Easton talks about its homegrown hoop champ

Washington Union High in Easton has always been the little school that could. Deshawn Stevenson led the Panthers to a state championship in 1999. In 2000 he jumped straight to the NBA. Washington Union Athletic Director Jeff Cardoza says the Mavericks' run has created a buzz in Easton. "It has been ten years since he's been gone. A lot of these kids don't know Deshawn that well. The staff do and now that it's starting and they're there it's starting to turn up."

Dallas is Deshawn's fourth team in ten years. His primary role is to play defense.

The small town of Easton is known for its proud basketball and agricultural traditions. Sometimes the two interests mix.

Ryan Jacobsen is the CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. He proudly displays his Washington Union team photo showing him side by side with Stevenson. "It's incredible to have a teammate that has excelled to that level of basketball. Obviously we always knew he had the talent and the ability."

Stevenson's leaping ability was astounding in high school. "He could dunk as a 7th grader, 6th grader. Just god-given talents that the rest of us wish we had."

Cardoza says the school wants to establish a sports hall of fame for prominent graduates. "You have a young man who has played in the World Series, Matt Garza. You now have Deshawn playing for an NBA championship. We have an Olympic gold medalist in Maxie Parks."

Not a bad alumni list for Fresno County's oldest high school.