Banchero puts on a show as O’Dea beats Wilson in 3A state regionals, 84-73
The parking lot at Mount Tahoma High School was already full an hour before tipoff, and the line to get into game stretched on for what felt like an eternity, with fans hoping to get into Mount Tahoma High School to watch Friday night’s Class 3A state tournament regional round boys basketball matchup between O’Dea and Wilson.
Many folks were likely in attendance to catch a glimpse of five-star O’Dea recruit Paolo Banchero, a 6-foot-9 power forward with offers from Duke, Kentucky, Gonzaga, UW and others.
Wilson hung tough for most of the first half, but O’Dea pulled away for an 84-73 win over the Rams. Both teams are ranked in the top eight of the state’s RPI — Wilson, No. 2, and O’Dea, No. 7 — and are both safely in the Hardwood Classic, beginning next week at the Tacoma Dome.
Here are three takeaways from O’Dea’s win.
WILSON GETS A TASTE OF THE METRO
Wilson, ranked No. 2 in the WIAA’s RPI, hadn’t seen a talent quite like O’Dea (21-5) yet this season, from the 3A Metro, the state’s toughest league, with Garfield, O’Dea and Eastside Catholic all legitimate threats to win the state title.
It’s not lost on Wilson coach Mike Cocke that competing against the top Metro teams is a different level than what Wilson has seen this season from the Pierce County League and the West Central District III.
“It’s a Metro team and they could’ve beat us by 30 if we quit,” Cocke said. “We didn’t quit, so I give my kids a lot of credit for staying in there and continuing to compete.”
With the loss, Wilson won’t get a bye into the state tournament quarterfinals next week, but could there be a silver lining to seeing this type of competition before getting to the Dome?
“The good thing is it’s not the end of the season,” Cocke said. “The negative is, I think we’re better than that. I’m not saying we would’ve won tonight if we played perfect, but we’re a better team than that. Part of that is execution.”
RAMS COME OUT STRONG IN FIRST HALF
Wilson jumped out to a quick lead and the game stayed tight until the second part of the second quarter, when O’Dea went on a run to close out the half, taking a 46-34 lead into the half and never looking back.
“We stopped executing our offense, couldn’t get open, played one-on-five, couldn’t guard anybody,” Cocke said. “They did what they wanted and we let them do it. Just bad execution on our part, offense and defense. … We just have to continue to do the things we did to get to this point, not vacate them when you get to the point when it really matters. We did what we did last year when we get to these situations and we can’t do that. You have to do the things you did to win games.”
BANCHERO IS A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION TALENT
To those in the state’s high school basketball community, this goes without saying, but the 6-foot-9 power forward is a unique talent. And that might be selling him short.
“He’s one of the best players to ever play in the state of Washington,” Cocke said. “He’s poised, under control, the game comes to him very easily. He’s a matchup nightmare. We don’t have a dude like that. We did our best; I thought our guys did a pretty good job in the first half.”
Banchero said the win gives the Fighting Irish some momentum heading into the state tournament.
“For us, it was a must-win game,” he said. “We’ve been saying that all week leading up to this game. I feel like if we win this, we have a better chance.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 11:34 PM.
