Beatrix Lozach: Hello. This is talking on sunshine. We’re your hosts Beatrix Lozach and

Riley Pita: Riley Pita

Beatrix Lozach: Today we have with us Ethan Plummer. Ethan, would you like to introduce yourself?

Ethan Plummer: My name is Ethan Plummer. I’ve been a captain of a baseball team for the past three years. I’m also in NHS. 

Beatrix Lozach: What was your origin story in basketball?

Ethan Plummer: I started playing when I was three years old. It started with, like, Blake Griffin. He jumped over a car in the dunk contest. That’s when I decided I wanted to play. 

Beatrix Lozach: Who would you say you model your game after? 

Ethan Plummer: I think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one. I watch him and like, try to use some of his moves, and his like, self-creation.

Beatrix Lozach: What were your earliest training opportunities?

Ethan Plummer: I started playing select basketball in second grade, and I played that all until my sophomore year. I used to live out in Lakeway, so the team I based in the Lakeway area, and I just met like, a lot of really close friends there and had some great coaches that really cared about me. And then, at Lamar Middle School, I didn’t play in seventh grade because of Covid. So I played in eighth grade and that was like, my first school basketball experience. That season was a lot of fun. 

Riley Pita: Why did you decide to continue basketball in high school?

Ethan Plummer: I love it, to be honest. Before high school, a lot of my friendships came from basketball. Anytime I’m like, down or anything, I just kind of turn to just like, getting a basketball on my hands and like, getting shots up. It’s kind of always just been like, my number one thing.

Beatrix Lozach: Would you say that basketball is almost a form of like emotional self-regulation and like connection?

Ethan Plummer: Yeah, I would. But right now, you know, there’s no basketball. So, even like the past two weeks, it felt, honestly, hard because I haven’t really had basketball to like turn to.

Beatrix Lozach: What kind of leadership initiatives and strategies have you been implementing to help those guys reach their full potential?

Ethan Plummer: Lots of times I can kind of be seen as like, not the nicest on the basketball court. Sometimes I’ll get on my teammates. But, you know, I think I think there’s some value to that, like holding guys accountable. You kind of have to pick and choose the spots. You shouldn’t be that 100% of the time. But I was okay with kind of taking on that label and like being that kind of captain this year.

Riley Pita: How has basketball and you being a leader in the basketball community made you grow as a person?

Ethan Plummer: Handling my emotions on the court is something I haven’t even perfected, but I think it’s something I grew a lot in. When I was in middle school and like my freshman year, I wasn’t very good at, I’d kind of hang my head. But this year I would just move on to the next play. When you make mistakes in life just moving on, just, you know, learning from it and growing from it.

Beatrix Lozach: Have there been any clutch moments on the court that have defined your reputation or identity as a leader?

Ethan Plummer: My freshman year, it was senior night, and we were down by one with like 15 seconds left and I hit two free throws to win it. Then my senior year was kind of a similar situation against Bastrop, where it was tied up and I had free throws. In late game situations when it’s time to go to the free throw line, I want the ball in my hands. I think everyone knows to put the ball in my hands when we need free throws, like put a game away. Being able to face the pressure at the free throw line, no matter how loud the crowd is and stuff, that’s something that I take a lot of pride in, in wanting the ball in those situations.

Riley Pita: how do you help the team as a leader handle losses?

Ethan Plummer: After every game, Coach will have me and Darby kind of speak to the team because we’re the two captains. After losses, lots of times I would try to keep the morale high and instill the idea into my teammates to kind of move on from this game and, don’t let it hang over our heads and go into practice the next morning, go that 10% harder knowing that you lost.

Beatrix Lozach: How have you and Darby been working together? What is your dynamic like? 

Ethan Plummer: Eighth grade was like our first time playing together. And then freshman year we were split up because I was on varsity, he was on a freshman team. But then sophomore, junior and senior year, we’ve been on varsity together. We have a lot of chemistry. He’s a really good passer at the post. So like, we had a lot of plays where like I’d make a pass to him and then next time down like, he’ll make a nice pass to me. Over my McCallum career he’s the guy that I’ve definitely maybe assisted the most and I think for me too a lot of my buckets this year came off of his assist as well. So we just like, play off each other. 

Beatrix Lozach: So you mentioned also serving on NHS. How would you say that mentality of service impacts your everyday life? 

Ethan Plummer: one of the things I’ve done for my service hours was I refereed at a special needs football tournament. That was a cool experience, kind of like seeing a lot of those guys, the pure joy they had playing football. For me, like playing basketball this year, I definitely just wanted to bring like, a lot of joy to the game. That experience kind of helped see that it’s a real privilege to be able to play these sports.

Riley Pita: Are you planning to continue basketball into college?

Ethan Plummer: That’s my hope. I currently have three offers. The way that I’m leaning right now is like, if I get a good offer from a school I would want to go to, and they have good academics, then I’ll play baseball next year.

Beatrix Lozach: So what are you planning on majoring in?

Ethan Plummer: Business is kind of my top thing right now. If I’m not playing basketball and I go to one of those other schools majoring in business then I’ma still try to hoop as much as I can.

Riley Pita: What will you miss most about McCallum Basketball?

Ethan Plummer: The people honestly. Like the team this year, we were really tight; we had a lot of fun together. Our coaching staff, I love our coaches. Coach Shaw, Coach Fuentes, those two especially, they really helped me grow as a person and grow as a player. It’s a great program, but I think the people part of it is what’s most special.

Beatrix Lozach: All right. Well, on that note, this has been Talking on Sunshine. I’m your host, Beatrix Lozach and

Riley Pita: Riley Pita

Beatrix Lozach: Go Knights!