A change is taking place on the South Puget Sound League North Division boys basketball scene this winter. A change that very well could play into the hands of Kentridge High coach Dave Jamison.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a change (happening),\u201d he said. \u201cThere really aren\u2019t that many big guys (in the league).\u201d<\/p>\n
Gone is Federal Way, which has won or shared each of the last two North Division titles much thanks to the versatility of 6-foot-7 standout Cole Dickerson.<\/p>\n
Gone is Kentwood star Josh Smith, who at 6-10 and 300 pounds single-handedly changed the flow \u2014 and most times, the outcome \u2014 of any game he played.<\/p>\n
And while Federal Way and Kentwood\u2019s Smith have left, Mount Rainier, which played in the Class 3A Seamount League, enters. Mount Rainier, a program marked by athleticism and up-tempo play, has qualified for state in three of the last four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a pretty athletic league, a lot of 6-2, 6-3 guys,\u201d Jamison noted.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, this year\u2019s SPSL North could be a guard-dominated league. And no team in the league \u2014 and potentially none in the state \u2014 has a better one than Kentridge\u2019s Gary Bell, a senior guard who will play next year at Gonzaga University. Bell averaged 22.6 points, 5.35 rebounds and 3.75 assists per game in league last year. He also set a new league record by torching Auburn Riverside for 55 points in double-overtime loss last December.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally think he\u2019s the most complete, skilled player in the state,\u201d said first-year Kentwood coach Brian Davis.<\/p>\n
Kentlake\u2019s Ron Charrier echoes those same sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can win a game by himself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This winter, however, it\u2019s not all about Bell at Kentridge High. In fact, it might be more about everyone else, especially those underneath the hoop doing the dirty work.<\/p>\n
\u201cGary could score 30 to 35 points a game easy,\u201d Jamison said. \u201cBut he\u2019s more concerned about us winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the key to winning likely will come underneath the hoop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the big question,\u201d Jamison noted. \u201cIf we can match rebounding, we should be in most of our games.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chargers also need to find an immediate No. 2 scorer behind Bell. When Kentridge took third at state two years ago, that role belonged to the ultra-athletic Shaquielle McKissic. Last year, sharpshooting Craig Rasmussen assumed that role.<\/p>\n
This season?<\/p>\n
All indications are pointing to Brendan Westendorf, an unheralded forward who has the athletic tools to do just about anything on the court. A 6-foot-4 senior, Westendorf averaged 8.45 points per game last year, when he was typically the team\u2019s third option. More importantly, he averaged a team-high 6.15 rebounds per game a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good shooter, a basketball junkie,\u201d Jamison said of Westendorf, whose adept at playing inside or outside. \u201cJust really smooth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which, in the SPSL North, could be the name of the game this winter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
CHARGERS: AT A GLANCE<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 COACH:<\/b> Dave Jamison, 11th year.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LAST YEAR:<\/b> 10-6 in league (3rd), 14-10 overall.<\/p>\n
\u2022 TOP RETURNERS:<\/b> Gary Bell, sr., guard; Brendan Westendorf, sr., forward; Denzel Daniels, sr., guard; Caleb Smith, jr., post; Roddy Hanson, jr., guard.<\/p>\n
\u2022 TOP NEWCOMERS:<\/b> Kevin Brown, sr., post; Nate Tabisula, jr., guard; Da\u2019Lorian Sampson, jr., guard; Chris Garcia, jr., guard.<\/p>\n
\u2022 UP AND COMING:<\/b> Jawan Stepney, fr., guard; Joe Wainhouse, fr., post.<\/p>\n
\u2022 STRENGTH:<\/b> Guard play, leadership, defense.<\/p>\n
\u2022 WEAKNESS:<\/b> Inside game, rebounding.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LAST STATE APPEARANCE:<\/b> 2009.<\/p>\n
\u2022 OUTLOOK:<\/b> Behind Bell and Westendorf, the Chargers have one of the most potent 1-2 punches in the league. Bell, the early favorite to win league MVP honors, is good enough to take over games by himself. If Kentridge can establish an inside presence, there’s no reason it can’t win the SPSL North title. Auburn remains the favorite, but the Chargers should be right there come the end of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A change is taking place on the South Puget Sound League North Division boys basketball scene this winter. A change that very well could play into the hands of Kentridge High coach Dave Jamison.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a change (happening),\u201d he said. \u201cThere really aren\u2019t that many big guys (in the league).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-3520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3520"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}