SNOHOMISH — Even as the excitement builds for Friday’s state regional and next week’s trip to the Tacoma Dome, there’s a small part of Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter that feels slightly bittersweet.
No matter how far his team advances, Hunter knows he only has a few more practices left with this special group — one that stands out not only for its accomplishments, but for the way those successes have been attained.
Hunter said this year’s squad — best known for its stifling team defense — plays as well together as any group he’s ever coached.
“It’s a really cohesive group,” Hunter said. “They just get along really well, so it’s kind of cool to see a team that plays so well together see the rewards of that. … I’m counting down the practices that we have left, and we don’t have a lot, no matter how far we go. It’s one of those groups where (you want) to play for a long time.
“They’re really fun to be around, and I love seeing the success with a group that really earned it together as a team.”
Fueled by that tight-knit chemistry and team-centered focus, Glacier Peak (19-3) used a dominant defense and balanced offense this season to claim the Wesco 4A title, capture the district crown and earn the sixth state regional berth in the program’s nine-year history.
No. 7 seed Glacier Peak will travel to face No. 2 seed Gonzaga Prep (22-1) in a Class 4A state regional at 6 p.m. Friday at University High School in Spokane. With a win, the Grizzlies would earn a bye into the quarterfinals. And regardless of the outcome, Glacier Peak will advance to the Tacoma Dome next week for the first time since 2011.
“This is the kind of group that you want your younger guys all the way through the program to watch,” Hunter said. “They get to see how to play the game the right way, and they get to see how much you benefit when guys don’t care what their role is. They just want to make their teammate better and succeed.”
Glacier Peak’s stellar defense has limited opponents to 47.2 points per game, which ranks second-best in 4A behind regional foe Gonzaga Prep. The Grizzlies have held teams to 50 points or less 16 times this season, and only twice have they allowed more than 58 points.
“Defense is really predicated for us on five guys working together,” Hunter said. “That’s being selfless, working really hard, staying disciplined and understanding tendencies of other teams and what their strengths are. And then you try to take away something they do well and make them go to their third or fourth option. That’s our hope every night.”
Defense has been a staple of Hunter’s teams over the years at Glacier Peak, as evidenced by the time devoted to it during practice.
“Every day,” Grizzlies junior standout Bobby Martin said, “we do about 30 minutes of defensive drills — help defense, how to stay on guys, how to contain people, how to get out on shooters and help backside.”
The attention to detail extends to the film room.
“Our film sessions are just insane with all the information,” Martin said. “All the plays that (opponents) run — everything that they do — it’s laid out on paper. (Our coaches) spend hours upon hours doing that stuff.”
Yet, as Hunter noted, coaches can only do so much. Defensive success, he said, requires commitment from the players.
“These guys have really bought into it and done a great job of believing in the system,” Hunter said, adding that “the kids work really hard and they’re OK with doing stuff that maybe isn’t the glamourous stuff people notice in the box scores.”
Perhaps no player epitomizes that more so than senior point guard Austin Petz, an invaluable contributor on both sides of the ball despite a minimal scoring average. He expertly runs the offense by creating opportunities for his teammates, and typically guards the opposing team’s leading scorer with what Hunter describes as “relentless and tireless” defense.
More often than not, that’s a battle Petz and his lockdown defense will win.
“You can have a shooter out there, but we have people like Petz that can shut you down no matter what,” Martin said. “No matter who you are, you’re getting a face full of Petz — a face full of defense.”
But as vital as Petz is to Glacier Peak’s defensive prowess, Hunter emphasizes that it’s truly a five-man job.
“The number-one key is understanding that it’s five guys together,” Hunter said. “One guy does not stop his opponent. Petz will generally guard the leading scorer on the other team, but he has to have help from his other guys to get it done.
“You can have four guys do it, but if the fifth guy is the weak link out of the five, your defense is going to only be so good.”
Glacier Peak’s cohesiveness also is evident on offense, where the team sports a balanced attack that thrives on sharing the ball, cutting to the hoop and finding the open man.
That’s not to say the Grizzlies lack players who can score in bunches. Martin, who poured in a school-record 35 points earlier this year, averages 17 points per game and senior guard Seiver Southard adds 14.5 per contest.
Rather, Glacier Peak possesses the weapons and selflessness to keep the burden from falling on one or two players.
“It’s great,” Southard said. “Bobby and I could have an off night, and we know that another guy is scoring. It doesn’t matter who scores. We just want to get the ball in the basket and go play defense.”
Glacier Peak’s success this season might have surprised some, given that the Grizzlies graduated eight seniors from last year’s team and that Martin and Southard were the only two returners with any significant varsity experience.
But it didn’t shock those within the program.
Much of this year’s team was part of the junior-varsity squad that went an undefeated 40-0 the previous two seasons. And when the time came for those players to finally step onto the varsity stage, they thrived.
“I think it just really speaks to what our program has been,” Hunter said. “We’ve had a lot of seniors who have been great performers that have graduated, and we’ve been able to maintain a (high) level because of our younger guys being ready to step up and play.”
Those contributions have lifted Glacier Peak to a success-filled season, which the Grizzlies hope to cap with a run in the Tacoma Dome.
“Our goal was to go to the dome and win state,” Martin said. “We want to win state. I think when we work as a team, we can do some great things.
“I think the chemistry of the team is more important than the talent of a team,” Martin added. “I think a team full of chemistry can beat a team full of talent any day. And we have a lot of chemistry.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
