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| Published March 9, 2004 :: Home |
Gunning for No. 1
There are other teams here with glittering records -- Steilacoom at 22-1, Medical Lake and Cashmere at 19-4. There's the team with the title in tow -- Nooksack Valley, back to defend what it won in 2003. There are the teams laden with tradition -- Cashmere and its trophy case of six championships, Lynden Christian with its three, Steilacoom with its two. But the team everybody's pointing at is the only one with the big zero. Hoquiam -- No. 1 in the polls since day one -- hasn't been beaten. Only five of the Grizzlies' 24 victims have even come within 20 points. A touring Australian team, with a front line standing 6-foot-8, 6-8 and 6-7, had beaten all of its previous Canadian and U.S. opponents until it came to Hoquiam and lost by a dozen. At this week's Class 2A state tournament in the SunDome, Hoquiam is the team to beat. And everybody knows it. "For us," says Steilacoom coach Gary Wusterbarth, "Hoquiam is the team that's the pinnacles, the team everybody looks to see where they are in the draw. "For us, there is that excitement that they're in the other half -- but on the other hand, if we don't get the job done, we don't get to play them. And that's what everybody would like to do -- to measure up against the best team." Hoquiam coach Brian Grun -- whose team's average winning margin has been 34 points -- dismisses the idea that his team is a lock. "We really don't believe it's a one-horse race," Grun says. "We believe there are teams that will be very, very competitive in this tournament. They're here for a reason. "I believe there are a few teams that can win the state tournament. Blaine could. Nooksack is dangerous. Medical Lake is a dangerous team. And our first game with Lynden Christian, I don't want to overlook them at all -- they're athletic and have some very good players." So does Steilacoom. While Hoquiam boasted the 2A ranks' best offense this season (76.5 ppg), Steilacoom's Sentinels chalked up the best defensive numbers (40.1 ppg allowed). "They're very disciplined," says Foster coach Marc Callero, whose team is 0-for-3 against Steilacoom this year. "Wusterbarth has been there for 20 years, (Pat) Lynch is a very good point guard, they have some big guys and they're an unselfish team. "We want them in the championship game." To get there, of course, Foster would have to beat not only its opening-round opponent, Lakeside -- a red-hot team despite its underwhelming 12-11 record -- but then the winner of an intriguing matchup between towering Connell and Blaine's stellar crew of guards, and then, probably, Hoquiam. For Steilacoom to get to the finals, the Sentinels would have to beat East Valley (13-10) -- which is athletic and the only "home" team in the tournament -- and then, probably, an Eatonville team that has tested Steilacoom twice. And the top quarter-bracket has three of the tournament's most potentially dangerous teams, any of whom could come through the upper bracket unscathed: Medical Lake, one of the tallest teams in the history of the state tournament (five players 6-5 or taller, including 6-11 and 6-8); Cashmere, which has experience and one of the tournament's best big men in Kent Fletcher (16.2 ppg); and Nooksack Valley, which is dotted by little guys who play ferocious defense. Steilacoom's Wusterbarth isn't looking past anybody in that group -- nor is he looking past East Valley. "We haven't won a Wednesday game in the last three times we've been here, so we're not looking towards anything except that first day," Wusterbarth says. But in Lynch, the steady point guard, and athletic 6-2 forward Michael Lewis (15.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg), plus powerful inside players in 6-6 Cody Balogh and 6-2, 260-pound Derek Schluter, the Sentinels have the makings of a team that could do some damage here. "We're pretty quick, and really unselfish," Wusterbarth says. "The kids know each other's strengths and they play to them real well. That's kind of indicative of Pat (Lynch) -- he averages around six assists a game out there, and he also averages about three-and-a-half or four steals a game." This season, Lynch became Steilacoom's all-time career leader in assists. The guy he passed? Jeff Staten, a two-time all-stater who led the Sentinels to back-to-back titles in 1984-85. Hoquiam, though, is the most loaded team of all. Already blessed with four returning starters from last year's fourth-place team -- 6-6 David Brittenen (14.6 ppg), Justin Reed (15.8), Jeff Wayman (10.0) and Jeff Niemi (8.9), they were bolstered by 6-5 move-in Sky Cearns (11.2), arguably the most well-rounded player on the team. But Grun's not taking anything for granted. "We understand it's a new season right now," Grun says. "It's the team that can win four straight games. "And that's our goal."
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