Mount Si ready to run into 2008-09 basketball season
December 3, 2008
By Ryan Piersol
The bumps and bruises on the Mount Si boys basketball team of 2008 could turn into trophies and celebrations in 2009.
Riddled with young players, the Wildcats finished 10-12 and short of a district tournament a year ago. Nine months later, Mount Si finds itself more grown up and confident in its expectations, primarily because of last year’s experience.
Zander Nelson makes a play during a game last season.
“Because of last year, this group of kids now will know what it takes to get to the playoffs. We have quite a bit of experience,” second-year head coach Jeff D’Ambrosio said.
“This offseason, we also tried to play as many tough teams as possible. And, in the non-league, we’re playing some pretty tough teams. So, I’m trying to get the kids used to playing the best, so that we’re ready for them when we face them either in league or in district.”
Experience, of course, isn’t everything. Mount Si also has lots of that uncoachable quality — natural talent.
The Wildcats will present a lineup both large and able to score in bunches. The leader of the group could be Tanner Riley, a three-year starter and a KingCo 3A honorable mention selection last season at guard after averaging 17.6 points a game. Tyson Riley, a senior guard, also is entering his third year of starting.
Then there’s Lucas Zupan, a strong 6-5 junior post that will do much of the dirty work this season for the Wildcats. Zander Nelson, a 6-0 guard, is another player who could earn a starting spot after serving as the first player off the bench and averaging 10.4 points a contest.
The lineup lists five players at 6-4 or taller, and three of them — Zach Brevick, Tucker Edwards King and Jake Hamilton — are seniors. They’ll be joined in the post by 6-5 junior Taylor Campbell.
Also expected to see plenty of playing time are 6-3 sophomore Dallas Smith, 6-3 forward Dillon Shane and sophomore guard Wes Hill.
With that many guns to turn to, Mount Si plans to apply lots of pressure defensively and push the ball at a neck-break speed on offense.
“We’re very athletic, so we’ll get up and down the court. We’ll play pretty up-tempo and should be pretty fun to watch,” D’Ambrosio said. “We’ve been working a lot on transition offense and transition defense. We have a handful of kids who can fly down the court.”
The most impressive part of this Wildcat team could be its balance. It will come into play not just with scoring, but also with who does all the other things like rebounding, ball handling and passing.
“We’re going to pose matchup problems for people,” D’Ambrosio said. “For the most part, our guards are bigger than the guards we play against. So, at any given time, we’ll have the size advantage at guard, which can be huge.
“Almost every team out there has one starter who isn’t that big. So, I don’t know who the other team’s fifth guy is going to guard, because all five of our guys can score.”
The league has changed drastically since last season. KingCo 3A is now down to just seven teams, four of which will earn berths in the district tournament with the Metro league.
Bellevue looks to be the favorite in KingCo 3A this season, but D’Ambrosio doesn’t think his Wildcats are too far off. Defending champion Mercer Island lost a large class of seniors and isn’t expected to be nearly as strong.
Mount Si has qualified for the state basketball tournament 21 times in school history. The last time the Wildcats did so was in 2006, when Mount Si placed sixth. D’Ambrosio isn’t quite ready to say this year’s team is as good as the one from three seasons ago, but he likes the potential.
“They’re similar athletically, but that team was almost all seniors,” he said. “They just had a ton of senior leadership. But, athletically, we’re probably close to that team.”
Mount Si is scheduled to begin the season Dec. 4 at home against Evergreen.
Mount Si girls return plenty
The Mount Si girls basketball team is scheduled to return most of its top players from a year ago, including leading scorer Catie Richards.
Richards, a 5-9 senior, averaged 13 points a game last season, as the Wildcats finished 7-9 in league play and 10-13 overall. They were fifth in KingCo 3A.
Also returning for Mount Si is 5-3 junior Karly Thompson, who poured in nearly 8 points a contest last season.
Richards will be joined in the frontcourt by 5-9 junior Traci Nelson, who averaged 7 points a game last season.
Other players who could see plenty of court action are junior Jordyn Wilson, sophomore Jori Braun and sophomore Aubrey Larion.
The Wildcats are slated to begin play Dec. 6 at Port Angeles.
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
