One of Tacoma Baptist's best-kept weapons heading into Spokane for state basketball? A 6-foot-2 eighth grader
Over his career at Tacoma Baptist, senior wing PJ Talen has seen talented eighth graders play varsity hoops for other schools.
None of them compare to his teammate, eighth grader Bradley Swillie, he says.
“I’ve seen a couple of really good eighth graders go through some other schools at the 1B level, but not as good as Bradley,” Talen said. “He’s on a new level. He’s probably one of the best players on our team and in the state. He’s got great height. He’s got great IQ and he can just catch fire and hit shots and not miss.”
The 6-foot-2 guard poured in a team-high 22 points in the Crusaders’ 76-68 loss to SeaTac league rival No. 2 Muckleshoot Tribal in the 1B state regional round at Auburn Mountainview on Saturday.
“I knew he was good from watching him play as a younger player, but he has had a fantastic season,” Crusaders head coach Rich Hamlin said. “He leads our teams in assists. His court vision is just so good. He’s unselfish and then he’s hit a lot of big shots for us this year. … He is an absolute blessing to coach.”
Swillie is one of the team’s leading scorers, entering Saturday at 17.8 points per game. He joined an experienced and talented backcourt, with returning starters PJ Talen (20.5 PPG) and Joey Pascua (17.4 PPG) to form a lethal backcourt.
“That’s a nice place to land for an eighth grader,” Hamlin said. “He doesn’t have to be the man.”
But there are times where he’s taken over — including Saturday’s fourth quarter, in which he tallied 14 points.
Swillie said the biggest adjustments at first was the pace of the high school game and the strength of the players, many of which have five years on him.
“The first day of practice was kind of rough,” Swillie admitted. “But then I started to figure it out, then I started to pick it up and I got back on track.”
It didn’t take long for his teammates to notice Swillie’s talents, especially Talen, who believes the eighth grader is already on track to build a tremendous legacy as a Crusader.
“He’s probably going to be the best player to ever come through our school,” Talen said. “He’s really come a long way, even from the beginning of the season. He’s only going to grow more.”
That’s high praise from someone such as Talen, who has a strong case for that distinction currently. The preseason 1B all-state team selection became the team’s all-time leading scorer in a 68-48 win over Cedar Park Christian in the tri-district tournament, Hamlin says.
Swillie could be an X-factor for the Crusaders in the upcoming 1B state tournament at the Spokane Arena. They’ll play Naselle in the first round on Wednesday in Spokane.
The Crusaders exited Saturday with a sour taste in their mouths, but conversely also with some confidence after playing Muckleshoot Tribal — which is responsible for four of Tacoma Baptist’s five losses — tough yet again.
“It’s on a new level. We wanted them bad,” Talen said. “They beat us pretty good in the beginning of the year but the last three games we’ve been right there with them, which really gives our team confidence, because they’re a really good team.”
A fast-paced first quarter ended with the Crusaders harboring holding a 25-22 lead, in part large due to a trio of 3-pointers from senior guard Joey Pusuca.
The Kings nabbed the lead by ripping off a 9-2 run to begin the second quarter, then kept TB at arms distance from then on.
“We had a bit of a letdown in the second quarter. I wish we could play the second quarter again, but that’s OK. They’re a really nice ballclub.”
A quick 8-0 run to begin the second half opened up Muckleshoot’s Tribal’s lead to 15.
Talen and Pascua also finished in double-figures for the Crusaders, tallying 19 and 10 points, respectively.
The Kings boasted five players in double-figures, led by senior River Allen’s 24.
The Crusaders were frustrated after the loss, but hope get another shot at the Kings in the championship game of the upcoming 1B state tournament at the Spokane Arena — the teams are on different sides of the brackets.
Fifth time’s a charm, right?
And they have no qualms with leaning on an eighth grader like Swillie to get them there.
“To be honest, I’m not worried about that kid (Swillie),” Hamlin said. “That kid is an AAU kid. He’s played in big games at Vegas with coaches watching. I don’t think any stage is too big for Bradley.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 8:36 PM with the headline "One of Tacoma Baptist's best-kept weapons heading into Spokane for state basketball? A 6-foot-2 eighth grader."