Rosenberg. “Being here has given me a lot of confidence. It really helped me grow as a basketball player. (This summer) is going to be big, got to work hard all summer, and be at my best for basketball season.”
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
