Recent Haines High School graduates and longtime friends Kirby Faverty and Carson Crager have reunited to play collegiate basketball together at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri.
In a recent interview, Faverty said he was excited when he heard Crager would be joining him at CMU. “When I first heard Carson was coming to CMU,” said Faverty, “I was super excited and couldn’t wait for him to meet my friends and my coaches and see what college basketball is like.”
Crager said the main reasons he chose to attend CMU were because the coaches were offering him a basketball scholarship and that he would be able to play with Faverty again. “It’s just cool to think that two kids from the same small town in Alaska are now playing college basketball at the same school,” Crager said.
Faverty and Crager said they’ve been good friends since elementary school. The duo first became teammates while playing little league baseball during elementary school. They began playing basketball together in 2015.
Faverty lived in Yakutat prior to moving to Haines in 2015. Faverty said he visited Haines during the summers and winters, which is when he first met Crager. The two often played basketball together at the outdoor court.
Faverty and Crager never competed against one another because Yakutat is in a smaller school division. Crager said he was happy when Faverty eventually moved to Haines.
The teammates noted that college basketball is very different from high school basketball. They said that it’s much more competitive. “You have to be at the top of your game or else you will be sitting on the bench,” said Crager. “Now you are playing with the former top players from high school teams.”
Faverty has been playing basketball at CMU for two years. As a freshman, he was on the junior varsity. He has now worked his way up to the varsity team. Crager is currently playing on the junior varsity team and has competed in one varsity game.
Faverty and Carson said they both look forward to becoming better basketball players during their next few years at CMU. “I look forward to continuing to play basketball, getting more comfortable playing college basketball, and hopefully getting better,” said Crager. “I’m just so thankful for the opportunity that I’ve been given.”
Fans can watch the duo via Matt Sherman’s Facebook page. Sherman livestreams all the home games.