By Sam Oldroyd
Guest Columnist
Last week, the WIAA released a list of proposed new amendments for the coming year, which will be voted upon in April. Among these proposed amendments is the idea of sanctioning lacrosse as a WIAA sport, as well as a few others regarding lacrosse in Washington. These newly proposed amendment brings forth the question that has been debated among many in the state of Washington for several years now: should lacrosse be sanctioned by the WIAA?
The Great Debate: The Sanctioning of Lacrosse as a WIAA Sport
Q and A with Michael Weisner, Walla Walla Forward
University of Montana-bound Senior Michael Weisner is one of the best kept secrets in the state preps basketball scene. Weisner is currently leading his Walla Walla team alongside teammate Gary Winston. These two players will most likely get to showcase their talent at the 3A State tournament if their team plays up to its potential. We got a chance to talk to Weisner about his season so far. Check out the interview after the jump!
2011 UW Basketball Recruiting Update: Wroten, Bell, Chol, and Pelle
We last gave you an update on the Huskies' recruiting for 2011 back in June. Since then, the Huskies have started to aggressively pursue some of the top talent on the West Coast. Here is what the Husky roster will look like after the 2010-11 season (assuming Enes Kanter is eligible):
Seniors
Darnell Gant F
Scott Suggs G/F
Elston Turner G/F
Isaiah Thomas G
Brendan Sherrer F*
Juniors
Clarence Trent F
Tyreese Breshers F
Abdul Gaddy G
Sophomores
Enes Kanter F
Desmond Simmons F
C.J. Wilcox G
*It is a possibility that Sherrer works hard this season and keeps his scholarship. It would be wrong to automatically count Sherrer out.
Romar has only two scholarship spots to fill. However, he is known to recruit aggressively even if the numbers don't always add up. With that said, we can assume that the Huskies will be looking to sign three freshman in the class of 2011. This is incredibly early but it looks like Romar will be going after some guards in this class. I would say two out of three recruits will need to be able to play point or shooting guard.
High School Basketball Games of the Week: 2/8-2/13
Boys
Rankings according to the SeaTown Sports Top 25
Tuesday, February 9th 12:00pm--No. 14 Garfield (14-4) at No. 18 Eastlake (13-5)
If Eastlake is able to beat Garfield and Skyline is able to win their two games this week, then Skyline will take sole possession of first place in the Kingco Crest division. Garfield narrowly beat Eastlake in an early January game, 76-74.
Tuesday, February 9th 6:15pm--Chief Sealth (12-6) at No. 3 Rainier Beach (15-3)
The Chief Sealth Seahawks have won seven games since losing against Seattle Prep last January. This game will likely be a preview of the Metro Semi-finals next week. Even if Sealth loses, the way this game plays out will give us a sense of whether or not Chief Sealth has the capability to beat Rainier Beach.
Thursday, February 11th 6:15pm-- No. 1 Federal Way (19-1) vs. No. 6 Curtis (19-1) (Showare Center in Kent)
To be honest, I think Federal Way will probably run all over Curtis. But with this being the SPSL championship game, it would be wrong to say this doesn't have a CHANCE to be a close game. Besides Gonzaga Prep, Curtis is really the only other team in 4A that has a remote chance in beating the Eagles.
Girls
Rankings according to Seattle Times
Thursday February 11th 8:00pm-- No. 1 Auburn Riverside (20-0) vs. Bethel (16-4) (Showare Center in Kent)
This is an intriguing match up that pits the first place teams of the SPSL divisions against each other. The winner here gains the No. 1 SPSL seed going into districts. Auburn Riverside is the overwhelming favorite. Will Bethel be able to make this a game?
Thursday February 11th 6:15pm-- Lakeside (12-6) at Seattle Prep (11-6)
If Lakeside loses against Holy Names and Seattle Prep takes care of Eastside Catholic, these teams will be in a deadlock for second place and will be playing for a chance to compete in the Metro Semi-Finals. This is the most important game for these two teams, it should be a good one.
Statewide Basketball Rankings Week 10- Top 25
The top six stays the same this week, however there was some movement from slots seven to ten after some teams lost this past week. After almost beating Enumclaw, Lakes jumps both Meadowdale and Jackson. Meadowdale stays in front of Jackson after completely dominating them last Friday. Richland beat Walla Walla in dramatic fashion and is currently tied with Walla Walla for first place in the Big 9.
Seattle Prep suffered a 20 point loss to a very good Franklin team and as a result they have dropped from No. 10 to No. 12.
Decatur makes a significant jump from No. 24 to No. 16 after a convincing 10 point victory over Beamer. Eastlake makes the jump from being unranked to No. 18 after a win over Inglemoor. Lastly, Auburn Riverside makes its debut into the rankings with a victory over No. 23 Auburn.
An interesting situation to keep your eye on will be how things unfold in the Metro League. In the past seven years, the champion has come out of this league. The Metro League will get eight teams into Seaking districts, while KingCo will get four spots into districts. Four teams will make into the state tournament out of this district.
This district includes the following teams: No. 3 Rainier Beach, No. 5 Bellevue, and No. 12 Seattle Prep. Franklin, Chief Sealth, Bainbridge, O'Dea, and Mount Si are also coming out of this district.
Check out week 10 of our statewide rankings after the jump!
Q and A with Daniel Cheledinas, Kings High School Guard
Daniel Cheledinas is one of the scorers at the high school level in Washington. Cheledinas is currently leading his King's high school team alongside teammate Ryan Hoff. These two players will most likely get to showcase their talent at the 1A State tournament if their team plays up to its potential. We got a chance to talk to Cheledinas about his season so far. Check out the interview after the jump!
Monthly Poll: How many Games will the Mariners Win this year?
It is still hard for me to comprehend how much the Mariners have improved this off season. The question is what level of success the Mariners will reach this season. The projected consensus of the amount of wins seems to be around 90 games. Vote in the poll and then let us know what you think in the comments!
Pac-10 Tournament Hopes: Who's in and Who's out
Since 2004 the Pac-10 has gotten at least three teams into the tournament. This year, it is questionable if the Pac-10 will get more than the conference tournament champion's automatic bid. I would not say that the conference is by any means weak, but not one team's record looks pretty. Everyone keeps on beating each other up.
The top team and the last place place team are separated by a mere three games. There's a two-way tie for first place, a two-way tie for second place, and a five-way tie for third place...I think you get the point. Unlike previous seasons, there just does not seem to be a bona fide contender. There's no UCLA ranked in the top ten of the nation or even a mediocre Pac-10 team hovering around in the top 25.
California is the best team, but they are no where consistent enough to be considered a marquee team on the national stage. I think UW has potential, but their inconsistent defense and play on the road has kept them away from reaching the next level. Right now, there are three tournament-worth teams in the conference right now; California, Arizona St., and Washington. USC would be on the bubble, but because of OJ Mayo they will not be playing in the post season this year.
Will all three make it? I think two will make it. One of them will end up winning the regular season Pac-10 championship (probably California) and one of them will be winning the tournament (probably Washington).
Arizona is currently tied for first in the conference, but I don't think they are as strong as my top three teams. As a result, unless they can win the majority of their games left against the top three teams, they'll end up at fourth place or worst.
UCLA has bounced back in conference play, but every game is a must-win for them right now. They simply have no play makers on offense, when your best offensive option is a three-point shooter, you know something is wrong.
I really thought WSU was going to be a contender this year, however, it seems like once a team can shut down Klay Thompson, the whole team gets shut down. Reggie Moore and DeAngelo Casto have been great contributors, but they are not good enough to shoulder the scoring load when Thompson is struggling.
This is how I see the conference ending up by the end of the season:
- California
- Arizona State
- Washington
- Arizona
- USC
- UCLA
- Washington St.
- Stanford
- Oregon
- Oregon St.
Player of the year right now I think should go to Quincy Pondexter, if WSU can finish top three Klay would be a tempting choice. I think Herb Sendek and his Sun Devil zone defense will get him coach of the year. The conference tournament will be really interesting this season. If the top team prevails, I think UW will win that tournament, but Arizona/UCLA/WSU can all take home that trophy.
It's a down year for the Pac-10, but the competition is as close as can be. Expect a lot of nail-biters and overtime games as each team is vying for a top seed in the Pac-10 tournament.
Top 10 Mariners of All-Time
We ran this series of posts awhile back, but I just realized that we've never linked them together in one post. This is also some good stuff I thought our new readers would be interested in. Enjoy!
- Ken Griffey Jr.
- Ichiro
- Edgar Martinez
- Randy Johnson
- Alex Rodriguez
- Jamie Moyer
- Alvin Davis
- Jay Buhner
- Bret Boone
- Mark Langston
photo source: [Flickr]
Statewide Basketball Rankings Week 9- Top 25
Here is week nine of our Statewide rankings.
The top ten stays the same after all ten of the schools went undefeated last week. Their could be a shift this week if Jackson is able to avenge their earlier loss to Meadowdale.
If I had to guess right now who would be playing the state championship games for 4A and 3A, I'd go with Federal Way vs. Gonzaga Prep in 4A, and in 3A I'd go with Rainier Beach vs. Enumclaw. Curtis could make a run in 4A, but I just don't see them beating such a well-rounded team as Gonzaga Prep. One dark horse team in 4A has to be Garfield. If Tony Wroten is able to return, this team could compete with anybody in the State including the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups. In 3A; Bellevue, Lakes, and Seattle Prep are the next tier of teams after Beach and Enumclaw.
One team to watch out for is Kentwood, who beat both No. 19 Auburn and No. 21 Kentridge by 18 points or more. Josh Smith's return has Kentwood looking like one of the top teams in the state. The Conqs are 9-5 and tied with Kentridge for second place in the SPSL North division. Can Josh Smith lead his Kentwood Conqs into state? The Conqs should be able to take care of business against both Tahoma and Kentlake to finish their league season with an 11-5 record.
If Kentridge wins both of their games, these teams will be tied for second place in SPSL North. I believe Kentwood holds the tie breaker because they have the larger margin of victory over Kentridge even though the season series is split. Kentwood has virtually locked up a No. 2 or a No. 3 seed in the SPSL playoffs. Those two wins last week were huge. District 3 which includes SPSL and Narrows league will get six allocations into the 4A state tournament this year. Kentwood can end up being anywhere from a No. 3 seed to a No. 6 seed in Districts depending on how the SPSL playoffs pan out.
I want to take this chance to apologize for snubbing Capital last week. They are now ranked at No. 14. Along with Capital's entrance into the rankings, a couple of teams moved a few spots from last week. Puyallup has moved down from No. 14 to No. 18 after a loss to Beamer. Inglemoor moves from No. 23 to No. 15 after a win over Skyline. Two Spokane teams, Mead and Shadle Park enter the top 25. Walla Walla jumps to the No. 11 spot being led by two D1 players, Michael Weisner (Montana) and Gary Winston (Idaho). Lastly, Bellarmine Prep cracks the top 25 after winning six of their last seven.
Check out week 9 of our statewide rankings after the jump!
The Ying and the Yang of Venoy Overton
So far in his time here at Washington, Venoy Overton has been one of the Huskies most unpredictable players. Throughout the years he has shown some skills in his overall game, but these flashes will disappear as quickly as they come. His usefulness varies from one end of the court to the other, as he is a stalwart on the defensive side; capable of shutting down and frustrating some of the best players in the game, but he is ineffective and inconsistent on offense and often cannot be relied on to make plays. Here is a quick breakdown of the good and the bad of Venoy Overton:
Q and A with Ryan Nicholas, Gonzaga Prep Forward
University of Portland-bound Senior Ryan Nicholas from Gonzaga Prep is arguably the best big man in the state of Washington. Nicholas has led his Bullpups to a No. 2 ranking the 4A classification. He was ranked number nine in our statewide player rankings. We got a chance to talk to Nicholas about the current season and his future playing basketball. Check out our interview with him after the jump!
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