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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2017)
Sports B1 Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com Wednesday, December 27, 2017 BASKETBALL ‘A LOT TO LIVE UP TO’ Senior living up to ‘Roth’ expectation at Silverton H.S. When Silverton’s Cade Roth goes a certain amount of time without scoring, he’ll often rely on the other Foxes’ scoing options, such as sophomore David Gonzales, seen here, junior wing Josiah RothCQ and junior post Levi Nielsen. PHOTOS BY BILL POEHLER/STATESMAN JOURNAL BILL POEHLER SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL W I USA TODAY NETWORK hen a person with the last name of Roth grows up in Silverton and plays basketball, there are going to be expectations. • And there are going to be questions of how they are related to the other Roths. • Cade Roth has lived up to the first part; the second is more complicated. • Growing up on the family farm in Silverton – the one he affectionately refers to as “the basketball hoop farm” – Roth was always one of the youngest and smallest of a dozen or so cousins trying to earn a place on the court. • Now a 6-foot-5 senior wing, he has combined his determination and a high basketball IQ to become a premier player for the Silverton High School boys basketball team. Though Roth is good against high school competition, at home he plays against cousins that either played college basketball or still do. “It is a lot to live up to,” he said. “From 5 or 6 years old, I’ve been playing with my cousins and they’ve been pushing me around and everything. Sometimes I get frustrated, but I know I’ve got to get up there. I don’t have to, but it’s a Roth tradition..” The Foxes started the season 4-0. That undefeated start – even though it’s still early – is promising under first-year head coach Jamie McCarty. Roth, who averaged 15.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a ju- nior, credits McCarty’s emphasis on defense and passing for the Fox- es’ strong opening. And no one has to remind Roth that last season’s Silverton team un- derperformed with a 12-14 record in the 2016-17 season with pretty much the same roster they have this sea- son. Silverton earned a reputation last season by upsetting some of the top teams in the Mid-Willamette Conference, but didn’t play consis- tent basketball. “Some nights I’d step up and I’d score some, but I wouldn’t distrib- ute, I wouldn’t play solid defense,” said Roth, a first-team all-league player as a junior. “It just needed to be an all-to- gether team, and that’s what we have this year.” It’s hard to imagine how a player who scores 30 points in a game has to be encouraged to shoot the ball more. But there are times in games when Roth will have an open look yet pass the ball. He’s not exactly a point guard, but is a stellar distributor. “Cade Roth, he is so unselfish and he can flat light it up any time he wants yet he’ll always choose to make the right play,” said McCarty, also known for his years as coach at Stayton. “I’ve actually had to be on him a little bit more that we need him to shoot the ball. We need him to step up and finish plays and finish games off. He’s just the ultimate teammate. He loves to make people Silverton senior Cade Roth drives with the ball against Springfield at the Capitol City Classic. Roth averaged 15.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a junior. "Cade Roth, he is so unselfish and he can flat light it up any time he wants yet he’ll always choose to make the right play." JAMIE MCCARTY, SILVERTON HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL HEAD COACH around him better.” Roth can go through a 12-minute stretch without scoring, but have more influence on a game than if he is shooting the ball. That happens as Roth relies on the Foxes’ other scoring options such as sophomore point guard Da- vid Gonzales, junior wing Josiah Roth and junior post Levi Nielsen. “He’s an amazing scorer and can score from pretty much anywhere, but he’s a very unselfish player and can distribute the ball as much as he can score it,” Nielsen said. As for the question of how Cade is related to the other Roths is more difficult. Josiah Roth, for instance, is his first cousin. Silverton’s former head coach Steve Roth, who coached the team to a 5A state championship in 2015, is his uncle. Former West Salem player Alex Roth is not related. As for Silverton senior Maggie Roth: “Maggie is our third cousin, I think. I don’t even know.” bpoehler@StatesmanJour- nal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler