Canzano: Best teams always play for something bigger
How far have you come? How far to go?
Have you seen the Buse sisters play basketball?
Kaylor, Kyla, and Kinley?
Mom and Dad — Kevin and Kris — have seven kids in their household. Kamden, Kalvin, Kelton, and Karley are there, too. All of ‘em K’s. Turns out the family house burned down on Christmas Eve in 2022.
“We lost everything,” mom reported after sifting through the ashes a couple of days later.
The family had just taken their annual Christmas Eve picture in front of the tree. The kids were in matching pajamas. A minute later, Dad was scrambling around getting everyone outside, and Mom was on the phone, calling for emergency services.
“My daughter came up the stairs and said there is smoke coming in from the front,” Kevin Buse told news reporters in front of the house that night. “I grabbed the fire extinguisher, and this entire section (front of the house) right here was on fire.”
Everyone got out.
Fire investigators said the cause was undetermined.
On Saturday night, I watched the Buse sisters and their teammates from West Linn High School play in the state championship game on TV. The game tipped at 9 p.m., and they delivered a 61-56 victory over South Medford. It was the first state title in the school’s history.
I’ve often said I could throw a dart, see where it lands, and tell a good story. That dart landed on the game on my television. The Buse family story is a tale of grit, perseverance, and poise. I watched Kaylor being interviewed on the court after the victory, fighting back tears.
She said: “Nobody knows what we’ve been through, and what it takes.”
I don’t know their father. But I like the guy. He took his girls for a drive before the state title game. They drove through the old West Linn neighborhood at Knox Street and Prospect Street, and he reminded them, “Don’t forget what you’ve been through.”
How far have you come?
How far do you have to go?
Decide for yourself which of those walks into your mind first. Henry David Thoreau wrote once, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” The Buse family has kept itself busy rebuilding the life that lay in ashes on Christmas morning 2022.
Kaylor Buse was in middle school when that fire burned down her house. She’s just a junior in high school now. I pulled up a news report from KGW-TV the night the fire hit, and there was Kaylor, 14 at the time, doing an interview.
“You look around, and you see fear in your dad’s eyes, and you see your mom crying and screaming for your brother cause he was upstairs in his bedroom,” said Kaylor.
Trailing 51-50 in the title game?
Three minutes to play?
A high-pressure situation?
West Linn’s Reese Jordan knocked down a huge three for the lead. Ayla Arnold scored after a big offensive rebound. But nobody should be surprised that it was Kaylor Buse who closed out the game, scoring her team’s final five points.
She finished with 23 points
Also, in tears.
“Adversity,” she said.
It’s Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament. The Madness of March is about to infect your living room. Portland’s Moda Center will host first-and second-round games. Your bracket is perfect, for now.
Amid that, I challenge anyone who saw that Oregon girls’ 6A championship game not to come away thinking that the soul of March basketball is the games played by the top high school teams across the country in the last couple of weeks.
It’s coach Billy Mellis in California leading Salesian High, a school of 386 kids, to an upset of No. 1-seed Riordan in the Northern California regional boys final. It’s the Tualatin High boys stunning Central Catholic, 70-69, in the 6A title game by scoring six points in the final seven seconds. It’s the Richland Bombers capping an undefeated season in Washington’s 4A division, ending Gonzaga Prep’s championship reign.
How far have you come?
How far do you have to go?
The more you understand about the players involved, the more real it gets. It’s the fundamental part of this, isn’t it? We watch athletes perform. We see them shine. We declare them wonderful. We see them lose. We declare them bums. We don’t see the house fire, the GoFundMe, or the community rallying around them.
The stakes were high on Saturday night. But not higher than when mom and dad were scrambling around at night, counting children, as smoke filled the house.
The Buse family had some traditions.
They took a Christmas photo in front of the tree.
Then, life burned it down.
The Buse sisters aren’t just ballplayers. They do volunteer work. Kaylor works with younger girls in her town, helping them with basketball skills. When the Tualatin boys beat Central Catholic, post-player Damon Olvera told reporters, “We did all this for the city of Tualatin.” When Salisian won NorCal, it came with a coach who insists that his little school plays up into California’s large-school division.
The best teams always play for more than themselves.
It was a joyous ending for the West Linn girls’ basketball team on Saturday night. The team won a title. The Buse sisters hugged it out and hopped around with their teammates. There was a trophy presentation. But I keep thinking of the route their father took on the drive to the game.
How far have you come?
How far do you have to go?
Please consider a full paid subscription if you’re not already receiving one. You won’t miss a thing. Or consider sending a gift subscription to a friend or family member today:
I have said this before, John, and I am right every time: today’s column was one of your best. You see Big League Heart in others because that is who you are. Thanks for this one. What a story! What a family!! It is beyond “Hoosiers.”
Another great human interest story from JC. I have another. I love HS sports in general and girls sports specifically because of the joy the ladies have doing their thing. The boys usually have a little attitude and don't express outward joy or emotion as much as do the girls. I keep track of my high school girls (and boys) teams as a fan of sports. We should note that the West Albany HS girls beat Springfield HS last night in the state 5A championships. It was the first state championship for girls basketball in WAHS school history (going back to the mid 70s). This WAHS team has only two seniors and the core group are juniors and sophomores. They will be back next year trying to repeat. I read the post-game stories and have to admit my eyes teared up with joy for the girls. Such grace and humility. They played for each other and by their own words, the team is "tight" and has zero drama. Refreshing