Spotlight: For McShane, it is all about family

Former South Salem star says Hoopla reminds him of Saxon togetherness

When Mike McShane and I sat down to chat on a shade-covered bench in Willson Park Saturday afternoon, he and his 40-year old-PLUS teammates had recorded two victories in their bracket at the annual Oregon Hoopla 3-on-3 event at the State Capitol.  And after all the running, the preventative stretching, the aggressive defensive efforts and occasional shot from the street, the interview still focused on what got Mike excited about basketball as a youngster—comradery and the concerted effort to pursue excellence on the hardwood.

Originally, this story was to be about Mike reuniting with longtime Saxon teammate, and Australian star Thalo Green to play at Hoopla.  But Thalo came down with an undisclosed illness just prior to the tournament.  So McShane was playing with former Saxons Geoff Rice, and Jeff Harrison, along with ex-South Medford standout Todd Meyerding and Linfield Hall of Famer Grant Ebright.  The team finished Saturday with a third win in pool play, and moved on to championship bracket play on Sunday. (Writer’s note: McShane’s team [Chuck E. Cheese] finished second in bracket play.)

The 44 year old McShane confessed his biggest worry about his skills these days is getting hurt playing in a tournament like Hoopla at his age, but he is still loving the togetherness which reminds him so much of his time at South Salem under longtime head coach Barry Adams.

“One of the first things I remember about my arrival at South Salem was the strength of the family feel at South,” recalls McShane.  And he proceeded to list off the names of families within the Saxon program (Fish, Unruh, Sydow, Meinert, etc.) who helped to give him the confidence to play South Salem basketball at a competitive level.  That eventually lead to a 1996 state title for the Saxons, with McShane and Green anchoring the team in their championship victory over Barlow.

Even though Thalo is unable to play at Hoopla, McShane says he is still grateful that the two of them got to play together overseas.  Mike was able to get Thalo added to his pro team in China after the other American player on the squad was unable to play.  That later on led to Green returning the favor with a stint on an Australian team.

McShane is still getting settled back into life locally, after spending the last couple of years in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He is able to be with his parents, and is getting to see his nephew and two nieces attend school at South Salem—and he will have both his daughters in the state where he can see them as well.  The eldest, Stella, lives with her mom in Bend.  His other daughter Aria will be attending McNary this fall.

One support element for Mike that other people might not be aware of is current McNary boys coach Ryan Kirch.  Kirch and McShane competed against each other for four years in the old Valley League—Kirch at Crescent Valley, McShane at South Salem—but they have cultivated a friendship that helped McShane come to Keizer and gave him the confidence to move ahead with the girls job at McNary.

Regardless of how the tournament finished for McShane, there was no doubt that he is back.  Back in Salem and Keizer, back in the high school coaching ranks, back to being an adult raising kids instead of living out of a duffel bag as a professional athlete.

Welcome back, Mike.