By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com

 
CUSTER — Mason County Eastern junior Clay Shoup scored 558 points for the Cardinals basketball team this season and upped his career total to 1,078.
 
The Cardinals drew the curtain down on their season last week with a loss to Baldwin in the Division 4 district semifinal game with the Panthers and ended the year 7-17.
 
 But Shoup had an incredible season. His four 40-plus point games are the most ever for a Cardinal player, and with one more season remaining, he certainly has a shot at becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer.
 
At the top of the list is Steve Griswold, who finished his career with about 1,700 points in the early 2000s. If Shoup can increase his production, Griswold’s total is certainly attainable.
 
“The crowd held up a sign and I waved to them,” the Cardinal guard said of the historic moment. “It was a nice moment, (but) we had to get our mind back in the game.”
 
Shoup may give fans the impression he’s a natural scorer with his smooth and almost effortless shooting, but it’s the culmination of many early-morning hours spent in the gym refining his stroke.
 
Finally, it’s the other four players on the floor with him who provide the final factor in the equation.
 
“(My) teammates do a lot of good work to put me in that position, to get me open (and) all that stuff,” Shoup said. “Just a lot of hard work over the summers, (with) a trainer and other programs. I would rather drive in and go to the hoop more, but I shoot a lot of 3s. I need to work on my mid-range game a little bit more to just advance it long term.
 
“If I can get (inside), I can get to the free throw line more often than shooting a 3. Those (free throws and layups) are the most important aspects.”

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wood

 
Eastern coach Mark Forner has coached Shoup since his freshman year so he’s seen the progress over the years.
 
“A skinny kid with big feet,” Forner said with a chuckle. “It’s really been a joy to see him progress. We talk a lot about teaching the boys how to become men. One of the things we talk about is being committed to your craft and try to get better. I think when you try to be as good as you possibly can be, you can be great.
 
“Clay lives and breathes that,” Forner said. “He’s probably the hardest working kid I’ve had the pleasure of coaching, and he’s doing everything he can to squeeze every ounce of ability and quality play out of his body.
 
“He’s a very successful kid. He’s a 4.0 (grade point average) student. Many of those traits like dedication, commitment, sacrifice, all those things we as educators talk about in the classroom, he’s able to take those same traits and transfer them to the basketball court.”
 
Forner added that Shoup has the ability to make his teammates better, but his biggest improvement has been in his leadership ability, according to Forner.
 
“We were a very young team, so we’ve asked (Shoup) to do a whole bunch,” Forner said. “We asked him to score half of our points. But, particularly this year he’s developed some post up moves. I can’t take any credit for it. It’s mostly just a lot of hard work on his own. His footwork inside in the lane is another dimension. The first two years Clay was pretty much a spot up 3-point shooter.
 
“But this year he can go to the basket and finish strong. He’s an 80-plus percent free-throw shooter. His inside game has really developed this year.”
 
Eastern came on strong in the second half of the season, winning five of its last eight games and was much more competitive, especially the second time playing its West Michigan D League opponents.
 
The Cardinals graduate three seniors this year, James Drake, Nate Wing and Mason Perski, but return nine other players as well as Shoup so the expectation is that everyone will be much improved.
 
But for the fans, a lot of focus will be on Shoup to see if he can surpass Griswold and take over the top spot on the school’s all-time scoring list.