Lone Peak High School's boy's basketball team is making a run for a national championship that reads like the script to a future ESPN 30 for 30 film. Chris Kamrani, the Salt Lake Tribune prep sports beat writer, followed the team throughout the playoffs and put it best with his tweet during the championship game: "Emotions. Kids. Sports. At least these guys want it." It is no surprise a team that won its sixth title in eight years dominated the sports section of the Tribune all weekend.
I am not the biggest Utah high school basketball junkie. For this reason, I find Kamrani's lead captivating, because it brings the reader back to August when this run started. The opening sentence reads: "Before all the dunks, before all the long-range 3s, before the rabid defense, Quincy Lewis gathered his guys on an August afternoon and told the Lone Peak Knights their main objective."
This was not just a game recap. It was great story telling. I believe Kamrani knew this story would garner national attention and his use of short concise sentences added dramatic pauses in the reading. To close out the piece, he simply uses a eight-word sentence. Powerful.
How big was this in Utah? This article had videos and a photo gallery with all original content. This is what I like to see from a news site. I was a big fan of Kamrani on camera to start the recap video. I always think it is great for a writer to add perspective to his work in other forms of media like a quick recap video. Patrick Leary and I have a weekly web show for the Marquette Tribune, where we recap and preview Marquette basketball action. We have toyed with the idea of doing a rapid reaction video after basketball games. It would be similar to Kamrani's video.
I chose to focus on the Salt Lake Tribune's high school basketball focus, because looking into their coverage brought me back to the days when I wrote for NYHoops.com (now defunct) and tracked high school hoops in the New York City area. It's always nice to reminisce and think back on the good old days.
I am not the biggest Utah high school basketball junkie. For this reason, I find Kamrani's lead captivating, because it brings the reader back to August when this run started. The opening sentence reads: "Before all the dunks, before all the long-range 3s, before the rabid defense, Quincy Lewis gathered his guys on an August afternoon and told the Lone Peak Knights their main objective."
This was not just a game recap. It was great story telling. I believe Kamrani knew this story would garner national attention and his use of short concise sentences added dramatic pauses in the reading. To close out the piece, he simply uses a eight-word sentence. Powerful.
How big was this in Utah? This article had videos and a photo gallery with all original content. This is what I like to see from a news site. I was a big fan of Kamrani on camera to start the recap video. I always think it is great for a writer to add perspective to his work in other forms of media like a quick recap video. Patrick Leary and I have a weekly web show for the Marquette Tribune, where we recap and preview Marquette basketball action. We have toyed with the idea of doing a rapid reaction video after basketball games. It would be similar to Kamrani's video.
I chose to focus on the Salt Lake Tribune's high school basketball focus, because looking into their coverage brought me back to the days when I wrote for NYHoops.com (now defunct) and tracked high school hoops in the New York City area. It's always nice to reminisce and think back on the good old days.