Sunnyside Christian's Joel
Koopmans drives past Entiat's Leonardo Quezada in Friday's
semifinal. Even with an injured hand, Koopmans led SC with 18
points in the victory.
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
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."