Date: Fri 09-Feb-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Mike-Storms-Feature

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Mike Storms - Feature

The usually quiet and reserved NHS senior co-captain flicked a switch and

ignited the home Indians as he jawed with officials, hollered at his

teammates, and pumped his fist in the air with every basket.

It was a much-needed shot in the arm that inspired an important 41-38 NHS

victory over New Milford.

" Leadership seems to be the one thing that our team has been lacking this

year, " said NHS coach Kevin O'Sullivan. " We really don't have that

fire-in-the-belly guy. Tonight he was in peoples' faces. He was the only one

who played well for us and his attitude really lit the fuse. "

" It just happened, " said the lean six-foot-four NHS forward, who finished

the night with 18 points and 12 rebounds. " I usually like to keep a cool

head, but something inside me just let loose. We went into the game expecting

to win, I expected to win, and we were playing so poorly that something inside

me told me that I had to yell a little bit. "

Storms scoring and rebounding numbers that night gave him a total of 56 points

and 42 boards in his last three games combined. They were, without question,

three of the best games of his Newtown High basketball career.

Coach O'Sullivan hopes that his captain's latest personality shift will stick.

" He has a quiet personality, " the coach explained. " Michael Storms is one

of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He's a gentleman. He's articulate and

is highly intelligent. He's not an I'm-going-to-beat-your-face-in type of

person. But sometimes you need a little turn of the screw at this level and I

think it's taken him until now to realize that. "

Before his February 5 explosion, Mike Storms was content at just letting his

actions do the talking.

Starting as a junior on last year's 19-4 conference championship team, Storms

led the Indians in rebounding while scoring a quiet 7.5 points per game. His

best performance of the season came in one of the most pressure-packed

situations when he scored a career-best 18 points in the conference semifinals

against Bethel and its All-State center Greg Sutton.

Coming back as Newtown's co-captain this winter, Storms continued to dominate

on the glass, but got off to a slow start scoring.

" At the beginning of this year I thought that Brian [Wassman] and I would

have to score a lot, " he said. " I put a lot of pressure on myself and really

didn't score many points. Over the last few games I've become more relaxed. I

don't feel pressure to score because we have so many players who can. "

Newtown, in fact, has four players averaging in double figures and with his

latest offensive surge Storms lifted himself from fourth to second on the team

in that department.

But even though Storms has scored in double figs in ten of Newtown's 16 games

to date, he still considers his primary responsibility to be rebounding.

" Last year, having three guards as good as we did, it was tough for our guys

inside to get the ball, " he explained. " As a result of that I worked that

much harder on rebounding so that I could contribute to the team. I saw that

as my role and I did it the best that I could. I still consider that my job

when I go out there. I don't really think about it. It's just something that I

do.

Three Sport Star

Having moved to Newtown at age two, the middle child in a family of three

boys, Mike became involved in soccer, basketball, and baseball as soon as he

was old enough to sign up.

He was always an above-average player in all of the sports, but when winter

time rolled around he was in his element.

" Basketball's always been my favorite sport, " admitted Mike, reflecting

fondly back on his days in the Newtown Parks and Recreation Leagues where he

learned the game playing for his coach and father, Gary, a former Division II

basketball player at Michigan Technological University.

" My dad's always been a real help to me, " Mike said. " He's always at my

games and critiques my performances for me. I'm still trying to beat him

one-on-one. When ever I get close he calls time out and that's the end of the

game. I never get to eleven. "

At six-foot-six, Gary Storms is also partially responsible for a gene pool

that yielded three boys well over six feet tall. Mike's older brother, Chris,

was a swimmer at Newtown High, and his younger brother, Dan, (still growing)

is currently a sophomore on the NHS jayvee team.

On his Park and Rec basketball team Storms' most formidable opponent was

always Brian Wassman. The two big men went head-to-head in some classic

battles before joining forces as teammates on the Newtown Middle School team.

From that point forward, the two were teammates on the soccer field as well as

on the basketball court. But though they played for the same cause, there was

always a subconscious rivalry.

" Deep down I've always wanted to do a little bit better than Wassman, "

Storms admitted. " Brian's a great athlete and a great competitor. He was

always our go-to guy (in basketball) and I always wanted to show people that I

could play too. But it seemed every time I had a great game, he'd have one

too. "

The Storms/Wassman twosome captained the NHS soccer team last fall and were

elected as co-captains for this year's basketball team as well where they

continue to climb the NHS all-time scoring chart right next to one another.

" We've always competed with each other, but in a friendly way, " Wassman

said. " We were always striving to be better than each other. Mike never used

to be very physical. He was all finesse out there. He's developed now to where

he uses his body more and is playing like he can play. He's the smartest

player on the court and I think he's the best player out there now. "

Coach O'Sullivan is in agreement when it comes to " Stormsy's " court smarts.

" That, " he says, " will be Michael's legacy. I would say that Michael is the

most intelligent basketball player I've ever coached. He understands what's

going to happen next. I've never coached anyone who was able to read the

help-side defense any better than Mike Storms. "

Storms isn't only smart on the basketball court, though. A perennial honors

student, the senior was ranked 12th in his class at the end of last year. His

college applications this fall were addressed to Northwestern, Yale, Harvard,

and Princeton among others.

" I'd like to play basketball in college, " he said. " I haven't gotten much

response from coaches at the schools I'm looking at, but if I get in I'll try

out and see what happens. "

In the meantime, though, Mike Storms has some unfinished business on the

Newtown High hardwood. What would he consider the perfect finish to his high

school career?

" I'd like to see us go unbeaten for the rest of the season, meet up with

Kolbe in the finals, and surprise everybody when we beat them in overtime, "

he says, with a shy smile.

I could happen.

The forecast for the remainder of the season is calling for - Storms.