When William Stackhouse was a freshman at Altoona-Midway High School, he knew his role was to hustle, rebound – and use his quickness and anticipation to play good defense and create turnovers.
Scoring points for the Jets was not really in his job description at the time.
Now a senior, Stackhouse still leads AMHS in all of those aforementioned categories.
But scoring has also become an expected outcome – as evidenced when Stackhouse joined the exclusive 1,000-point club Thursday evening at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
Stackhouse scored on one of his patented finger-roll layups with 7:21 left in the second quarter to put him over the milestone for his four-year career at Altoona-Midway.
The 6-2 super-quick swing player finished with 20 points in the Jets’ 61-23 victory over Southern Coffey County – 18 coming in the first half – pushing his career point total to 1,007 with two regular season games remaining, plus postseason play.
Stackhouse becomes only the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He joins AMHS career scoring leader Brian Ward (1249), Jerry Jerome (1123) and Kurt Sizemore (1108) on the elite list.
“William has been a consistent performer for Altoona-Midway for four years,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “Reaching the milestone of 1000 points is quite an achievement, and William should be proud.”
Stackhouse was humbled by the recognition, and was quick to point out this was a team achievement, not an individual one.
“My freshman year, I would have never believed this night could be possible,” he said. “I worked hard and I’m very proud of this accomplishment, but I realize no one achieves something like this by themselves.
“I’m so thankful for the amazing teammates and coaches I’ve had throughout the years,” Stackhouse said. “I would have never gotten to this moment without them. They had a part in this and I appreciate them all.”
Making the night even more exceptional was the fact all four of his head coaches during his tenure at AM were on hand to help celebrate the monumental occasion.
“William is a humble young man that embodies everything it means to be a great teammate ... success will find William as he continues through life; on and off the court,” said Lane Huffman, who coached at AMHS when Stackhouse was a freshman and now leads the program at Yates Center.
Huffman added: “I had the honor of coaching William as a freshman. It was obvious very quickly that he would provide a positive impact on our team quickly. He quickly moved into a starting role and during the last part of the season, we got a glimpse of the William people watch today; a defensive menace that lives in passing lanes prepared to take it the other way for two.”
“What a great kid,” noted Jeff Almond, current AMHS activities director and one of his middle school coaches. “I consider it an honor and privilege to play such a small part in William's development into the player he is today. He came to practice and worked hard every day. He never took a day off. He makes an old coach very proud and I look forward to following William and watching him become a successful young man in whatever he chooses to do in life.
“Congratulations William, you have worked hard and you deserve this recognition that comes along with being a 1000-point scorer,” Almond added. “The entire Altoona-Midway community is proud of you and we certainly appreciate your efforts and dedication that you have demonstrated over the years.”
Craig Null, who formerly coached Stackhouse both in middle school and as an AMHS assistant last season, added: “Will is a great athlete, scorer and rebounder. But I saw him as a great leader and ultimate competitor as well. Despite being so talented, he takes instruction as well as anyone on the team.
“Will has an intrinsic desire to be the best he can be,” Null added. “Yes, his quickness, anticipation and athletic ability are off the charts, but he also worked his tail off during the off-season to improve in every phase of the game. And as a result, his confidence soared and he became one of the best all-around players in the area.”
Stackhouse scored 113 points (5.4 average) as a freshman, increasing his output to 213 points (10.7 ppg) as a sophomore and 349 points (16.7 ppg) as a junior. He has added 332 points as a senior (18.4 ave.) with two regular-season games and the postseason still to play.
Stackhouse, who is averaging 11.2 rebounds per game this year, has logged an impressive 23 double-doubles over the past two seasons and has 30 for his career. The lanky jumping jack is also nearing 700 career rebounds and 300 career steals.
“William has increased his totals in every category – scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks … you name it, he has managed to improve in every season he has played,” Vance said. “But that is not the whole story.
“William has also become a very fine young man,” Vance added. “He has remained steady in his schoolwork, his athletics, and in maintaining his family life at home. I congratulate William on this achievement, and I have enjoyed coaching him for the last three years. I see nothing but success for William in his future, in whatever he chooses to do.”
Stackhouse is already a two-time All-Three Rivers League selection and earned honorable mention all-state in Class 1A-II as a junior. He indicated he would love to continue his career at the post-secondary level, but right now was focused on the present.
“Sure, I would love to play basketball in college somewhere,” the senior smiled. “But I’ll think about that later. We (the Jets) still have some team goals we want to accomplish this year.”
Photo courtesy of Larry Amer