Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Boys Basketball, Brad Sherman, Khanor Jump, Nick Laska, SWISH, team photos on February 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Ready to protect home court advantage. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
The future of Coupeville boys’ basketball is ready for its closeup.
The pics above and below, which come to us courtesy John Fisken, capture Wolf SWISH players on the same court where they hope to excel one day as high school hardwood heroes.
It’s a dynasty being built, one bucket at a time.
Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Boys Basketball, Brad Sherman, CHS Wolves, dry spell, Joe Whitney, state tourney on February 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Rockin’ the killer socks, Chris Chan and Co. went to state in 1979. (Photo courtesy Beverly Chan)
16,432 days.
When, not if, the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball team beats Tonasket Saturday in Arlington, it will break a 45-year dry spell for the Wolves.
The last time a CHS male hoops team won a state tourney game came Mar. 1, 1979, when the Whitney boys — Steve and Joe — and their associates smacked Montesano 62-51.
That was the second state victory for the program, with the other coming Mar. 4, 1976, when the Wolves throttled Columbia (Burbank) 80-63.
The first of those wins came in the 2B classification, against a school which holds the #1 seed in this year’s tourney, while the second was at the 1A level.
At any level, it’s been a bit since a Wolf boys’ hoops team came out on top in a state game.
The 45-year drought is the longest active one for a Coupeville program, not counting those which have never won a game at state (football and boys’ soccer) or never played a game at state (girls’ soccer).
In this scenario, track and field, cross country, and tennis don’t count, as none of them play games as a team.
CHS baseball has the most recent win, blanking Toledo 3-0 this past spring, while softball drilled Deer Park 14-2 in 2019.
For girls’ basketball, the last W came in 2005 — a 45-41 thriller over Zillah — while volleyball also beat Zillah, coming out ahead 3-1 in 2004.
For now, though, the spotlight is on the Wolf boys’ hoops stars, who have the chance to make some history of their own.
That 1978-1979 team they’re chasing was one of the best in school history, winning Coupeville’s fifth league title in the decade.
Their spotlight win came against dastardly King’s Garden (now known just as King’s), when Steve Whitney pulled in a pass from Keith Jameson and buried a jumper to net a 55-53 league title-clinching victory.
Those Wolves had three different players ring up 300+ points that season, with Wade Ellsworth (392), Roy Marti (342), and Steve Whitney (337) sharing top honors.
Joe Whitney, who went on to win a state title in later years with Lynden, rang up 213 points, with Jameson banking in 115.
Rounding out the scorers on the last Wolf boys’ team to win at state were future school board director Chris Chan (51), Shawn Ryan (43), Chris Marti (14), and future owner-of-a-magnificent-mustache Evan Tingstad (1).
Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Boys Basketball, bracket, Brad Sherman, CHS Wolves, state tournament on February 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Ryan Blouin delivers a three-ball under the watchful eye of CHS coach Brad Sherman. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Every game matters.
The Coupeville High School boys’ basketball team opens 2B state tourney play next week, but its first rumble will be a loser-out affair, requiring a win if the Wolves want to go on to the glitz of the Spokane Arena.
CHS, seeded #11 in the 16-team field, plays #14 Tonasket Saturday, Feb. 24 at Arlington High School.
Tipoff is 4:00 PM and the Wolves will be the host team.
That’s a “short” 60-mile trip for Coupeville, and a 211-mile slog for Tonasket.
While there are 16 teams in the state tourney field, the penny pinchers at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association only have 12 advance to Spokane, where tourney action plays out Feb. 28-Mar. 2.
Teams seeded #1-#8 are guaranteed at least two games, while teams #9-#16 have to win their opening bout to advance.
If Coupeville, which sits at 17-5 on the season, beats Tonasket (14-10), it will face either #3 Colfax (25-0) or #6 Toutle Lake (20-5) Feb. 28 in Spokane.
To see the bracket, pop over to:
Coupeville advanced to state by winning the District 1/2 title, beating Auburn Adventist Academy 64-50 and La Conner 60-44.
The Braves (16-7) rebounded to knock off AAA 68-57 to claim their own state ticket and are seeded #15.
La Conner opens state against #10 Adna in a loser-out game of its own, with that contest slated to go down at W.F. West High School in Chehalis.
The Wolves celebrate a Bi-District title with defensive guru Randy Bottorff.
And what of Coupeville’s first round foe?
Tonasket, which sits 240 miles away from Cow Town, plays in the Central Washington B League, which is comprised of 18 schools.
Featuring a mix of 1B and 2B institutions, the league includes traditional powers like Lake Roosevelt (seeded #4 in this year’s boys’ state tourney), Okanogan, and Brewster.
Tonasket finished second in the District 6 tourney, then held off Kettle Falls 63-55 in a District 6/7 crossover game to advance to state.
The Tigers were ranked #20 in the WIAA’s RPI, while Coupeville was #9.
A roster on MaxPreps lists eight players, with three seniors.
Half of Tonasket’s roster is recorded at being 5-foot-8 or shorter, with just two Tigers topping six-foot.
That duo is 6-4 junior Bradon Prock and 6-3 junior Kristian Jones, who both reportedly push the scale to just 160 pounds.
Jones averages 13.6 points and seven rebounds a night, while senior Jade Ramon leads Tonasket with 13.9 points per game.
Sophomore Tanner Tompkins (11.2) and Prock (10.8) give the Tigers four players averaging double figures, though none comes close to Coupeville’s leading marksman, Logan Downes.
Depending on whether we count the Chief Leschi game, where he played just two minutes before leaving with an injury, the Wolf senior is averaging either 24.0 or 22.9 per appearance.
Logan Downes has a scoring quota to fill.
Sophomore Chase Anderson (8.9) and senior Cole White (8.8) sit #2 and #3 for Coupeville this season.
This marks Tonasket’s eleventh trip to the state tourney, but its first since 2017.
The Tigers best finish came in 1981-1982, when they placed 3rd while playing in the 1A classification.
Coupeville is making its seventh appearance, and its second in the past three seasons after playing Kalama and Lake Roosevelt in 2022.
And some quick-hitting non-basketball facts about Tonasket to round out your Sunday?
According to the whiz kids at Wikipedia, the town, located along the eastern bank of the Okanogan River, was officially incorporated Dec. 16, 1927, and is named after Chief Tonasket.
He was a local leader who “assumed the status of grand chief of the American Okanogan after the drawing of the Canada-United States border by the Oregon Treaty of 1846.”
The area is “a hub for agricultural and forestry industries” and “the location of three major fruit storage and processing facilities.”
Plus, Walter H. Brattain, son of a pioneer family, shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics for the invention of the transistor.
Other memorable folks to spring from Tonasket include Wendy J. Fox, author of “The Seven Stages of Anger and Other Stories,” three-time Olympic biathlete Jeremy Teela, and former Nevada state senator Dean Rhoads, hailed as a “consummate rural lawmaker.”
You came for the basketball, you left with obscure trivia.
We call that a win-win in the blogging biz.
Posted in Basketball, tagged Basketball, Brad Sherman, celebrations, CHS Wolves, pizza rolls on February 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
“I’m gonna burn my tongue so bad, and I don’t care, baby!!” (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
“Get in my belly!!!”
“Simmer down, ya animals! Five minutes more! Willie Smith, you even breathe on that oven you get none, mister.”
“Oh. Hi, Mrs. Downes. Gee Mrs. Downes, your hair looks real pretty today.”
“Ooh, you keep an eye on him, Mrs. Downes! He’s a sneaky one!!”
“Baby death grip activated. This dude’s going nowhere! No need to thank me, you can pay me in sweet, sweet pizza rolls!”
“You touch that oven, and we’re comin’ for you, old man!”
“You even think about touching my pizza rolls, you’re sleeping on the couch, buddy!”
Oven dings. “LET’S GET ‘EM, BOYS!!!!”
Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Boys Basketball, Brad Sherman, CHS Wolves, Logan Downes, scoring record on January 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Logan Downes, moments before leading his team to the 50th win of his high school career. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
He’s just here for the win.
Logan Downes stayed businesslike Tuesday, even as everyone made a fuss over him.
The Coupeville High School senior remained focused, leading his squad to a shellacking of visiting Concrete, running his record as a four-year varsity player to an impressive 50-19.
Once again, he led the Wolves in scoring, throwing down 15 in limited minutes during the 60-33 Northwest 2B/1B League victory, but also spent a great deal of time doing the small, but important things.
Shutting down his man on defense.
Snatching rebounds and kicking long passes to Chase Anderson flying down the court.
Talking his teammates up while sitting next to the coaches.
Wolf PA announcer Christi Messner hails the scoring champ.
No CHS male athlete has ever scored as many points in their prep career as Downes.
But that’s just part of his game.
We are all witnesses to the story arc of a young man who wants the W more than anything else.
Downes and CHS coach Brad Sherman, who have been together for every one of the 1,165 points. Spoiler: they’re not done.
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