One small court
 
In North River, the 3-point line hits the sideline before it reaches the endline

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

In a small, remote district that only occasionally dabbles in varsity sports, North River's athletes and coaches make due -- and very well, thank you -- with whatever is available.

The school has no track yet fields a successful track program, in which javelin training has entailed throwing "over the pumphouse" and track practice has "consisted of running up and down the road dodging logging trucks," says Pam McLaughlin, North River's business manager.

Until last spring, the team's shot put ring was a septic tank lid, but that didn't stop McLaughlin's son, Matt, from winning the 2007 state title in the event.

The basketball team's tiny home court, though, is the school's biggest anachronism.

Built eight decades ago, it is 10 feet narrower and 20 feet shorter than a regulation court, barely 60 percent of normal size, with out-of-bounds room at each end less than the length of a size-11 basketball shoe.

Players inbounding the ball can actually be standing on the line without being called for a violation. Spectators in the first row must keep their feet under them to avoid tripping players and referees. Because of the narrow court, the 3-point line hits the sideline before it reaches the endline, meaning there's no such thing as a 3-point shot from the corner.

The close quarters can make for painful moments. One member of North River's girls team sprained her wrist last year when she was fouled from behind on a layup and slammed into the padded wall.

Just off one corner of the court is a door to the concession area. This year, a Lake Quinault player dove for the ball inbounds and slid into the door, spraining his ankle.

Four-inch metal pillars -- so padded that they appear a foot thick -- line the court on the spectator side, just inches off the court.

"If you saw our gym," says Mustangs coach Les Lande, "you'd swear it was right out of 'Hoosiers,'" referring to the classic basketball film about an underdog team from a tiny Indiana town.

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NORTH RIVER NUGGETS

Outnumbered: North River's official WIAA enrollment count for the high school is 21.37. The average for the rest of the 1B boys state tournament field is 72.38. If you don't count little Klickitat, at 33.75, the field average is 75.14. Four teams in the field each have more than four times North River's enrollment.

Way out there: North River High School is Brooklyn is a 40-minute drive from the nearest post office or grocery store.

High class: North River's boys and girls basketball teams have both won the Pacific League's team sportsmanship trophy in each of the past three years.

6/120: Those numbers represent the number of seniors in North River (6) and the graduating class at Moscow (Idaho) High when North River coach Les Lande was a senior there.