Let him run and shoot early, grab rebounds and dish assists. He'll turn off that pretty right-handed stroke and dribble away to protect a lead every time.

Just don't try to get the Sunnyside Christian leading scorer out of bed early to work on the family's dairy farm in Zillah. Because that's the only time the team's most valuable player will shy away from labor.

"My dad's been trying to get me to do farm work for a long time," said Koopmans after another — almost routine — 40-24 Knights victory against Entiat in Friday's semifinal of the Class 1B state tourney. "I try to get out of it as much as possible."

The youngest of five children in the family, Koopmans credited his older brothers for his 6-foot-1 fullback physique instead of transporting hay. They always wanted to wrestle, and he had to hold his own against bigger and stronger opponents.

Finding his better in the Greater Columbia B and at this 1B state tournament hasn't occurred. A complement to the dynamic inside-outside cousin duo of Aaron Van de Graaf and Cole Van de Graaf for state-championship perfection a year ago, Koopmans has become the latest SC go-to guy in his senior season.

His teammates would argue he's always been there.

Koopmans silently averaged 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game at state last year in the wake of the Van de Graafs. This year, with both gone along with five other seniors, there's nobody else to share the spotlight during the state run, and he's not the type to seek it out.

"Last year he was good enough to be the main guy, but the leaders were the other two guys, the best two players," said fellow Knight senior Jesse Brouwer. "They got all the attention, but he would be right there."

The Van de Graafs split state player of the year and tournament honors a year ago. This season there
probably won't be much argument for those titles unifying under Koopmans.

He's averaging 20.3 points per game in the tournament — tops among all players — despite smacking his shooting hand while taking a charge in the opener against Odessa. Koopmans woke up panicked with a sore wrist, loaded up on anti-inflammatories and then proceeded to outscore Rosalia by himself with 26 points. The Knights won 43-25.

Against Entiat on Friday he was the matchup Tiger coach Bill Edwardson couldn't figure out. He's too strong for guards, too quick for forwards and he finished with a game-high 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists because of this.

The wrist doesn't appear to be an issue and Koopmans doesn't hesitate to shrug it off. The tape job he'll wear for tonight's state championship game against Tekoa-Oakesdale at 7 p.m. in the SunDome is more protective window dressing than anything else.

What's surprising to him is the 19-5 Knights are back in the title game. They dropped two of the team's first three games this season, and he's still upset about losing both games to rival Riverside Christian — a big contender at next week's 2B tourney.

Yet this team came together after falling 37-28 to the Crusaders in a contest SC coach Dean Wagenaar said was Koopman's worst game of the season — "He rushed things." They have won eight straight since then with the offense flowing off his drives and the double-team attention he receives.

Win or lose today, he's somebody Knight fans won't forget easily when discussing old stars like the Den Boers or the Van de Graafs. On a team rotating through mostly six players during games, he's the cog that provides the points and opens things up. Then he joins teammates on the other end to lock down defenders.

"He's done a lot and he's very coachable and just a nice kid," Wagenaar said. "I've chewed him out a few times and he's looked at me like he wants to say something.

"He never does because he's very self disciplined."

Although his farming father might beg to differ.