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Here are the league-by-league outlooks and capsules for 4A and 3A Narrows League, 2A Evergreen Conference, 1A Southwest Washington Evergreen Division and B schools.
4A Narrows League
Crystal Ball
(2011-12 records in parentheses)
1. Olympia (20-6)
2. Bellarmine Prep (24-5)
3. South Kitsap (11-10)
4. Central Kitsap (14-9)
5. Stadium (3-17)
6. Gig Harbor (11-12)
7. Yelm (3-17)*
* — In Class 3A
STARTING 5
G Riley Callaghan, 6-0, jr., South Kitsap
Not the quickest guy, but always seems to stay one step ahead of defenders
G Eric Anderson-Connolly,6-3, sr., Stadium
Heady point guard ran on same AAU team with Bellarmine Prep clan
F Sefo Liufau, 6-4, sr., Bellarmine Prep
Committed to Colorado for football, a tough competitor who will sometimes need to play “point” forward
F Lucas Meikle, 6-8, sr., Bellarmine Prep
Breakthrough junior year landed Meikle a scholarship to Gonzaga
F Brendan Leonard. 6-8, sr., Olympia
Great hands in the post, but doesn’t hesitate to jump out and shoot from long range
Fastbreaks: Olympia’s roster runs big. Four players — Brendan Leonard, Michael Champlin, Lewis Faller and Ben Bishop — are 6-foot-7 or taller. Few teams have had answers to the Bears’ size in the paint. Newcomer Louis Johnson, a sophomore, is averaging a team-best 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds a game and senior point guard Michael Naipo is averaging 8.5 assists per game. The past three seasons, the 4A Narrows League MVP has been from Olympia (Alex Weber-Brader, 2009-10 and 2010-11; Dominick Francks, 2011-12). … Bellarmine Prep, the 4A state runner-up, has the talent to make another deep postseason run. Lucas Meikle is a prototypical power forward who can step out and shoot the 3-pointer. … Yelm, new to Class 4A, is young (just three seniors) and has a guard-heavy squad. Trey Friend and Dale Sullivan have led the Tornados in scoring.
3A Narrows League
Crystal Ball
(2011-12 records in parentheses)
1. Lincoln (18-8)
2. Foss (16-8)
3. Timberline (7-12)
4. Wilson (20-4)
5. Mount Tahoma (5-15) *
6. North Thurston (17-9) #
7. Shelton (2-18) *
* — In Class 4A
# — In Class 2A
STARTING 5
G Ahmaad Rorie,5-11, jr., Lincoln
Clover Park transfer and Cal commit will help the Abes make a deep postseason run
G Ivy Smith Jr., 5-8, so., Wilson
Next in a strong run of point guards; leader of seven underclassmen who will see regular playing time
G/F Donaven Dorsey, 6-6, jr., Timberline
Growth spurt means multi-talented guard will see time at every position; has offers from multiple NCAA Division I schools
F Tre’Shaun Fletcher, 6-5, sr., Lincoln
Signed to Colorado, Fletcher is a shooter and distributor from the wing; he’s reigning co-3A Narrows MVP
F Dezmyn Trent, 6-4, sr., Foss
Multi-talented wing with an ultra-competitive side, he can dominate in many ways
Fastbreaks: The league welcomes three teams from two different classifications, and the Tacoma schools will have a big say in the playoff picture. Lincoln, Foss and Wilson have swept the playoff spots the past two seasons. With the addition of Ahmaad Rorie, a Clover Park transfer and Cal commit, the Abes are an overwhelming favorite to claim the 3A Narrows crown. … Timberline, led by first-year coach and River Ridge High School graduate Allen Thomas, has a lot of first-year varsity players, but returns two starters (Dorsey and Tyler Gartner). Dorsey, at 6-foot-6, has grown five inches since his freshman season and already has attracted multiple NCAA Division I offers. … North Thurston will be young and inexperienced with Tru Hicks being the lone returning starter from a team that shared the league crown with River Ridge a season ago. Sophomore guard Braden Rushton already is averaging a team-best 10.2 points per game. … Del Sandberg takes over at Shelton, and says his team is expected to be much improved with Colton Hubble and Dakota Andrews as the Highclimbers’ playmakers.
2A Evergreen Conference
Crystal Ball
(2011-12 records in parentheses)
1. River Ridge (15-9)
2. Capital (11-10) *
3. W.F. West (13-9)
4. Centralia (6-13)
5. Tumwater (11-12)
6. Aberdeen (7-13)
7. Black Hills (10-11)
*— In Class 3A
STARTING 5
G Brad Wallace, 6-0, sr., River Ridge
Reigning EvCo MVP (20.3 ppg last season) will carry the Hawks on his back
G David Cooper, 6-3, so., Tumwater
Has the size of a post player, but speed and skills of a guard creates many matchup problems
G Keenan Williams, 6-2, sr., Capital
Great long-range shooter who can also crash the boards; foes often put their best defender on him
G Jared Eidenmuller, 5-10, sr., Capital
Point guard fuels the offense and is relentless on defense; scored a season-high 29 in EvCo opener
W Brock Wade, 6-3, sr., W.F. West
Three-time, first-team all-EvCo player had 46 points in a summer tournament game in Kelso
Fastbreaks: The strength of the 2A Evergreen Conference? Its guards. Four returning starters were all-league honorees a season ago. The league title runs through River Ridge, which has either shared or won the league crown outright every year since 2007. Former Evergreen coach and defensive guru John Barbee takes over a guard-heavy roster, led by Wallace, a four-year varsity player. Two Hawks have put up 30-plus point games (Wallace and Kesean Coleman, who had a career-high 32 in a 63-61 win over Decatur). … W.F. West will go as far as senior Brock Wade cam take the Bearcats. Wade, who has had a double-digit scoring average throughout high school, could finish as a four-time, first-team all-league player. … Capital enters the 2A Evergreen Conference under first-year coach Dave Mastin looking for its first postseason date since the 2009-10 season. Keenan Williams and Jared Eidenmuller (15.5 ppg in 2011-12) provide much of the Cougars’ offense. In a 69-49 loss to Olympia, Williams scored all of Capital’s first-quarter points on six 3-pointers. … Centralia is a team that could make a surprise run. The Tigers put up 104 points against R.A. Long, setting a school-record with 10 3-pointers from Maxx Waring. … Tumwater is getting into the groove of the season with many players joining late after the football team’s playoff run. Expect big scoring numbers from sophomore David Cooper and junior Josiah Warner. … Don’t sleep on Aberdeen under second-year coach Leonard Barnes. While the Bobcats have suffered five early season losses, once the second half of the season comes around, they could make a push for a playoff spot. … Jeff Gallagher takes over a youthful Black Hills team where the Wolves are getting big production from 6-foot-6 forward Jacob Burgess, who has put together 30- and 25-point games thus far.
1A Southwest Washington Evergreen Division
Crystal Ball
(2011-12 records in parentheses)
1. Hoquiam (12-9)
2. Forks (13-9)
3. Tenino (10-12)
4. Montesano (12-8)
5. Rochester (3-15)
6. Elma (9-11)
7. Rainier (6-14)
STARTING 5
G Devante Harris, 5-9, sr., Tenino
Lightning-quick point guard is closing in on 1,000 career points
G Ronnie Espedal, 5-10, sr., Hoquiam
League defensive MVP in football has proven to be a lethal long-range shooter
W Braden Decker, 6-3, sr., Forks
The Spartans will go as far as the reigning league MVP can take them
G/F Tyler Gedney,5-11, jr., Rochester
Warriors’ top returning scorer (11 ppg) often plays bigger than his size
F Cole Smith, 6-6, sr., Hoquiam
Big target in the paint for the Grizzlies; also an all-league tight end
Fastbreaks: Hoquiam big? That’s a big understatement. Four players, led by Cole Smith at 6-foot-6, are 6-foot-3 or taller and this could be the Grizzlies’ year to get into the 1A state tournament. … Tenino has a wealth of varsity experience, which should help the Beavers in big-time games. Devante Harris is a four-year varsity player who has led the team in scoring the past two years. Seniors Ben Peterson and Justin Conklin got on a hot streak last season in the playoffs averaging 13.5 points and 11 points per game, respectively. … What Rochester lacks in full-time varsity starters, it makes up with overall experience. Tyler Gedney is coach Mark Goldrick’s only full-time starter returning for the Warriors, but Colton Smith and Aaron Blanchard played meaningful minutes in part-time starting roles. … It is a junior-by-committee for Elma with eight juniors on the roster — five of them starters. … It will be a rebuilding year for Rainier as Onalaska native Kyle Stanley takes over as head coach. The Mountaineers will rely heavily on their defense and junior guard Zach Froembling on the offensive end.
Class 2B
Northwest Christian Navigators
Coach: Rick Fox (fourth season)
2011-12: 14-10 overall, advanced to 2B District IV tournament
Key players: C Kenton Boogard, jr.; F Austin Koukal, sr.; G Aaron Fox, jr.; G Elijah Shoffner, sr.
Outlook: With all their inexperience, it could take time for the Navigators to heat up. Once they do, they could climb the ranks in the Pacific 2B League. Koukal, who averaged 6.5 points per game as a sophomore, already leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points and 5.0 rebounds a game.
