What if the Seahawks played basketball? Local coaches pick their starting five
Ever wonder what a basketball starting five would look like with players from this year’s Seattle Seahawks team?
Seattle is one win away from the Super Bowl, and with Seahawks-mania sweeping the state once again, I asked a couple of local high school basketball coaches to pick their starting five.
Auburn High School coach Ryan Hansen, who has one of the top Class 4A teams in the state this winter, has been a Seahawks season ticket holder since 2008. Here are his picks.
HANSEN’S STARTING FIVE
1) Rashid Shaheed
2) Jaxon Smith-Njigba
3) Nick Emmanwori
4) AJ Barner
5) Abe Lucas
Shaheed, who returned the NFC Divisional round’s opening kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown against San Francisco last weekend, runs the point for Hansen.
“He’s my quick, jittery point guard that can get to his spots,” Hansen said. “And he’s gonna be a pest on defense.”
All-Pro receiver Smith-Njigba plays shooting guard.
“He’s a playmaker, a gamer, gonna find a way to get it done,” Hansen said.
Rangy, 6-foot-3 safety Nick Emmanwori is Hansen’s defensive specialist.
“He’s my defensive lockdown guy, brings a lot of physicality to the group,” he said. “I think defense, when it comes down to playoff time, defense wins you games.”
And in the frontcourt: a pair of enforcers in tight end AJ Barner and offensive lineman Abe Lucas.
“Barner will be my pick and pop 4,” Hansen said. “Gonna spread the floor, not afraid to get down low. … (Lucas is) my enforcer down low. He’s gonna take up some space in the paint. Not afraid to go in there and get a little nasty.”
Puyallup coach Kevin Olson also has Jaxon Smith-Njigba in his starting lineup, but the rest of the crew looks different.
OLSON’S STARTING FIVE
1) Jaxon Smith-Njigba
2) Sam Darnold
3) Devon Witherspoon
4) Byron Murphy
5) Leonard Williams
Smith-Njigba runs the show for Olson’s squad.
“Playmaker, shifty, smooth, great hands, poised,” Olson said.
Olson isn’t 100 percent sure Seahawks’ quarterback Sam Darnold is a knockdown shooter, but he’s willing to take his chances.
“The guys who can walk off the football field directly onto the hardwood and consistently knock down shots are QBs,” he said. “A great thrower has gotta be a great shooter. Let’s get him some open looks.”
Athletic corner Devon Witherspoon is another guard in Olson’s lineup, and like Hansen, Olson is looking for defense at the 3.
“He’s long and quick, he’s going to lock down the other team’s best player,” he said.
And in the frontcourt: a couple players who surely can clog the key in defensive tackles Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams.
“(Murphy) is an elite wide body who will be our Charles Barkley,” Olson said. “He’ll pretty much get every rebound. (Williams) will be the man in the middle. The defensive MVP has a spot on my team.”
Respectfully, The News Tribune is surprised neither coach picked receiver Cooper Kupp, who won a Class 4A state title at Davis (Yakima) High School in 2012.
“We dunked zero times and won state,” Kupp told former teammate Matthew Stafford in a segment.
“That’s impressive...ly bad for the state of Washington,” Stafford quipped.
The Seahawks face the Rams in the NFC Championship game on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 10:24 AM.
