Silas basketball shows signs of revival under Barbee’s high-energy approach
The players huddled around coach John Barbee before the game’s final moments at Silas High School on Tuesday night. The score was tied, 68-68, with one second left on the clock against crosstown rival Lincoln. Rams’ guard MakHai Pleasant-Tolliver had one free throw left to win the game after the timeout.
The gym was buzzing with a sellout crowd that saw some fans turned away before tipoff once it had reached capacity. Barbee told his players to soak it in.
“This is high school basketball at its best, right here,” he said. “It comes down to this. Packed house, at home, a chance to win the game, crosstown rivalry, the defending top team in the league.”
Pleasant-Tolliver sank the free throw and Silas won, 69-68. It gave the Rams a regular season win against a good program, but the moment felt more significant. It felt like a return to form for a program that had sputtered in recent years.
The Rams played in a state regional round game last season, but the last real sustained success Silas had was under former coach Mike Cocke, who guided Silas to a fourth-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament in 2019. When Barbee took over for Eric Overgaard, who replaced Cocke, he wanted to bring that juice back to the proud west Tacoma program (formerly Wilson High School).
Barbee coached Franklin Pierce to the 2A state tournament quarterfinals last season before his youngest son, Javon, graduated. While it’s too early to proclaim anything definitively, he seems to have the Rams back on the right track, as Silas (7-4) has won four of its last five games, including Tuesday night’s signature win over Lincoln.
If nothing else, there’s some buzz and excitement around the program again.
“I feel like we have a whole new culture, a whole new set of plays, whole new energy,” said Pleasant-Tolliver, who was Tuesday night’s hero after drilling both free throws at the end of the game to lift the Rams to the win. “From the first day, we always knew we had something good going on.”
Barbee, a self-described “high-energy coach,” has focused on the little things.
“Every day, we talk about habits,” he said. “We want winning habits in everything we do. It’s not about being on time, it’s about being early. It’s not about working hard, it’s about being the best version of yourself every single minute that you’re on the court. The standard is the standard.
“The guys have done a great job. Change is hard, but they’ve done a great job of embracing it.”
The first half of the season had some close losses, but Silas appears to be on the right trajectory. The win over Lincoln was a big step in the right direction.
“I want to get this program back to where Cocke had it,” Barbee said. “I want people to be afraid of Silas. I want people to have to play their best game against us.”
Barbee isn’t the only newcomer this season. Junior guard Trey Collier, who transferred from Lincoln after his sophomore season, has made a quick positive impact on the team.
“Trey’s brought a dawg, man,” Pleasant-Tolliver said during a postgame interview with The News Tribune after Tuesday’s win, with Collier standing next to him. “He’s a real hard worker. Not only is he a scorer, but he’s an athlete on both sides of the ball, a real hard-working defender, and he brings camaraderie, he brings us together. Great teammate.”
Collier, of course, was thrilled to beat his former team this week.
“It meant a lot, man,” he said. “Especially for me, coming from the other side. I’ve had this circled on my calendar for a minute. So it was great to come out and get the dub.”
Silas hopes to keep the momentum rolling through the rest of 2026 and perhaps into the Tacoma Dome for the 3A state tournament.
“I want to see them be the best version of themselves,” Barbee said. “When I’m on them, it’s not because I’m a jerk, it’s because I want them to be great. I think we’ve made that. December was a hard month for us. We’ve had some ups and downs, and I think now we’re ready to roll.”
