PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — Doug Archer wanted to keep his point guard winning the KSHB 41/Hy-Vee Athlete of the Week award a secret until the very last moment.
So he saved it for the very last moment: the trophy presentation.
"I didn't even know you guys were there," Abigail Long, this week's winner said.
The mission was accomplished. The Shawnee Mission East girls basketball team had no idea why they were assembled in their auxiliary gym Wednesday afternoon.
"Our whole team thought we were in trouble," Long, a sophomore guard for the Lancers, said.
Archer knew his text message to meet would seem ominous.
"I only get so many characters [on his phone] so I had to get as much information as little room as possible," Archer, Shawnee Mission East's girls basketball coach said.
The surprise shouldn't be surprising, however.
So far on the season, Long is one of the top scorers in the Sunflower League at 17.5 points per game.
She likes to score in bunches.
"I'd say my favorite part about basketball is shooting threes," Long said. "I really like to shoot threes."
Her coach likes it too.
"She's super-aggressive, which I like," Archer said. "I like getting up shots and running up and down the floor, so she fits into my style of play pretty well."
Long also plays tennis, but she doesn't play soccer. That's notable because her parents, Chris and Angie Long, are co-owners of the professional women's soccer team in Kansas City, the KC Current.
"To be able to see the [soccer] players, they're kind of like role models and it's cool to see what they're doing in their sport," Long said. "I want to be that but, like, the basketball version