Scots aim higher in Fischer’s fourth year

Published 12:20 pm Thursday, December 4, 2008

Will this be the year the Shorecrest boys basketball team gets over the hump and becomes a serious contender in the Western Conference South Division and in the 3A District playoffs?

Shorecrest hasn’t made it to state since 1995, and the last several years have been spent rebuilding the program under fourth year coach Brian Fischer. This year’s seniors will be the first group he’s coached since they were freshmen. The Scots have pulled upsets in recent years over league champion Jackson in 2006-2007 and over Meadowdale last year, a team that made it to the state 3A tournament. But consistency is where the Scots have struggled.

Shorecrest graduated most of its starting lineup, including leading scorer Mark Golike, as well as point guard Peter Meyers, forward Tommy Kanuch and role players Jose Bermudez and Anthony Jochim. But after a strong summer playing in tournaments, camps and summer leagues, the Scots appear ready and the cupboard is not bare.

“The players that are filling in for the guys who left are solid,” said Fischer. “We’re not going to take a step backward.”

The team is led by 5-11 junior point guard Travis Hake and 6-4 senior post Ryan Dodge, but a strong supporting cast is around them.

“I think we’re a much deeper team than what we’ve been,” Fischer said. “Our bench guys have shown they can go on a run.”

The Scots are well-stocked in the backcourt. Besides Hake, they have junior Isaiah Clevenger, 5-11 Richard Weinberg, 5-10 junior Brandon McCoy, 6-1 junior Jordan Diel and 5-10 Nick Bartlett, who was out with a knee injury last year.

“We’re definitely a lot stronger at the guard position,” Fischer said.

The starters will likely be Hake and Clevenger, an adept scorer, in the backcourt with Weinberg, and Dodge and 6-4 Randy Sullivan in the post.

Shorecrest finished 4-12 in the Western Conference South Division and 9-16 overall last year. But the Scots did get a quality win at home over Meadowdale, a team that finished second in the conference and went to state. The Mavericks eliminated the Scots in the 3A District 1 tournament.

“Getting to state is definitely our goal,” Fischer said. “This is a team that can make a run. It’s a good, tight group. It’s been a pleasure working with them. It should be a good year.”

“We should be a lot more competitive this year than last year,” Hake said. “Maybe not as talented, but (we have) different people.”

Hake said how well the Scots condition themselves will influence how well they play.

“If we keep in shape we should compete with any team in the league,” he said. “We’ve been focusing on getting in shape right now.”

On defense, Shorecrest has unveiled a three-man, full-court man-to-man guard press.

“Defense is where it’s going to start,” Hake said. “We generate our offense off our defense.”

The post position appeared to be a weak point this summer for the Scots, but they’ve got more than a few bodies to fill those slots now. Dodge, who played a lot of select ball this summer on a Chaffey team coached by King’s coach Bill Liley, is the team’s main offensive weapon.

“It’s fun,” Dodge said. “I like getting the ball a lot.”

The Scots’ other big men are 6-3 freshman Junior Chibuogwu, 6-6 senior Devin Shull and 6-2 Seth McDonald.

Jackson, led by Brett Kingma and Ryan Todd, is one of the favorites to win the league along with Mariner, which went 12-4 and qualified for state last year. Among 3A teams, Meadowdale is expected to be formidable and Lynnwood is a sleeper pick.

Edmonds-Woodway graduated its starting lineup off a team that placed seventh at the Class 4A state tournament and probably is down the most, but there are no weak links in the league, Fischer thinks. Even Shorewood, which went 0-16 in the conference and had to forfeit two wins for using an ineligible player, has key starters back and should be improved under new coach Marv Morris, who is back in coaching after taking a year off from coaching 1A King’s.