High school boys basketball: The top teams, players in the South Sound in 2021-22
The never-ending pandemic nightmare is still raging on, forcing the cancellation of numerous basketball games and other high school sports and activities so far this winter. Despite that fact, games are being played when teams are healthy and virus-free. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that state tournaments — particularly the Class 3A and 4A basketball tournaments right here in the Tacoma Dome in early March — will be able to safely take place, preferably with full crowds in place.
Already, high school student-athletes missed out on state tournaments during the 2020-21 school year, when they were canceled because of the pandemic. Most leagues around the state opted for shortened, league-only seasons last spring, cramming an entire school year’s worth of sports into the span of a few months.
With the omicron variant sending covid cases spiking nationwide, weeklong or multi-week pauses will be inevitable for most high school athletics programs at this point. That doesn’t mean that games won’t continue to be played, however. Seasons will be completed. If the past year and change has shown us anything, it’s that athletic directors aren’t taking no for an answer. They went as far as constructing open-air basketball courts at the Puyallup fairgrounds last spring, just so student-athletes could finally play some games.
The show will go on. Here’s what to watch for in high school boys basketball in the South Sound between now and March.
THE TOP TEAMS
4A NPSL
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Federal Way is the team to beat in the North Puget Sound League. That’s been the case for some time, and it’s the case again this winter. The trio of super-sophomores that came onto the scene last spring are now all juniors in Vaughn Weems, Isaiah Afework and Dace Pleasant. There’s plenty of athleticism, but also a high work rate and will to win. Weems, a 6-foot-4 wing, was a first-team selection to The News Tribune’s 2021 spring all-area team, after averaging 15.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 steals for the Eagles. He was the 4A NPSL MVP and is one of the area’s best on-ball defenders, which creates transition opportunities for Federal Way. Federal Way is 2-1 on the season, hoping for a smooth stretch of playable games after missing some time around Christmas due to covid protocol. Keep an eye on Tahoma and Kentridge this season, also. Tahoma is off to a 3-2 start with wins over Auburn Mountainview, Kentwood and Port Angeles. The Bears have plenty of height, led by 6-foot-7 wing Carson Talbert and 6-foot-9 post Cooper Church. Kentridge, meanwhile, returns senior Lareel Stewart, one of the league’s best guards.
4A SPSL
Curtis looks like the top dog this winter. The Vikings are off to a 6-2 start this season, which includes comfortable wins over Rogers and Kentridge. They’re loaded with two of the area’s top players in junior sharpshooter Tyce Paulsen, last spring’s SPSL North MVP. In the spring, he averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals, shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc. He’s complemented by 6-foot-4 sophomore Zoom Diallo, who already holds offers from UW and WSU. In the spring season, Diallo averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and shot 49.2 percent from the field. He was a first-team 4A SPSL selection as a freshman. Sumner, Bellarmine Prep and Olympia are in the mix, too. Bellarmine returns three all-league selections from last spring in senior guards Nic Ferencko and Tommy Hanly and senior forward Henry Wiggins. Sumner is off to a 3-2 start to the season with wins over Decatur, Bellarmine and Graham-Kapowsin and losses to Olympia and North Kitsap. The Spartans are led by 6-foot-7 senior combo guard Ty Edwards (15 points, seven rebounds, five assists this season), a second-team all-league selection in the spring, and sharp-shooting 6-foot-4 guard Ethan Canion (10 ppg), another second-team selection from the spring. Along with Curtis’ two stars, Olympia has a good case for the league’s best player with junior guard Parker Gerrits, who holds offers from Montana and Portland. As a sophomore, he averaged 14 points and was a first-team all-league selection.
3A NPSL
We saw this coming a couple years ago, when Auburn was one of the youngest rosters playing in the Class 4A state tournament in the Tacoma Dome. Maleek Arington, Tre Blassingame and Kaden Hansen were all sophomores then, a promising young core that was a bit ahead of schedule. Arington (13.5 points per game this season) is a floor general with elite passing ability — and he can score, too — Hansen (20.5 ppg) is one of the area’s best perimeter shooters and Blassingame (19.9 ppg) can score from anywhere on the floor. These days, the Trojans aren’t sneaking up on anyone. That trio are now all seniors and they’re plenty hungry for a return to the Dome after not having a state tournament to play in as juniors because of the pandemic. But this Auburn team won’t just be happy to be back — they want to win the whole thing. And at 8-1 this season, there’s no reason to think the Trojans can’t. Auburn has wins over Federal Way and O’Dea this season and lost in a back-and-forth game to Garfield in the Hardwood Invite tournament championship game, held at Auburn over the Christmas break. There’s a good chance we see a rematch of that game at some point in the Tacoma Dome. Could anyone else sneak into the conversation? Auburn Mountainview returns two-time first-team all-league selection Sal Savusa, a senior guard. But it’ll take a Herculean effort for Auburn Mountainview or any of the league’s other teams to slow down Auburn this winter.
3A SSC
It’s a tossup at the top between Timberline and Gig Harbor, with Gig Harbor holding the edge early on. The Tides won the early-season meeting against the Blazers, 73-71 in early December. Right now, Gig Harbor (8-0 overall, 4-0 SSC 3A) has still yet to lose. The Tides have posted impressive wins over Timberline, Central Kitsap, Capital and others. They’re racking up wins with lights-out shooting; the Tides have three players shooting at least 40 percent from behind the arc. Senior guard Asher Raquiza (12 points per game this season, 40 percent from three), a second-team selection last spring when Gig Harbor played up in the 4A SPSL, is a smooth and fluid shotmaker. Guards Will Landram (14 points, 42 percent from three) and Luke Browne (21 points, 42 percent from three) were also all-league selections last spring. Timberline, meanwhile, has the league’s best player in 6-foot-3 guard Brooklyn Hicks, who was the 3A SSC MVP in the spring, when he averaged 27 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Hicks holds offers from UW, WSU, Oregon State and others. Miles Gurske was also a first-team selection last spring.
3A PCL
Silas may have been the favorite with junior guard Cayden McDaniel in the fold, but he’s out for the year with an ACL injury. The 6-foot-3 guard is one of the area’s top players and was already earning playing time as a freshman on the Rams’ state tournament squad. As a sophomore, he had a breakout season, averaging 27 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists per game. He’s a fluid, high-level scorer and ball handler who gets to the basket with ease and can score at all three levels. His presence also opened the floor and created opportunities for Silas’ top 3-point shooting threat Tre Walker, now a sophomore. Without McDaniel on the floor, those open looks are fewer and far between. The Rams are just 2-5 to start the season with a 2-2 mark in the 3A PCL, collecting wins over Bonney Lake and Stadium and losing to Spanaway Lake and Mount Tahoma. Right now, Mount Tahoma looks like the team to beat in the 3A Pierce County League. Even if McDaniel were playing for Silas, we would’ve expected Mount Tahoma to be contending for the league championship. The T-Birds have one of the state’s most electric scorers in guard Asjon Anderson, who has a knack for knocking down clutch shots in the biggest moments. There are certain players who are nearly unstoppable when they get into the zone; Anderson is one of them. He has taken his game to another level in his senior year, averaging 35.2 points so far this season, also tallying 6.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 5 steals. He scored 39 points in a 72-59 win over Spanaway Lake on Jan. 5 and 41 points against Life Christian on Dec. 3 in a 95-79 win over one of the state’s top Class 1A teams. T-Birds’ senior point guard Ryan Tran is enjoying a breakout campaign thanks to a more assertive mindset on the floor, averaging 17.3 points for the T-Birds and giving Mount Tahoma a fearsome 1-2 scoring punch. Spanaway Lake is also in the running, with 6-foot-4 forward Trishion Sullivan — also a standout defensive end for the Sentinels’ football team — leading the way. Senior guard Trayshion Sullivan, Trishion’s brother, is another high-level player for the Sentinels, who are 4-3 this season.
2A SPSL
Realistically, we could see a handful of teams in contention to win this league, especially given the continual pandemic-induced scheduling upheaval. Franklin Pierce is perhaps the strongest bet, with the league’s top scorer in senior shooting guard John Barbee Jr. (33 points per game this season). He’s complemented by his brother, freshman point guard Javon Barbee, in the starting lineup at just 14 years old. John Barbee Jr. has a knack for showing up in big games — he scored 37 points in the 2A SPSL tournament championship game win against White River last spring. Keep an eye on White River, Steilacoom, Enumclaw and Foss, also. White River lost some star power from last year’s team but returns spring second-team all-league selection Rylan Donovan, a senior guard. Steilacoom has one of the league’s most intriguing up-and-coming athletes in 6-foot-4 forward Jaydus Green, who coach Eric Overgaard calls a ‘game changer,’ as well as point guard Tyshawn Cordon Jr. The Sentinels are off to a 4-1 start and a 3-0 mark in the 2A SPSL. Foss senior Demarea Wilkins is one of the league’s top guards. He averaged 17 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.5 assists last spring en route to becoming a second-team all-league selection. Enumclaw returns 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard John Carnino, an honorable-mention all-league selection from the spring. There aren’t many leagues in the area with this much parity. We wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the aforementioned teams beat one another on any given night.
2A EVCO
Tumwater has shown that it’s the favorite early on, jumping out to a 3-0 mark in the 2A EvCo with a 5-2 overall record. And the T-Birds don’t just look like a favorite to win the 2A Evergreen Conference, they look like a state tournament team, evidenced by a 20-point win over Steilacoom, one of the 2A South Puget Sound League’s upper-tier teams. In league play, Tumwater picked up a win over its top competition, beating W.F. West 54-40 on Dec. 16. Tumwater is led by junior point guard Luke Brewer, an first-team all-league selection last spring, after he averaged 13.7 points per game. Center Ryan Otton, a UW football commit, is an imposing presence in the paint on both ends of the floor, standing at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds. He averaged 8.6 points and 7.5 rebounds as a junior. Tumwater got the better of W.F. West in the first go-round, but the defending league champion Bearcats are still poised to contend for the league title. W.F. West has had mixed results this season after losing the spring’s league MVP Cater McCoy to graduation, posting a 5-4 overall record so far and a 3-1 mark in the 2A EvCo, led by 6-foot-10 junior center Soren Dalan, averaging 14.6 points and 13.2 rebounds this season. Senior Dirk Plakinger leads the team in scoring with 18.3 points, 5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals this season.
SMALL SCHOOLS
Life Christian is one of the state’s top Class 1A teams, led by a potent 1-2 scoring punch in 6-foot-3 senior Bradley Swillie and 6-foot-6 Chae Haynes. Swillie can play inside and out and leads the team in scoring, averaging 32.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and three steals this season. Haynes is averaging 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Eagles. Life Christian has posted a 6-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the 1A Nisqually, highlighted by a 83-68 win over 3A Pierce County League contender Spanaway Lake. The lone loss came to 3A Mount Tahoma, when T-Birds senior guard Asjon Anderson dropped 41 points in a 95-79 win. In the 2B Pacific League, Chief Leschi (Puyallup) is 7-0 overall with a 4-0 mark in league play. The Warriors look like a state tournament team and will be in contention for the 2B state title in Spokane in early March.
35 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Isaiah Afework, Federal Way, jr.
Asjon Anderson, Mount Tahoma, sr.
Maleek Arington, Auburn, sr.
John Barbee Jr., Franklin Pierce, sr.
Tre Blassingame, Auburn, sr.
Luke Brewer, Tumwater, jr.
Luke Browne, Gig Harbor, jr.
Ethan Canion, Sumner, sr.
Cooper Church, Tahoma, sr.
Zoom Diallo, Curtis, soph.
Ty Edwards, Sumner, sr.
Nic Ferencko, Bellarmine Prep, sr.
Parker Gerrits, Olympia, jr.
Jaydus Green, Steilacoom, soph.
Miles Gurske, Timberline
Tommy Hanly, Bellarmine Prep, sr.
Kaden Hansen, Auburn, sr.
Jeshua Hardie, Yelm, sr.
Chae Haynes, Life Christian, sr.
Brooklyn Hicks, Timberline, jr.
Josiah Johnson, Central Kitsap, jr.
Tyce Paulsen, Curtis, jr.
Dace Pleasant, Federal Way, jr.
Asher Raquiza, Gig Harbor, sr.
Sal Savusa, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
Logan Stempniak, Kentwood, sr.
Lareel Stewart, Kentridge, sr.
Trayshion Sullivan, Spanaway Lake, sr.
Trishion Sullivan, Spanaway Lake, sr.
Bradley Swillie, Life Christian, sr.
Carson Talbert, Tahoma, sr.
Tre Walker, Silas, soph.
Vaughn Weems, Federal Way, jr.
Demarea Wilkins, Foss, sr.
Joshua Wood, Graham-Kapowsin, sr.
TNT preps reporters Tyler Wicke and Jordan Whitford contributed to this story.
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
