It has been a couple of months since we brought you an update of the hottest recruit on the West Coast. And he has only gotten hotter. Since we last brought you his story Lakes High Junior Zach Banner and his crew won their first ever State Basketball Championship. As great as that was Zach is hungry for more.
“I have two more Championships to help Lakes win; one in football and one in basketball. This community has always been here for me and I will not rest until we as a school have done that,” said a hyper focused Banner.
The 6’9″ monster athlete was unstoppable and in a hard fought game against Bellevue they finally broke that ceiling and won it all. Zach scored 15 points and had 12 boards and 3 blocked shots in the effort. But more then that he filled the paint with his 305 pounds and condor wing span and shut down the lanes.
The Lancers were led by tournament MVP Isaac Winston, all-tourney team member Nate Guy and Banner.
“Those are my boys. Together we came up with FOE. Family Over Everything. That ended up carrying our team. It was in our huddles, there for us when we needed it, and it drove us on. This is a family here at Lakes. That is why we won. We have incredible talent but it really is how we think of each other,” added Zach.
Banner says that it was very special to win the Championship. Something he and many of his Junior team mates wanted to do for the Seniors who have represented the schools so well.
“We were all crying when that net was cut down. It was amazing. These Seniors had one chance…one chance to win it all…and we did it for them. This may have been the first Championship at Lakes but it will not be the last,” he said thoughtfully pausing before saying in a most convincing voice, “Trust me.”
The FOE phenomena has spread to the Golf team, the Waterpolo team, the Track team, and it is headed to the grid iron where Banner is preparing to make his next mark. He sported a custom F.O.E. hair do at the tournament that made even more intimidating then he already is.
Banner now sits atop 30 plus offers and is focusing on a list of schools who have offered and are on the top of his list. That list is jaw dropping and unrivaled in the National recruiting scene.
Only Auburn, Texas, and Florida State have yet to offer and Banner feels they are all close. But how will this dream tackle decide where to go and is the Seattle native a Husky lock?
“I am not a lock. No I will look everywhere and see what is out there. You see I understand I am blessed and am being given the opportunity to go anywhere I want. I have to think straight about this. Oregon for instance is an incredible school in a small town, USC is an amazing program in a big city, Bama is legendary and in the deep South, Florida on the Eats Coast is special. I have to look at them all and make the right decision for me.”
He and the family will plan out their schedule and he plans to do 3 unofficial trips and 5 official trips. The only Summer camps he plans to attend are at Oregon and the Rising Stars camp at Washington. Something that may pay dividends for one of those two programs.
“I will also be at both Nike NFTC Camps here in the Northwest. That is where I will showcase where I am at physically.”
Where is he at? Well consider a Championship hoops season that has kept the big man lean. Then after a brief rest he has returned to his incredible schedule of two work outs a day after school.
“I work out with my trainer Brent at the Puyallup YMCA everyday on speed and agility, getting my hips explosive, and my core. Then after a little rest I head out to Competitive Edge and get a work out in there which lasts between 2 and 3 hours. That I am doing now with Joshua Garnett and Walker Williams and it has been great,” said Banner.
“My strength numbers are all up and I have a goal of running a 4.9 40 yard dash. That is what I plan to do,” Zach offered knowing that would put him amongst the fastest O’linemen in the country.
Garnett, like Banner, has been invited to the Army All American Game and sits on a mountain of offers. Williams is almost as big as Banner and just received his first offer from UCLA. There is no way that there are 3 better offensive linemen in any one facility at one time in in the US.
Finally we asked big Zach how he feels about the recent news that his team mate Cedric Dozier has been named to the Army All American Game and will join him in San Antonio.
“Oh my goodness when he told me I just gave him a big hug. What can you say. All of this is proof that hard work really does pay off. It does not matter if you are trying to play college football or become a better student. The reason we are succeeding here at Lakes is hard work. I have never seen a group of guys work as hard as this group. Never. It is very rewarding to see that coming true in so many ways.”
To speak to Banner is like hearing a polished motivational speaker. He believes in himself and his family. A family that includes all who are around him and his community.
“This community has been here for me and I will always be there for them,” he concluded.
FOE Zach. FOE.
