From state champion to social media sensation - Dayne Coates has mixed feelings on viral shooting form
BERNE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Dayne Coates is many things to the Berne-Knox-Westerlo basketball program.
He's a leader, a facilitator and a high-volume scorer, averaging the most assists and second-most points per game on a squad that won a state championship this past season with a perfect, 26-0 record.
"I've had Dayne on this team since he was in the eighth grade, so he will be a five-year player, which is very unusual anywhere," said BKW head coach Andy Wright. "At a place where we value basketball like we do, to have him be a part of this at such a young age for so long, it's really made him a staple in our program. He's come up big when he's needed to. He's never scared of the moment. I've never had him back down and be like, "Uh, I don't think so. Not me." He's one of those kids you can rely on. He's puttin' the work in on his own, and…he's just a tough kid."
To the casual fan, though, the most glaring facet of Coates' game is an incredibly unique shooting form, which has grown more complex over the years; believed to be a result of Coates' case of Tourette's Syndrome.
"I've had a weird shot for most my life," said Coates. "I would always have some little…tweak in it that I felt like I couldn't stop from doing; I guess 'cause of the Tourette's. But…this year, it really started to get bad. Last year, my thing was I would come up, and every time I would go to shoot, my elbow would shoot out. And I couldn't really stop that from happening, so I worked really hard in the offseason to keep [my elbow] in. Then, once I did that…my hand started to come off the ball, and then back on. And then, throughout the season, it just developed to it coming down my arm, which is not good."
The shot is a blessing and a curse for Coates. On one hand, it made him go viral when a clip from @berkley5mixtapes on Instagram was picked up and re-posted by accounts with national reach, garnering millions of views. It even caught the attention of ESPN, which released a story on Coates earlier this month.
"I mean, that was really cool, especially for some of 'em," said Coates. "@ballislife is the only one that I knew was gonna do it. So, the other ones just either popped up on my "For You" page, or some of them got sent to me. So, it was…a surprise, but it was really cool to see."
Despite the exciting notoriety Coates' shot has garnered, it's also been a point of some major personal frustration.
"It's not comfortable at all. It doesn't feel natural. I don't like doing it. I don't wanna do it. It's just…every time I go up - even if I'm just slowly trying to work on form shooting - I come to here, and then as I go flick my wrist forward, my arm just goes like that."
Even with his ongoing mechanics battle, Coates still managed to score 17 points per game this past season, and shoot a very respectable 30% from beyond the arc.
A junior at BKW, Coates' primary sport is football, which he'll prioritize over the next few months. But when basketball season rolls around, trying to steer away from his viral shooting form will be a point of emphasis.
Outside of having the work ethic necessary to overcome such an obstacle, Coates also has his faith to lean on as well.
"Praying a lot on it," said Coates. "If it ends up working; gets fixed, it does. And if not, then…guess it's just what was meant to happen."
"With his mindset, and what he has driving him, there's no question in my mind - if he says he's going to work on it; if he desires to work on it; if he's going to change it, or do whatever he wants with it - he will," added Wright. "He's one of those people that's determined. He'll go out in the driveway; go to the park; go find a hoop, and he'll go over, and over, and over, and over again until it looks different, or is different, as per what he needs it to be to be successful for his team."