SC boys missing a centerpiece; girls look to help Van Wingerden

By JERREL SWENNING
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Even if Sunnyside Christian boys basketball coach Dean Wagenaar was looking for a pity party at this year's Class 1B state tournament, he doesn't expect one.

Not after the Knights ran roughshod through the inaugural 1B state tourney in 2007 with cousins Aaron and Cole Van de Graaf leading the way. And certainly not following SC's championship last year in workmanlike style with Ryker
Van Belle hitting an improbable 3-pointer for the overtime victory against Tekoa-Oakesdale.

"There will be no empathy for us," said Wagenaar, whose team's 12th straight trip to the state tournament was hardly a sure thing.

The 11-11 Knights returned a few parts from last year's title team, but has been missing that big gun -- the Joel Koopmans, the Van de Graaf, the Lance Den Boer -- that had fueled the program's five championships and four other
trophies trips.

"Before, we've lost seniors but we've always had one kid to run the ball through," Wagenaar said. "We just didn't have that this year."

Sophomore Steven Broersma is averaging nearly 15 points per game, but is still a developing player.

In fact, the Knights roster is dotted with underclassmen -- six sophomores and freshman Trevor Wagenaar, the coach's son and third leading scorer.

Still, Wagenaar believes the youthful Knights could make some noise.

"I don't think they feel too much pressure, they kept the string going and that was hanging on them a bit," he said.

"To be fair, we're not that far away. It'll be interesting to see if we've become good enough."

What the SC boys are missing is an offensive focal point, the Knights girls have again in the form of senior Melanie Van Wingerden, who earned all-tournament first-team honors as a freshman and second-team a year ago.

"She's one of the best," SC girls coach Al Smeenk said of the forward, who is averaging more than 16 points per game.

The fourth-ranked Knights, however, are missing the parts around Van Wingerden that helped them to a runner-up finish in 2007 and within an overtime of returning to the championship came last year as the top-ranked team at the start of the tournament.

Sunnyside Christian is ranked fourth this year and can avoid any of the other top-5 teams until the semifinals at the earliest.

"I never want to come in No. 1 -- the only place to go is down," Smeenk said.

The Knights took on an arduous nonleague schedule that included splitting two games with 2B teams La Salle, Riverside Christian and White Swan.