Coupeville High School boys hoops assistant coach Greg White lays it on the line. “Just win, baby! The rest will take care of itself.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Well, we get some respect, just not all the respect.
Despite being the only unbeaten 2B boys team left in the state, Coupeville High School has yet to top any of the state-wide rankings this season.
But the Wolves, now 13-0 after road wins at Mount Vernon Christian and Granite Falls this past week, have bumped back up.
So, it’s a start.
Evans Rankings, which uses “an unbiased ranking system using a formula of my creation,” according to well-respected writer/numbers cruncher Matt Evans, has the CHS boys #6 as of Sunday night.
Coupeville trails Kalama (12-1), Chief Leschi (13-1), Ilwaco (14-1), Okanogan (16-2), and Napavine (13-2), but does rise four slots from last week, when they were tabbed at #10.
Meanwhile, the Wolves also sit at #6 in the RPI rankings posted by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, trailing the same five schools, just in a slightly different order.
The WIAA goes Kalama, Ilwaco, Okanogan, Chief Leschi, and Napavine currently.
While there is a lot of (often well-deserved) carping about the WIAA’s system, that’s the one which directly affects where and who Coupeville would play if it advances to the state tourney.
Meanwhile, new “Top 10 power rankings” from SB Live should be out in the next day or two.
In the last one, posted on Jan. 25, Okanogan was #1 in 2B, and Coupeville was on the outside looking in, considered one of “the next three teams up.”
Finally, there’s last week’s Associated Press poll, where pampered Seattle and Tacoma newspaper people sit around eating caviar and bonbons while ignoring the outer kingdoms.
I kid, I kid.
With the newspaper industry crashing to Earth like the Hindenburg, it’s more like a dented bottle of off-brand bottled water and an out-of-date pack of Ho Ho’s, am I right?
Honestly, it’s not surprising the Wolves get no love (or a single vote) from the AP, as the Coupeville boys haven’t been to the state tourney since 1988.
That means most voters haven’t seen CHS play in years and have no base of reference to draw from.
Out of sight, completely out of mind.
A few years back Makana Stone averaged 20+ points and 20+ rebounds a night while leading the Coupeville girls to a third-straight Olympic League title — a stretch where no conference rival came within single digits of the Wolves.
Local voters handed her another unanimous league MVP, but, when AP voters tabbed All-State teams, they ignored Kana.
Instead, they voted in favor of a girl from Klahowya who wasn’t the first option on a team which finished at the bottom of the league.
Why did they do that?
Because the Klahowya girl was one of the best soccer players in the state, the anchor of a state-title winning team.
AP voters mindlessly voted for a name they recognized, exposed an epic blind spot, then went back to hustling to keep their industry from vanishing from the face of the Earth.
And thus it has ever been so.
Evans Rankings:
Washington Prep Boys Basketball Rankings through 1/29/2022
WIAA:
https://wiaa.com/DirRPIz14.aspx?SecID=1185
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