T O U R N E Y T O W N  ARCHIVES

This page is part of the Tourneytown.com archives and is no longer updated.

When it came to how much our panelists around the state would have to say about their all-time picks, there was plenty. Here are some excerpts from their comments:

● Panelist Elmo Wise, who ranked the 1986 Lynden team No. 2 on his list and the 1986 Cashmere team (including his son Craig) that beat it in that year's title game: "That Lynden team might have been the best ever. If we played them 10 times, we may have won twice." Were the Lions better than 1977 Cashmere? "Oh, yeah. They (the Bulldogs) couldn't have matched up with that size."

● Panelist Dennis Oman, an assistant coach on the 1990 Ilwaco second-place team, on Fishermen center Paul Jarrett, the tourney MVP: "He was a 6-8, 6-7 center who had the passing skills of a 5-10 point guard." On high-scoring 1967 Ilwaco, which placed fourth: "They were the first real running team, but they never knew how to stop."

● Selah standout Dave Hovde on how players of his generation might fare today: "I'm sure it's changed, and kids are getting quicker. I know they jump a lot higher than we used to; I know they spend a lot more time on weights. I don't think the kids are playing all the different sports we used to. You just about have to play (basketball) year-round now to be successful."

● Panelist Dale DeVries, who played on the 1983 Orting championship team and now follows his son, Chris, a star guard-forward on East Valley: "It's a lot more fun watching your son play than it was playing, I'll tell you what."

● Panelist Glenn Johnson on panelist Bill Kelly, whose Cashmere teams won four state championships: "The reason I got into coaching was people like Bill Kelly. I just respect him. He taught me a lot about commitment and dedication. ... He's the best fundamentals coach, and nobody's going to outcoach him during the game. If you have a kid, he'll make him better. If you have a good kid, he'll make him great."

● Panelist Jake Maberry, on picking his 1962 Lynden, the second of his four championship teams, as No. 1 on his list: "That's the best ball club I ever coached, and I coached some good ones. I had three kids off that team that were offered Pac-10 scholarships. The biggest, best team I ever coached. They were led by Howard Heppner, the best player who ever played for Lynden -- and we have had many."
     Maberry on the fact that so many of the perennial Class A teams are now in 2A or, like Lynden, are in 3A: "The Class A then was a lot better than you're seeing now."

● Panelist Curt Self on Matt Williams, one of the stars on the 1987 Naches undefeated championship team and Self's choice as No. 4 player: "He could do anything. Tell me something he couldn't do."
     Self on his No. 6, Phil Hiam of 1975 White River: "The quintessential big man. The Jack Sikma before there was a Jack."

● Panelist Dennis DeBoer, on how hard it was comparing teams from different eras: "That's the thing that makes it so tough. You watch a Lynden 1962 team and you watch a Grandview 1990, and what they're doing now -- that's just the way basketball has evolved. So it's hard. You almost have to take each era separately and pick out the best teams from certain eras, then (come up with) the best team ever."

● Panelist Dick Stark on Blaine 1960s star Richard Hanson, voted the best player in Class 1A history: "He could do it all -- left hand, right hand, totally intense. And just a big cheerleader, running around patting guys on the back. I don't think anybody was as charismatic on the floor as he was. His personality showed through to everybody."
     Stark on Rocky Heutink, early-1970s Nooksack Valley star: "If they'd had a 3-point line then, Heutink's records would still be standing. He didn't shoot from inside the 3-point area."

● Panelist and former title-winning Nooksack Valley coach Kay LeMaster, also checking in on Heutink, who averaged 23.1 points during his nine state-tourney games over three years and twice was an all-stater: "Rocky Heutink was as good a shooting guard as I have ever coached or seen."

● Panelist Nick Babcock, with help from fellow Wenatchee World sports staffer Gary Lindberg, on their unsolicited but gladly accepted choices as best games in tournament history: No. 1, 1986 Cashmere vs. Lynden; No. 2, 1976 Lynden Christian vs. Royal; No. 3, 1991 Lynden vs. Grandview; and No. 4, 1977 Cashmere vs. Lynden, a quarterfinal and the only one on that list that wasn't a championship game.

● Panelist Dale DeVries also came up with a couple of extra lists. His best finals, from first to sixth: 1976 Lynden Christian's two-OT final over Royal; 1981 Lynden-King's, an OT game decided when King's all-stater Dirk Lance pulled a Chris Webber, calling a timeout in the waning seconds when the Knights had none left; 1986's double-OT war between Cashmere and Lynden; 1994 Zillah-Steilacoom, in which Leopards coach Doug Burge captured the state title that eluded him three times as a player; 2001 King's-Seattle Christian, another two-OT affair; and 1983 Orting-Lynden, in which DeVries' Cardinals prevented retiring Lions coach Jake Maberry from capping his career with a fifth title.
     DeVries' list of top "fun memories" from tournament history: 1. The Highland Scotties' halftime dance. 2. In 1979, when the Colfax teachers did a halftime dance. 3. The 1981 tournament, during which a Goldendale player "would jump and do a scissors kick every time they scored." 4. The overcrowded UPS Fieldhouse. 5. The huge football players holding the ropes at the UPS Fieldhouse.

● Panelist Elmo Wise on his choice of 1990 Grandview as No.3, behind 1963 Selah and 1986 Lynden: "This is my toughest choice. If I wasn't so old and prejudiced, I would put them in at No. 1. Great size, quickness, shooters and role players."
     Wise on his No. 6 team, 1987 Naches: "Just have to put this team in because of the quality of players in this state tournament. You can win some bets with this trivia: Five players from this team started on Division I basketball teams. At no other time did five players from ANY 10-year span of State A Tournament players start on DI teams."

● And finally, panelist Tim Black, who describes himself as a "tournament lifer," on his first exposure to the Class A tournament back in 1961 and how the magic has stayed with him:
     "My father drove our Econoline into the UPS parking lot and said reverently, 'There it is.' I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew he reserved that tone of voice for talking about Bob Cousy, so I figured it must be important.
     "Waiting in line in front of the UPS Fieldhouse was like attending some big movie premiere. ... Once inside it seemed like a cross between some sort of religious event and a circus. The screaming crowd, the gymnastics and chanting of the cheerleaders, the smell of popcorn and hamburgers, the blare and crash of the pep bands followed by the Star Spangled Banner and team introductions, were an intoxicating mix of sensations.
     "Then the games started. It was incredible to see the entire population of small towns rooting on their local team -- warfare without physical casualties (plenty of mental ones, though). ... These teams had played together for the most part since they were little kids. Fans were at the height of joy and the depth of despair all in a minute's time. It was, and still is, sport in a very pure form.
     "When I tell non-tournament addicts my idea of a real great time is to sit in a gym and watch 26 games in four days, I'm not sure they understand. One thing is for certain, though: When the first weeks of March start to roll around, I feel it instinctively and start thinking of migrating to Yakima ... for a week or so."

ADVERTISEMENT

© 2002-2008 All photos, content and design
are properties of the Yakima Herald-Republic.
 

For questions or additional information
about this site, send us feedback.

Privacy statement

 Tourney Titans
     Picking the Best Is Never Easy
     The Legend of 'Handshake' Hanson
     "It Was Just Fascinating to Watch Him"
     Bulldog Heaven in '77
     Best Players Stand the Test of Time
     Top 20 Players
     Top 20 Teams
     The Voting Panel
     Panelists Have Plenty to Say