Rider boys basketball allows injured Aledo player to score game's first points

ALEDO – JD Robinson wasn’t sure how Josh Castles would respond to such a unique request.

Robinson’s Aledo Bearcats hosted Castles’ Rider Raiders in District 5-5A action Friday night. It was the final home game of Aledo’s season, meaning it was senior night for the Bearcats.

But there was one senior specifically on Robinson’s mind, and he asked Castles for help to honor him.

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Luke Slabbekoorn was supposed to be a significant part of the Bearcats’ rotation, but the senior injured his knee in Aledo’s second scrimmage, bringing a premature end to his season.

Robinson had an idea, but executing it would depend on Castles’ response to a simple request:

Let Luke score.

“I called him Friday morning and told him we planned on putting Luke in the game and getting him the ball,” Robinson said. “I told coach that he can tell me ‘Heck no,’ and guard him anyway, but we wanted him to score the first points of the game.”

There was no hesitation from Castles.

“This is awesome,” Castles told Robinson. “He kept asking me before the game, ‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ He kept wondering if it was a hard decision to make, and I told him it really wasn’t.”

Rider allowed Aledo to win the opening tip and the ball was passed to Slabbekoorn on the block. With a big brace on his left knee, Slabekoorn banked in the shot, giving Aledo a 2-0 lead.

Accordingly, Aledo didn’t play defense after the bucket, allowing Rider to score on the other end and tying the game 2-2.

Originally, Robinson intended to call timeout after the exchange of points, but Castles didn’t want to have any advantage as the game started.

“He had the idea to approach the referees and see if they would take an official’s timeout,” Robinson said. “His response was first class. He said, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes to give Luke a special night.’”

Was it a tough sell to the Rider team?

“At first, they were a little surprised by what I said we were going to do,” Castles said. “I told them, ‘If this was any of you guys, I’d ask for the same thing to be done.’ They were good with it.

“It’s tough to travel two hours to play a game, and you don’t really have a chance at the playoffs. So, I think it says a lot about our team that they agreed to do this.”

Aledo won the game, 54-44, and clinched the final playoff berth available in District 5-5A. But Friday’s game was about much more than that.

“It was so selfless,” Robinson said. “I know our kids work really hard every day, and I know Rider is doing the same thing. For them to agree to this says a lot about the quality of kids they have at Rider. And coach Castles has a heart of gold. Wichita Falls has a great man coaching their kids.”

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Rider boys basketball displays sportsmanship in gift to Aledo senior