It was someone who has probably seen more Islander basketball over the past 33 years than anyone else.

Someone who plays a vital role in the game, but usually goes unnoticed.

Someone who has done his job for over three decades, all because of a brotherly favor.

By this point, it might be questioned whether a Senior High home basketball game can take place without Bob Wells running the clock.

Doing that necessary job for 33 years wasn't something Wells expected when he started. He got talked into helping the Islanders out.

"When Ken Fischer was AD, he was talking to my brother Gene and told him they had no one to keep the clock and the first game was the next day," Wells said. "Gene told him he knew someone to do it."

So began Wells being regularly courtside. At first, he did the job for the boys varsity and junior varsity home games.

Then another favor expanded his scoreboard operations.

"My daughter played, and when she was a sophomore in '82, they said I should run the clock at the girls games since I'd always be there anyway," Wells said.

He became a fixture at about any Grand Island Senior High basketball game boys or girls, varsity or junior varsity for many years before cutting back to running the clock for only varsity games.

Wells has done it in years in which he's had family members playing and years in which he hasn't. This year is the final season for granddaughter Tana O'Boyle with the Islanders, but it doesn't necessarily mean Wells is finished.

"I'm not sure if this is the last year for me," he said. "I'll decide on that later."

Obviously running the clock is something Wells has liked doing to keep at it for 33 years. Even more remarkable is that he's done it on a volunteer basis.

"I enjoy doing it," he said. "It helps the athletic program since I volunteer for it. I'm not paid for it."

Wells has seen several changes in his position as timekeeper over the years which the average basketball fan never would have thought about.

Beside obvious advances in technology, the coaching boxes which allow coaches to stand on the sideline and going to three-man referee crews can make it more challenging to have the needed unobstructed view to do his job properly.

However, it's easier to hear the officials now then when he started and was sitting right in front of the fans in the old Senior High gym.

Even though Wells is undecided about how much longer he'll keep at his courtside post, odds are he'll be a familiar face for years to come.

"I'll do it as long as it's something I enjoy," he said. "I've said that if it gets to the point where I'm making mistakes, I'll need to quit. That happens at a certain age."

One thing is for sure Gene Wells didn't make a mistake in finding the right man for the job.