The last time Bellarmine Prep’s boys basketball team reached the Class 4A state tournament, “Fire and Ice” guided the Lions.
Behind explosive Avery Bradley and cool Abdul Gaddy, Bellarmine Prep advanced to the semifinals in 2008 but fell short of capturing the first state title in school history.
Four years later, Bradley plays for the Boston Celtics, Gaddy is the point guard at the University of Washington, and the Lions are in position to make a run at the championship.
“If we play to our potential,” senior guard David Smith said, “we can play with anyone.”
Seventh-ranked Bellarmine Prep (23-3) meets No. 8 Mount Rainier (18-10) in the state quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. today at the Tacoma Dome.
For these Lions, there is no “Fire and Ice” – or any other natural elements, for that matter – and this isn’t a one- or two-man team.
“This is a team sport,” Bellarmine Prep coach Bernie Salazar said. “It’s a lot more fun when everybody’s involved.”
Winning is fun, too, and the Lions have been able to reel off a successful season – possibly with more victories in store – while maintaining a roster absent of ego.
“We don’t care who scores,” forward Lucas Meikle said. “We just want to win.”
Words like those come out of the mouths of many players. The Lions actually mean it.
“If someone scores 20, 25 or 30 points, great, whatever gets the job done,” guard Isaiah Flynn said. “If it’s me, David, Sefo (Liufau), Lucas, it doesn’t matter. That makes it hard to guard us; there are so many players that can score.”
Meikle, a 6-foot-8 junior, and Liufau, a 6-4 junior forward, are solid performers in the paint. Both average a double-double – Meikle at 14 points and 10 rebounds and Liufau at 11 points and 10 rebounds – and attract enough attention to free up Smith and Flynn for perimeter shots or to get to the basket.
Not surprisingly, Smith and Flynn have posted double-digit scoring averages. All four players are talented enough to score more than they do, but that’s not the Lions’ style.
Salazar said two primary factors allowed the team-first mentality to take root.
“One, they’ve been playing together since about the fourth grade, they’re used to playing together and sharing the basketball,” he said. “Two, they really are unselfish kids.”
Before the season began, Salazar gathered his team and pointed out the success achieved by Gonzaga Prep last year. The Bullpups upset more talented Garfield and Curtis teams on the way to winning the state championship.
“I gave the example of the Gonzaga Prep team from last year that was probably not the most talented team in the state – they obviously had enough talent – but they played real well together, they had mental toughness,” Salazar said. “That can be a really good formula for us, as well.”
Bellarmine Prep entered the season confident it had the pieces to put together a winning season. Interestingly, it was a 65-62 loss to nationally-ranked Loyola of Los Angeles in December that gave the Lions a boost.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted,” Liufau said, “but it was a good teaching point. We knew that we could compete with anyone.”
Bellarmine Prep will have ample opportunity to prove it over the next three days.
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/preps
Twitter: @DougPaceyTNT
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