Burlingame point guard Drew Shiller is one of the best in the Bay Area. Those who follow basketball know the name from San Rafael to San Jose.
But the senior holds a special spot in the heart of Santa Cruz High and its fans. At least the little part Shiller hasn't ripped out over the past year.
Shiller has become the face of Burlingame as far as Santa Cruz is concerned. He led the Panthers to an upset win over the Cardinals in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division III basketball tournament. A couple of months later, Shiller was on the mound shutting the door on the Cardinals in the finals of the CCS baseball tournament. Then he triggered the Burlingame offense as the Panthers' quarterback leading the football team in its last-second touchdown score to beat Santa Cruz in the CCS finals.
As the Santa Cruz basketball team was putting the finishing touches on a 45-33 win over St. Ignatius that put the Cardinals in the CCS Division III finals, the Santa Cruz fans began chanting, "We want Shil-ler! We want Shil-ler!"
Well Santa Cruz fans, you got him.
"It's pretty funny to me," Shiller said Thursday at practice. "It's not just me that's beaten them.
"It's definitely a challenge. They're obviously gunning for me."
Top-seeded Santa Cruz faces off against No. 2 Burlingame at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Foothill College in the Division III finals.
"Those are just the fans," said Burlingame coach Jeff Dowd. "They pick on Shiller as a representative of our team. After the ball is tossed and after two or three minutes, all that emotion goes away."
The Cardinals will find out, however, wherever Shiller goes, the rest of the team follows. Post player Nick Polidoroff is a legitimate inside threat and can hurt teams if they don't recognize him. Same goes for wing player Troy Kalbhenn. He missed most of the PAL season with a wrist injury but is back and taking some of the scoring burden off Shiller. Guard Chris Nakiso is small but deadly, killing teams with his 3-point shooting.
The Panthers are proving they're more than a one-man team. The rest of the team takes exception to that perception, although they've become accustomed to it.
"Pretty much everyone in the Bay Area wants to face us because of Shiller," Kalbhenn said. "We take [those chants] as a slap in the face and take it personally.
"The last couple of years we've gotten used to it."
Shiller said he doesn't take it personally but will use it as motivation. He realizes as the No. 2 seed, the Panthers are the underdogs in this game.
"In two of the three sports, we've been kinda the favorite," Shiller said, noting that the Panthers were the higher seed in both the baseball and football playoffs. "If anything, they have more pressure on them. They're the No. 1 seed."
Dowd more or less shrugs off the challenge the fans issued to the Panthers but, be careful what you wish for.
"I think they're picking on the wrong guy," Dowd said. "[Shiller] thrives on those challenges."
Sports Editor
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join the ADU Resource Center of San Mateo County for a free webinar about ADU financing. Our… Read moreADU Funding For Homeowners
Bay Area soccer celebration! Live World Cup, games, meet Oakland Roots' Kendall McIntosh &am… Read moreBay Area World Cup Kickoff
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.