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Roger
Underwood
Yakima Herald-Republic

E-mail Roger Underwood about this column

They play like he did.

That is, the Brewster Bears go about their basketball business in much the same manner as their coach, Tim Taylor, did when Taylor starred for South Bend High School.

Taylor, a poised and proficient guard, was pretty much the franchise. He carried South Bend, located on Willapa Harbor south of Raymond, to a third-place, Class 1A tournament finish in 1976 before going on to a standout career at what was then the tourney’s home, the University of Puget Sound.

Brewster? The Bears have a bunch of stars. And collectively, they play as Tim Taylor did.

That’s why they’re the newly crowned Class 1A state champions, as confirmed by their 69-44 rout of a very good Seattle Christian team Saturday night in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

“He’s an awesome coach, for one thing,” senior guard Mac Gebbers said as his community entered Phase II of its evening celebration. Brewster’s girls had won their own state title hours earlier.

“But he’s always very calm, he always knows what’s going on and he always knows what to say.”

Some might argue that a Class 1A team with the likes of David Pendergraft, the tournament MVP after a monster 26-point, 17-rebound effort, would need to say very little. And Taylor is eager to point out that, yes, his team is extremely talented.

But every team needs instruction. Every team needs direction. When you’re dealing with teen-agers, every team needs a calming, steadying influence when things go awry.

And yes, there were moments Saturday night that, despite the 25-point margin of victory, that Brewster wobbled.

Ahead 31-20 at halftime, the Bears flatlined for a time offensively due to some uncharacteristic turnovers. But even though Brewster didn’t score for almost half the third period, Seattle Christian got no closer than 31-24.

Taylor, who typically stays seated and rarely shows emotion, displayed little this time.

“We knew Seattle Christian would come out and play physically,” he said afterward, “and we got a little careless with the ball. But our kids stayed calm, weathered the storm and we got our momentum back. When push came to shove, we took care of business.”

And by the third quarter’s end, Brewster’s lead was 43-29.

The fourth quarter, then, became mostly a formality and offered a large and loud Brewster crowd to sustain the hugging and high-fiving that began during the girls game.

This was, after all, the first Class 1A state title for the Bears after five Class B crowns.

And of course it was the first championship for Taylor, who shared his elation with both his brothers, who had driven from Eugene, Ore., and Olympia, respectively, and his sister, who had traveled from Woodinville.

His high school coach, Don Koplitz, was there, too.

What had Taylor offered during Brewster’s brief time of trial? What had he said to calm the Bears’ heads and steady their hands?

“He said to just play like we can and no one can touch us. He told us the only team that could beat us would be us.”

This from Michael Taylor, Tim’s 6-foot-2-inch son, who started and scored eight points. And he’s only a freshman.

“He’s a pretty calm kid,” Tim Taylor said proudly, adding that the two had exchanged some good-natured ribbing as to who got his first state title first.

“My kid told me the other day,” Taylor said, “that he was going to get his first state championship as a freshman while I’d had to wait ’till I’m 43. That’s fine. It’s ... yeah. It’s a special feeling.”

It might also be one Brewster will experience again, as soon as next year. Pendergraft, the 6-6 dynamo who committed to Gonzaga last season, is a junior. So is 6-6 Tyler Evans and 5-8 guard Ryne Phillips. Gebbers and Andy Hill were the only two seniors who started.

“We should be pretty good next year, too,” Michael Taylor, the ninth-grader said.

No kidding.

The Brewster watchers among you will recall that there have been Gebbers and Boesels, it seems, wearing Bears uniforms forever. And there will be another Gebbers, 6-0 sophomore Hawkins, who will no doubt be a Bear to deal with next season.

But watch out for the Taylors, too. Because Michael Taylor has two younger brothers and two younger sisters.

“My daughter is a seventh-grader,” Tim Taylor offered, “and she’s a pretty good player.”

Then again, Mac Gebbers made clear that if Brewster repeats as boys champions in 2004, it will be in large part because of its coach.

“We go over everything and we’re always prepared for anything,” he said. “We always stay calm and nothing ever gets to us. And that’s because we play like he coaches.”

In other words, they play like Tim Taylor did.

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