MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Pilchuck boys basketball team has endured a few rough seasons, but there was one big positive to take away from the 2024-25 campaign.
Freshman Michael Smathers Jr., who played for the Tomahawks’ feeder programs all through middle school, found his groove at guard. Smathers averaged 18.5 points per game and became a floor general for a young MP squad that went 1-20 overall and 1-9 in league play as the lone 2A school in the Wesco 3A/2A North.
With a quick trigger on his pull-up 3-point shot and an ability to finish through contact at the rim, the 5-foot-10 guard plays like a seasoned veteran.
Earning that leadership role wasn’t in Smathers’ mind going into the season, however.
“(My goals were) basically to experience playing against better competition, obviously coming off AAU, and playing against bigger guys,” Smathers said, having dropped other sports like baseball to focus on basketball just two years ago. “Playing more organized basketball, I would say. Just learning.”
Smathers credited his teammates for trusting him to direct the offense and score in bulk. He also pointed to the coaching staff’s set plays for putting him position to light up the scorebook. But first-year head coach Rene Pedroza didn’t call Smathers’ number consistently by coincidence.
Pedroza sees Smathers as an integral part of building the program — which has won just six games in the past three seasons — back into a competitive state. Pedroza, who played for a La Conner team that made state 30 out of 34 years at one point, has heard positive feedback from parents and fans about the direction of the team despite its record.
“We want to win. We don’t know anything more than competing and trying to win,” said Pedroza, who took over a program that last went to state as a No. 3 seed in the 2020 3A tournament. “And that’s where (Smathers’) education has come from in the youth program — that winning aspect.”
Smathers’ experience in the Tomahawks’ feeder program was indeed chock-full of success, as his youth teams went to state in three consecutive seasons — even placing second in his eighth-grade season. Smathers has used that experience to lead a young starting lineup that featured two freshmen, a sophomore, a junior and a senior by season’s end.
“We’re so excited for the future, and Michael is going to take us to that next level. I really believe his leadership will just grow next year knowing he’s the person which a lot of teams are going to be defensively set up for,” Pedroza said.
Pedroza has dealt with plenty of flux in his first season, as seven varsity players transferred to nearby schools at the beginning of the season. In light of players seemingly leaving for greener pastures, Pedroza has had conversations with Smathers about building a legacy at Marysville Pilchuck. For Smathers, that legacy will be forged in the Tacoma Dome.
“Go to state and dominate,” Smathers said of his goals for the Tomahawks.
For now, Smathers is looking forward to an AAU season with NorthStar Elite out of Shoreline as Pedroza and Co. continue the undertaking of bringing the Tomahawks back into the spotlight.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
