DUCKEE SWIMMER

OKAY HIGH SCHOOL

“Cool under pressure” and “Unselfish” are just a couple of ways that Okay basketball coach Chad Clark describes senior Duckee Swimmer.

“I’ve never seen him show any negative emotion in the four years I’ve had him,” said Clark. “People are always in his ear to shoot the ball more but he’s a team first guy. He’s never worried about individual stats, but his offensive abilities are so much better this year and that’s one reason we’re doing so well.” The Mustangs were 8-0 and ranked number one in Class A at the semester break. They played in the prestigious Tournament of Champions over the holidays and though they dropped three games, they came close to upsetting Class 6A’s top ranked team Edmond North in the opening contest. Though he also plays baseball for the Mustangs, he readily admits that basketball is his first love.

“I like baseball, but I’ve just been playing basketball longer. Growing up I think Kevin Durant was my role model. He was always one of the tallest guys on his team like I am, but he handles the ball so well and can get down inside too and sometimes I have to do both of those things.”

Swimmer sees his role on the team as being the guy in charge.

“Ever since I started playing it’s been drilled into me to ‘ find the open guy”, so I think of myself more as the floor general and a senior leader.”

After going 7-11 his freshman year, Okay turned things around quickly going 26-3 and making it to the state finals last year. But it was a game his sophomore year that Swimmer remembers most.

“We played a highly ranked Coweta team that year in the Fort Gibson tournament, and I dropped 28 on them. That was a special game for me,” said Swimmer.

So how about the nickname Duckee?

“When she young, my mom saw the movie “Pretty in Pink” and one of the leads in the movie was named Duckie so that’s where it came from,” laughed Swimmer.

His real first name? We’ll keep that under wraps for now.