South Whidbey boys basketball on the rise

Last season, the South Whidbey boys basketball team won nine games, but the Falcons have won 10 games already this winter and are in contention for a playoff spot in the competitive Cascade Conference.

“The expectations were kind of high after the summer,” South Whidbey coach Michael Washington said. “We played at one tournament against bigger schools and went 0-4. Then we played Burlington-Edison, and they got us good. I sat the kids down and told them that what they lacked in skill they could make up in will. Since that day, all of them have worked hard and played with urgency. They have really good chemistry.”

The bulk of the Falcons’ (10-4, 4-1 conference) roster is comprised of sophomores, including 6-foot-6 forwards Levi Buck and Carson Wrightson. But South Whidbey is led by senior guards Lewis Pope and Kody Newman. Pope, who averages 23 points per game, has committed to continue his career at Central Washington University.

“I feel this is our best team since I’ve been at South Whidbey,” Washington said. “Our inexperience will rear its head somewhere between now and the end of the year, but we’ll just take it one possession at a time and see where it takes us.”

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