By Joanna Chadwick
Basketball isn’t the only topic of conversation at the Shetlar house.
No, really. It’s not.
But if it were to dominate the conversation, who would be surprised?
Martin Shetlar coaches the Andover boys team, which is 18-2 and seeded third in Class 5A in the west. Eli is a senior on the team and who broke his own school record with 68 made three-pointers this season.
And then there’s Alana, a junior, who has helped lead the girls team to an 18-2 record and the second seed in Class 5A in the west.
In June, Eli is headed to Indiana State to play basketball, while Alana has an offer from Wichita State.
“We watch basketball a lot on TV and we’re constantly talking about it,” said Martin, who played at Augusta, Kansas City Kansas community college and Friends, while his wife, Julia, played basketball her first two years at Dodge City High. They also have a third-grade daughter, Harper, who plays basketball and soccer.
“Eli and I will watch game film and talk about practice and games. I’ll also talk to Alana about what she can do better, and she talks to me a lot about it.
“It try to make it as a dad thing and not a coach thing. Keep it positive.”
Basketball dominated Eli’s mindset from a young age when he set up basketball goals at both ends of the basement in order to play a full-court game. Sometimes he was dunking like Thomas Robinson, other times he was the Morris twins or Travis Reliford.
“We’d have other kids over, and they’d be playing, but there’s Eli, playing basketball by himself,” Martin said.
Alana didn’t have quite the same singular focus, but basketball has been the goal.
“Ever since I was a young age, I’ve wanted to play basketball,” she said. “(Eli and I) do still play a little bit, and he does still beat me, but it’s a good challenge.”
No surprise, both Eli and Alana have high basketball IQs.
“One thing that coaches have told me is that I’m a very smart basketball player,” Alana said. “I take that as a very good compliment. Always being around basketball, having conversations about basketball with my dad — it’s a big part of why I’m so knowledgeable.”
It’s also a part of why Alana, who is 6-foot-2, is being recruited.
“She’s really had to work hard, and these last couple years, she’s come into herself,” Martin said. “She grew into her body, got more coordinated. She’s continued to get better each year. Her development has been amazing from middle school to now. The steps have been huge.”
Alana is a strong ballhandler, she can shoot from the perimeter and she blocks shots and gets rebounds. Because of her size and skills, she’s tough to overlook.
Eli, who is 6-foot-6, came into high school about nine inches shorter — but he was already on his way to being a phenomenal shooter.
“He could always shoot it pretty well, and he was a good basketball player, but not very tall or big,” Martin said. “By his sophomore year, he started growing and kept growing. He made a commitment to getting into the weight room and getting stronger.
“He’s also a very goal-oriented kid. He knew what he wanted to be and wanted to do, and he got in the gym and worked really hard.
Eli shoots 300 shots after practice and, once a week, shoots 500. It has paid off — he is shooting 48% from three-point range this season, an improvement of 8% from a year ago.
Last season, teams focused on Eli because Andover struggled with so many different injuries. But everyone’s healthy this season and there’s talent and experience at every position, so Eli does get open.
Not that he needs much space.
“It’s helpful because my teammates set me up,” he said. “I get a lot of kickout threes from BJ (Redic)…. I’m more comfortable from three, but I get a lot more good chances from three this year, too. Blake Rucker, he’s been causing defenses to put a lot of focus on him, too.”
Alana’s game was forced to change after the recent injury to teammate Brooke Walker.
“I learned to be a lot more aggressive this year, and I’m making a bigger impact on the team in the last few games — I’ve scored a lot more and rebounded a lot more,” Alana said. “… Without Brooke, we’ve all had to step up as a team.”
There have been lots of excellent shooters and ballhandlers come through the Wichita area, so what makes the Shetlar siblings Division I athletes?
“With Eli, he’s an elite shooter,” Martin said. “You have to have that elite ability, and then being 6-6, with a couple more inches to grow, that’s big. Coaches like that he’s a smart player, he understands the game and he makes the right play — he’s not selfish with the ball at all.
“… With Alana, it’s the same thing. If you walked into the gym, you might not think she’s a Division I basketball player right now. But a lot of coaches can see where she can be. To be 6-2 and be able to handle it pretty well and she can shoot it, it’s something you can’t coach.
“Coaches see their skill, their size and they’ve been around the game a lot and they’re smart. Whenever they see that, it’s what you can’t coach — and it’s what they want to have.”
