Grandview's James Vela, driving past a Mount Baker defender during a first-round game of the 2005 Class 2A state tournament, currently is the Greyhounds' best rebounder and No. 2 scorer.   JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic file

Yes, yes, we all know about how packed the SunDome will be for Monday night's Eisenhower-Davis rematch, the showcase game of the fourth annual Tourneytown.com Shootout.

Here's a tip, though: If you're an aficionado of the smaller-school hoops and you're already looking forward to those two weeks of March and that SunDome smorgasbord of 1A and 2A basketball magic, then show up early on Monday.

Like, really early.

We're not talking about the 8:30 a.m. girls game between Brewster and La Salle -- although the former is 9-1 and looking like a shoo-in to be back here come March and the latter appears primed to make it to Class B state, making that game worth seeing as well ... over breakfast, perhaps.

We're talking about the 10:15 a.m. boys game between Nooksack Valley (9-2) and Grandview (7-1), winners of two of the last four 2A titles (NV in 2003, the Greyhounds in 2002) and legitimate early-season contenders for this year's crown.

And later on Monday -- in the 6 p.m. prelim to the Ike-Davis boys -- is a very intriguing matchup pitting 1A power Brewster (9-1), winners of two 1A titles and five Class B championships, against surprise 2A contender Naches Valley (8-0), which is having its best season since 1987 ... when the Ranger boys won their school's only basketball state title.

While the Nooksack-Grandview game could be a foreshadowing of a SunDome game late in the second week of March, it's also a rematch of sorts.

The two teams met last August in the championship game of Grandview's Late Summer Classic. The Pioneers won 62-46 -- but Grandview was without its most indispensable player, James Vela.

On a lineup that has only two players listed taller than 5-foot-11, the 5-10 Vela is Grandview's best rebounder (8.4 per game), its No. 2 scorer (11.4), its best passer (4.6 assists) and its most prolific ball thief (2.4 steals).

Asked about who qualifies as his team's leader, Grandview coach Scott Parrish answered unequivocally.

"It's definitely Jimmy. Not necessarily because he's making the shot, but getting somebody open for the shot or getting that rebound. He senses where we need the extra help and he's just right there."

Nooksack Valley, meanwhile, has the tallest roster that five-time championship coach Bill Kelly (four titles at Cashmere, one at NV) has enjoyed in many years.

"We're huge," Kelly says of a lineup that features 6-7 Chris Mitchell and 6-5 Jeb Hobbs, both juniors, and four others in the rotation between 6-2 and 6-5.

"They (the Greyhounds) pressed the living crap out of us, and we handled it. I expect more of the same. They're very quick. It's hard for a bunch of farm boys to deal with that kind of quickness, but if we can get the ball upcourt, we have some good size and should be able to get some second shots."

For Grandview, the Monday monster game against Nooksack Valley comes as a particularly inopportune time, since it's followed by critical CWAC South contests against Naches Valley the following Friday and East Valley the night after that.

"They're for real. They're definitely for real," Parrish said of the Naches Valley Rangers. "They're a year older and they're big, too -- they sure play big, anyway, (Matt) Clark especially."

With the rugged 6-3 Clark (17.4 points per game) and sharpshooting 6-4 Isaac Tait (19.5) giving the Rangers the area's most prolific scoring duo, Naches Valley and their first-year coach, Jon Eldridge, have ripped off eight straight victories. But just how good the Rangers are is hard to ascertain, since their victims have a cumulative 21-64 record -- and don't have a winning record among them.

Brewster, on the other hand, certainly does.

After capturing the 2003 and 2004 state 1A titles and finishing second last year, Eastern Washington-bound Brewster senior Michael Taylor is living up to his status as a Division I recruit. His game averages -- 25.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.4 assists -- are evidence of that.

The Bears' only loss this year was to Bellevue Christian in the season opener, and since then they've beaten both Granger (the Spartans' only defeat) and 2A contender Cashmere.

"It's a team I feel is just going to get better and better as the year goes on," Brewster coach Tim Taylor (Michael's dad) says of the Bears, who can put three 6-4 players on the court at the same time.

Does he know anything about Naches Valley?

"I hear a little bit about Tait," he says of the Rangers' top scorer. "But I don't know too much about them other than they've won every game they've played so far."

Of course, with the Rangers' showdowns Friday against East Valley and Monday against Brewster still looming ahead, it's a little early to start talking about who's unbeaten.

Like, really early.

On the other hand, should the Rangers still be unbeaten after Monday night, that would be impressive.

Really impressive.