MONROE — Last week, Snohomish County coach Randy Redwine said his team was ready to destroy opponents and with the International Basketball League’s playoffs looming, Explosion shooting guard Chris Weakley picked up the battle cry.
“We are going to dominate the competition,” Weakley said after the team’s Wednesday practice. “We’ve got the big guns here now. We’re fully loaded and ready to go, so you’d better bring breakfast, lunch and dinner because it’s time to play.”
Hoops fans will have ample opportunity to whet their appetites with enough run-and-gun to feed an army of gym rats when Snohomish County hosts the six-team IBL Western Conference Tournament that starts today and runs through Sunday at Monroe High School.
Sunday’s action includes a slam-dunk and 3-point shooting contests, the North-South All-Star game and the championship contest.
Unlike 2007, when the expansion Explosion was among the favorites in the conference tourney after running up a lofty 16-4 record en route to earning the West Division title, this year’s group struggled to a fourth-place division finish and it took a closing four-game win streak to put a little polish on a lackluster 14-9 regular season mark.
At least one prominent Snohomish County player thinks the underwhelming record might work in his team’s favor.
“I think a lot of teams are going to sleep on the Explosion because of the record,” said Rashaad Powell, an IBL All-Star in 2007, who along with fellow All-Star Justin Murray rejoined the squad for three of the final four games after the pair returned from playing professionally in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“We came up short (in the conference semifinals last season) against Santa Barbara,” Powell continued. “But we have our nucleus back and a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things and that’s important going down the stretch.”
Murray, who has averaged 35 points in three games, said last year’s elimination by Santa Barbara still festers in his craw.
“We have a bitter taste from last year,” Murray said. “In this tournament it’s one possession at a time, one game at a time. It doesn’t matter who we play.”
All nine of the Explosion’s losses this season came against four tournament entrants (Bellingham, Edmonton, Portland and Vancouver), a fact not lost on the players.
“We want them all,” 2008 All-Star forward Justin James said. “If we could play them all (in the tourney) we would.”
“We especially want to get next to (Bellingham and Edmonton),” Redwine said. “We’re just ready to get it on.”
Donald Watts — Snohomish County’s do-it-all swingman and an All-Star in both 2007 and 2008 — did his best to keep the Explosion afloat until Powell and Murray returned. Now he is questionable for today’s game because of an ongoing illness.
All-Star point guard Jamal Miller suffered a badly bruised right elbow in the victory over Olympia Tuesday night, and is not expected to start today.
Still Redwine brimmed with confidence.
“We’re coming in to make a statement (today) that we intend to win it all,” he said.
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