Burlingame basketball standouts Will and Ava Uhrich both possess the same toughness.
That toughness was born on a cul-de-sac in Burlingame where they both grew up, playing basketball on the street, at the neighborhood hoop, just outside their house. Basketball wasn’t the only sport they played there — the sight of street football or hockey was common as well — but it was the family’s physical brand of hoops that always bought Will and Ava, two of seven Uhrich siblings, together.
Both Will and Ava tell similar stories about when they were kids, about Will shutting out Ava in games of 1-on-1. Playing to 21, a 21-0 final score in Will’s favor was not uncommon. It would leave Will bragging, and Ava crying. The message from their father Rob Uhrich would always be the same, though — that’s just the way it goes.
“I think that’s what made us all a lot tougher than a lot kids these days,” Ava said.
Will and Ava Uhrich have been named Daily Journal Athletes of the Week after each displaying that toughness for their respective Burlingame Panthers team.
Ava helped lead the Burlingame girls’ team to a third-place finish in the Sandi Stober Classic at Lynbrook High School in San Jose. The Lady Panthers bounced back from a 43-42 loss to Leland-San Jose in last Friday’s semifinals to win Saturday’s third-place showdown 56-49 over Branham-San Jose, with Ava recording a double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds.
Will and the Burlingame boys’ team, meanwhile, were claiming the tournament championship at the Bud Bresnahan Blue and Gold Classic with a 59-42 victory Saturday night over host Jefferson. Will led the effort with a game-high 17 points and added six rebounds. With the Gentleman Panthers off to a 3-0 start this season, it improves their current winning streak to seven games, dating back to last season when they finished with a Central Coast Section Division III championship.
“They’re a special group,” Ava said of the boys’ team. “I look up to them in a lot of ways. That win at the CCS championship was almost a win for me. Growing up with them, they were all like older brothers for me. So, seeing them win just makes me want to win more.”
While both Will and Ava poured in the points in their respective tournament finales, the defining moment for each was off the ball.
For Ava, it was her rally cry of “Let’s go!” at the end of the first half when teammate Elana Weisman drilled a long-range 3-pointer at the buzzer from just past the half-court line. It sent the Panthers into the locker room riding a 29-28 lead and riding a wave of a momentum.
Will drew the spotlight with a familiar defensive play in the third quarter. The senior anchored his feet, flexed his triceps, and took a charging foul from Jefferson forward Myles Solanoy.
“The major role on the team is defense for me,” Will said. “I’m not really a scorer — I try to be, obviously — but definitely I’m always there. I love taking charges.”
It’s a sight his teammates have witnessed plenty of times from the recent football commit to University of Arizona.
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“Will was amazing,” Burlingame junior Kyle Haslam said. “Taking his charges all the time, just gets the bench on their feet, and gives us that momentum.”
It didn’t hurt that both Uhrichs were dialed in from 3-point range as well. Kyle opened the second half with back-to-back 3s and would score 10 of his 17 points in the third quarter. Sharpshooting isn’t exactly his calling card. But you wouldn’t know it by his performance Saturday night.
“I was kind of feeling it at that point,” Will said.
Ava got started a little earlier, opening Saturday’s bounce-back win with a couple of 3s.
“That was a big boost for us,” Burlingame head coach Joe Dito said.
Ava’s years muscling around with her older siblings on her neighborhood court has allowed the third-year varsity junior to develop into a complete player though.
“She can play 1 through 5 for us,” Dito said. “So, she does create matchup problems for opposing teams. She’s a bulldog underneath the boards. And she can move people around … but she’s a finesse shooter as well.”
She’s also a game-changer as a team leader. While her brother was at Jefferson taking charges, Ava was taking charge after the girls’ team semifinal loss by calling an impromptu team meeting and run-through practice for Saturday morning. Dito said he had nothing to do with it, that it was completely Ava’s idea.
“We walked out of that gym Friday night with our heads down — crushed, defeated,” Ava said. “So, I wanted the team to come together … and come in to Saturday’s game confident.
“I really wanted to win [Saturday’s] game and I just think we came out with a lot more grit,” Ava said. “We knew we weren’t going to go home with a loss that night. It just wasn’t an option.”
Toughing it out — a virtue Ava learned through years of battling with her brother back home, battles that would commonly provoke pushing and hacking and, when things would get really contentious, fists flying at one another. All in the context of the game, of course.
And looking back now, both Will and Ava talk about it like they’ve loved every minute of it.
“That’s all we did sometimes,” Ava said. “We’d be out there until 12 at night. We wouldn’t even come in for dinner.”
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