Another Standish making his name on the court | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Averaging more than 28 points per game this season, Dalton Standish has emerged as one of the premier offensive boys basketball players in the area this season.

The Grapevine Faith guard is the younger brother of former Colleyville Heritage girls basketball standout Alexia Standish, and his coach, Matt Sayman, said the Faith junior brings a lot more to the Lions squad than just his skills on the court.

“He has unbelievable leadership,” Sayman said. “He has been a varsity player since he was a freshman. Last year, we had some great seniors he could play with as a sophomore, but as a junior, he has really stepped up into more of a leadership role this season. His effort is always high, he has an unbelievable motor, and just keeps playing at a high level, but also his character. He seems to make everyone around him better.”

Sayman said that he will rely on Standish to provide leadership throughout the remainder of the season, especially when it comes time for the playoffs.

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“He has the most experience on the team,” Sayman said. “So in tough situations, he will have a great opportunity to keep everybody calm and show everybody how to go about those end-of-the-game situations. He's having a phenomenal year. He has had 99 made threes already with at least 12 or 13 games left. Last year, he finished with 103.”

Standish said that he embraces the leadership role on his team and sees that as one of his major responsibilities on his team.

“I do try to bring leadership,” Standish said. “I want to be able to help carry the team when we are in a bad situation and just help lead the team through any hardships, no matter how hard they may get.”

Standish scored 32 points in the Lions' district opener with Fort Worth Christian last week, and Standish attributes his shooting ability to the work he puts in during practice and beyond each day.

“First of all, I like to work my drills four or five times a week after practice,” Standish said. “These are just your basic ball handling drills up and down the court. Then, of course, I shoot a lot of threes every day. I also like to work on my jump shot every day.

“My dad worked with me at a very young age at shooting. You can have very good technique, but the main thing is repetition in practice.”

Standish said that while this year's team is different from last year's squad, he is optimistic about what Faith can accomplish.

“We are a young team,” Standish said. “It is pretty much a completely new team from last year. It's fun, because we may not be as experienced as last year, but we're definitely a scrappy group, and we work very hard.”

Sayman said he definitely believes that Standish could play at the collegiate level at a Division I school and said that the thing that he probably enjoys the most about the junior guard, who is ranked second in his graduating class, is that he is kind of player coaches and teammates want on their team..

“He is the definition of a student athlete,” Sayman said. “He is the first guy most of the time to practice, and then he is the one guy that stays after practice every day. He loves Faith. He really cares about the school and representing it the right way.”