‘We all believe’: Kaupanger, Annie Wright dancing into 1A boys basketball quarterfinals
READ MORE
Hardwood Classic 2024
High school state basketball champions will be crowned in Tacoma, Yakima and Spokane the weekend of February 29 - March 2.
Expand All
In the opening seconds of Annie Wright’s regional meeting last weekend at Tacoma Community College, visiting-Royal High School instantly punched the favored and very-much-surging Gators in the mouth.
Before No. 3 Annie Wright could blink, No. 6 Royal had piled the game’s first six points in Saturday’s winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-first round state clash.
“We were sleep-walking at first,” Gators guard TJ Marshall said.
Boom: Annie Wright head coach Dominique Williams burned an unexpectedly early timeout. The message in the huddle? Lock in on defense, junior guard Jeremiah Harshman recalled.
Whatever words Williams used, they worked. Everything changed. There would be no upset in Tacoma.
Annie Wright ended the first quarter on a 19-4 run; Harshman facilitated an all-around comeback effort and four Gators scored three-or-more points in the opening frame.
Annie Wright built a separate, 23-5 run in the second quarter where Harshman drilled a pair of treys.
Just how lopsided was the first-half scoreboard after Williams’ early timeout? Annie Wright 42, Royal 9.
Gators forward Martin Kaupanger dropped a game-high 19 points, and Royal’s early run went for naught when Annie Wright romped to a 79-51 win. For a third consecutive season, the Gators would appear in the 1A quarterfinals.
“I truly believe, and I think our team believes, that none of these teams have a chance to beat us,” Kaupanger, a junior, said. “We all fully believe we can win this.
“Everyone on our team can score. It’s hard for defenses to focus on one player. Everyone can dribble, pass and shoot. It’s hard to stop us. Even if there’s a sub coming in, (it’s) still going to be a good player.”
It’s a new state tournament, but the same core of ballers from Annie Wright. Kaupanger is the shot-creating perimeter threat forward who paces the program with 19 points and seven rebounds per game. Harshman is the floor general, adding 15 points and dishing seven assists per night. Team captain Marshall is the only senior in Annie Wright’s starting five, described by teammates as the “silent killer” who averages 14 points and never fails to make the right play.
“(TJ) is a coach’s dream, really,” Kaupanger said.
Annie Wright’s depth is perhaps its premier strength. Its starting five scores in double-figures, on average.
“We’re unselfish,” Marshall told The News Tribune. “We’re all looking to get each other involved in every game. We’re fine with (having) a different leading scorer every game because we know everyone’s going to be hot on different nights.
“We all have a common goal, to win state. When you have a goal like that, nothing personal gets in the way.”
Sophomore forward Amare Breedlove (13 PPG, 5 RPG) provided Annie Wright’s first scoring spurt in last weekend’s early turnaround over Royal, piling six points in the quarter and 10 in the game. Junior guard Reggie Lester (14 PPG, 3 RPG) completes a lineup that returns four of five starters in 2024-25.
“I always preach, ‘Trust your teammates,’” Williams said. “That’s why it’s a team sport. … They’re cool off the court. They joke around. I feel like they just gel well together.
“(Martin does) a little bit of everything for our team, rebounding, blocking shots, scoring, taking charges. ... And Jeremiah, even if you tell him to shoot the ball, he’s still going to make the right play. That’s what makes him so great as a point guard. He’s just trying to get everybody involved, and he’s done that a lot for us this season.
“You can tell the difference when he’s out there and when he’s not.”
It’s paying dividends: Annie Wright (22-2) remains unbeaten versus in-state programs. Only 6A-South Medford (Medford, Oregon) and 2A-Rancho Solano Prep (Scottsdale, Arizona) defeated Williams’ program in neutral-site, out-of-state tournaments last December.
But make no mistake: it’s all about Annie Wright’s last four state games, they say.
Their mindset?
“Three more,” Kaupanger said.
Annie Wright awaits the result of a Round of 12 meeting Wednesday between No. 4 Freeman and No. 13 Sultan. The winner meets the Gators in a 1A quarterfinal Thursday at the Yakima Valley SunDome. Tip-off is slated for 12:15 p.m.
They fell in each of the previous pair of 1A quarterfinals to King’s High School in 2022-23, but there was little doubt among the group that Annie Wright would be back.
“We went two years, and obviously didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” Harshman said. “We’re coming with hunger, and we want to make sure we get a state championship before we leave.”
A recent emphasis on team defense is unmistakable – on-ball skills, quick audibles between man and zone schemes, and physicality alike. Williams hasn’t coached a better, more all-around team in his tenure, he said.
Annie Wright’s Upper School for Boys (grades 9-12) opened just seven years ago, in 2017, making this core of Gators the first in school history with three consecutive trips to the state quarterfinals. A title win would be the first basketball championship in Annie Wright history, boys or girls.
“Annie Wright has typically not really been known as an athletic school. It’s more academic,” Kaupanger said. “(A title) would be huge for the community and basketball culture at Annie Wright.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
