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Roger
Underwood
Yakima Herald-Republic

E-mail Roger Underwood about this column

It was 1977, and Bill Kelly was coaching what a Yakima Herald-Republic poll would later proclaim the greatest Class 1A basketball team of all time.

Kelly's Cashmere Bulldogs were up by, say, 40 points in the University of Puget Sound Fieldhouse and both benches had been emptied. Nonetheless, one of Kelly's reserves made an ill-fated attempt to get the ball inside and the ensuing turnover incurred the coach's wrath.

"Hey," Kelly screamed, red hair matching the complexion of his face. "Ever hear of a bounce pass?"

That was then, of course. This time a kinder, gentler Kelly led his No. 2-ranked Nooksack Valley Pioneers into a key Class 2A Tournament battle with No. 1 Hoquiam in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

It was a Thursday night game with a Friday night feel. Or maybe even Saturday night.

Whatever the case, the game was played on Nooksack's terms.

And at Nooksack's pace.

The Pioneers' 59-40 victory, one which put them into Friday's 9 p.m. semifinal against Chewelah, could hardly have been more impressive.

"Fun, wasn't it?" Kelly said afterward. "The kids played hard. I don't know if it was our best game of the season, but it might have been our best effort."

Kelly did little if any shouting during this one. His legendary wit, though, was no doubt intact because old friend Pat Fitterer, seated near the Nooksack bench, broke into laughter on several occasions when Kelly offered
a suggestion to the officials.

"Yeah, there was the one time in the first half when the fouls were 5-0 (against Nooksack)," Kelly said. "I stood up and looked up at the scoreboard and I said, 'Hey, is there a light burned out up there?' I thought that was a pretty good line."

His players, meanwhile, had an answer for everything a previously unbeaten Hoquiam team offered.

They swarmed and pressured the ball relentlessly, limiting the Grizzlies to 41 percent shooting. They forced 19 turnovers, off which they scored 28 points.

They played through foul trouble and got pressure performances from reserves.

But mostly, Nooksack followed Kelly's instructions to the letter. They are nothing if not precise.

Offensively there is little wasted motion. Every move, screen or pass seems to have a purpose.

"Is that what it looked like?" senior guard Jason Heutink asked. "That's good, then. We want it to look like that."
Even though Hoquiam was taller -- as are most of Nooksack's opponents, with 6-foot-3 Tim Wells its biggest starter -- the Pioneers effectively worked the Grizzlies' 2-3 zone for repeated inside hoops.

Senior forward Paul Silves, Wednesday night's star with 28 points and 15 rebounds, this time did his most telling damage via the pass. With Hoquiam players surrounding him, Silves dished a game-high 11 assists -- several of them going to Kyle Vermeulen, who led the winners with 19 points.

"Kyle's our 6-foot-8 (6-1, really) center," Kelly joked. "We did a nice job of setting him up."

Vermeulen also managed to score 10 points and grab eight rebounds.

Ultimately, however, Nooksack's defense took the biggest toll.

Only twice this season had Hoquiam been held to fewer points -- 33-32 in an overtime win against La Center in district play and 39-36 in a regular-season victory over Elma.

Otherwise, the Grizzlies had scored no fewer than 61.

It seemed clear that Nooksack's pressure and persistence took Hoquiam out of its comfort zone.

"I'd like to think we did that," Heutink said. "We like to make teams set up their offense way out near mid-court. Not that many teams are used to that."

Not that many teams are used to an opponent that plays as collectively tough and collectively smart as Nooksack. Hanford, you'll recall, was one of the area's better Class 3A teams. And during the holidays the Pioneers beat them with the same mix of precision and poise that did in Hoquiam, 66-53.

Kelly, for his part, claims no magic formula. Quick to point out the experience of a team he inherited when he took the job last September, he said, "Seniors usually beat juniors."

Of this group in particular, he smiled and said, "They've been here before and have gone home early. This is a new approach."

From a time-tested coach. Not only did Kelly's 1977 Cashmere team win a state championship, three others did, too.

Is a fifth Kelly title in the offing?

"We'll show up tomorrow night," he said, "and see what happens."

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