By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

You’ve cheered the baskets, rued the turnovers, envied the hustle and finished the popcorn. Now for what you’ve REALLY been waiting for: the 2007 Class 1A Dribblies, for outstanding achievement in high school hoopdom — as always, in whatever categories we happen to think of.

The envelopes, please ...

BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OFF-THE-COURT ROLE: To Cashmere senior JOEL HOYER, the entertainingly effervescent tuba player for CASHMERE’s band, who danced, pranced, marched, preened, jammed, rocked out and led cheers, all on the main floor level in front of the rest of the band. And he wasn’t pleased about the off-the-court role, either. “Usually, I’m out on the court (during timeouts and halftime), but there’s this thing in the way,” he said, gesturing to the barrier erected behind the press table.

BEST EARLY RISER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: To COLFAX girls coach COREY BAERLOCHER, who — some 10 hours before his team’s championship date against King’s — was in the SunDome to root on Zillah in the 5th-8th game and to high-five each Leopard as she came off the court following the loss to Burbank. Baerlocher said he had gotten to know the Zillah girls well when they came to Colfax’s four-day summer basketball camp last summer. “They’re great kids,” he said. “That hurts me to see them lose.”

BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN AERIAL ROLE: To the LYNDEN CHRISTIAN cheer squad during timeouts of Lyncs girls games. Some of those high-flying routines would do the Wallenda family proud.

BEST PERFORMANCE AS A STILL-LIFE: To MABTON’s TYLER HERRERA, who spent the better part of five minutes holding the ball near center court — behind his back, resting against his thigh, held over his head, anything to pass the time — as the Vikings stalled to get Tonasket to come out of its zone. “I know some people in the stands didn’t like it, yelling that we’re scared,” Herrera said. “We’re not scared — we’re just playing with brains. We want to get a good, open shot.”

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A DIMLY-LIT ROOM: To the ZILLAH band, which entertained the Saturday morning audience by playing essentially non-stop during the 26-minute blackout in the fourth quarter of the Leopards’ game with Burbank.

MOST DIVERSE TROPHY FIELD: To the 16 teams who played on Saturday who, for what is believed to be the first time in any SunDome state tournament, were from 16 different schools — not a two-fer among them.

BEST ENCORE APPEARANCE: To SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN’s boys team, which wasn’t even in the tournament. But a week after the Knights won the 1B title, one of the team’s alumni, DYLAN HAAK (circa 1997), was selected from among the 1A tournament officiating crew to work Saturday night’s boys title game.

BEST SHOW OF CLASS: To BELLEVUE CHRISTIAN boys coach MIKE DOWNS, who, the day after his two-time defending champion team was knocked off by Brewster, showed up in the Brewster locker room before the Bears’ next game to wish them well. He pulled open his coat, under which he was wearing a red T-shirt — Brewster’s color — onto which he had emblazoned a big letter “B.”

But this is a two-part Dribblie winner. After his team’s win in the fourth-place game, one throughout which University Prep fans had mercilessly ragged on Downs’ son, JEFFREY, BC’s fans started to get some revenge by chanting “Same old story! Same old story!” across the SunDome at their Emerald League rivals. Upon hearing that, Mike Downs turned around to the BC bleachers and immediately motioned them to halt the chant.

That’s class all the way.

BEST PERFORMANCE ABOVE THEIR HEADS: To MABTON’s boys, who earned the fifth-place trophy despite being the smallest team — by a bunch in the 16-team field. The Vikings had only one player taller than 5-foot-11; five girls teams had at least two.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT DRIBBLIE, PART I: To JEFFREY DOWNS of BELLEVUE CHRISTIAN, whose 335 career points in the tournament translates a 22.3 average over 15 games. But the first three of those were when he was a mere freshman and scored 48 points in three games. Over the three state tourneys since — 11 wins in 12 games, two titles and a fourth-place trophy — Downs averaged 23.9 points. This year, he averaged 30.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.7 steals.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT DRIBBLIE, PART II: To HARLAN KREDIT, who is retiring as LYNDEN CHRISTIAN’s athletic director after a very distinguished career in which he has run a principled program with tremendous success not only in virtually every sport, but in churning out athletes who are students, achievers and simply good people.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT DRIBBLIE, PART III: To BILL KELLY, who is calling it quits after a coaching career that included five state titles at two schools, and who handled arguably the ugliest officiating decision of the tournament with poise and grace.

That was the one in the semifinals that cost his team a second overtime on a foul call that came, in the eyes of seemingly everybody in the building not wearing a Toledo T-shirt or referee’s stripes — a full second after the final buzzer. (Timing which, by the way, was verified by a KVOS-Bellingham cameraman who got it all on video.)

BEST DIRECTOR: Dribblies to both COREY BAERLOCHER, who coached the COLFAX girls to a fourth straight state title — beating the 2A champ of the last two years, King’s — and to BREWSTER boys coach TIM TAYLOR. All he did was lose the 2006 1A player of the year to graduation (his son Michael, now at Eastern Washington U.) and mentor his boys to a 29-0 season.