Who’s the Division 1 prospect?

Herald staff

TACOMA -On one side of the Friday afternoon matchup between Snohomish and Franklin was a point guard whom every Pac-10 school covets. One the other, a point guard who has received exactly one recruiting letter.

By the looks of the game, it was difficult to tell which was which.

Ryan Sommer, a relatively unknown senior from Snohomish, played as well or better than his counterpart, Franklin junior Aaron Brooks, in the Panthers’ 71-64 overtime victory.

“You’d watch the game, and if you didn’t know either of them, you wouldn’t say, ‘That Brooks kid is way better,’” Snohomish coach Len Bone said. “Sommer held his own. He’s a competitor.”

Both guards had 22 points, while Sommer had better numbers in terms of rebounds (five to Brooks’ three), assists (6-4) and steals (5-1). Perhaps most important, Sommer got the victory.

“He was a really good player,” Sommer said. “It’s fun to play against the best guards in the state, and he’s one of them.”

Sommer now has experience against the two top junior guards in the state: Brooks and Stanwood’s Ryan Appleby. While he refused to compare the two because their style of play is so different, the 5-foot-11 Sommer has shown that he can play with both of them.

Still, his only recruiting letter to date came from the Air Force, although a few small schools have also sent out feelers.

“I think he’s capable of playing at a four-year school, and I hope he has an opportunity to,” Bone said. “He’s a fun player. He’s a very, very quick, disruptive defender, and he can be hard to guard.”

Sommer will have one more opportunity to showcase himself at the Northwest Shootout in Portland next Saturday. That game features all-stars from Washington and Oregon. With another strong showing, perhaps Sommer will start receiving more interest from college coaches.

“It’s never too late,” Bone said. “It’s kind of a right-fit thing. If the right coach likes him, he’ll have an opportunity. He’s just got to play and not worry about it. That stuff takes care of itself.”

Roughin’ it: Snohomish freshman Kristen Moore doesn’t know for sure when, or if, she’ll be back at the state basketball tournament. So, naturally, nothing was going to stop her from playing in a potenially season-ending game on Friday. Not even the flu. Moore fought through a 102 temperature Thursday night to make Friday morning’s game, where she saw 3 minutes and 20 seconds of playing time.

Busy teen: Snohomish senior Emmy Cornwell had more than just basketball on her mind Friday morning. After all, she had to be focused for her apperence at the DECA state competition in Bellevue. A 6:30 wake-up call, a 9 a.m. presentation and an invitation to Nationals held in Salt Lake City, Utah, in April later, Cornwell was ready for 15 minutes of action on the hardwood.

Room service: Snohomish coach Len Bone had one thing to worry about before he could begin concentrating on playing Garfield today. He had to get the Panthers’ hotel rooms back. Snohomish, which would have been out of the tournament if not for Friday’s victory over Franklin, a team that once had state title hopes. After beating the Quakers 71-64 in overtime, Snohomish was glad to be paying for another night in Tacoma.

“We’ve got to go back and check in,” Snohomish coach Len Bone said. “All of our stuff is sitting on two beds. It’s kind of tough when you think you might have to leave.”

Two-fer: Snohomish fans will have their shortest day today that they’ve had during the tournament. After three days of games separated by as much as 12 hours, the start times will only be much closer together today.

“It’s exciting to have both teams playing on Saturday,” Bone said. “It’s great for the community. We’ve had a lot of support this week.”

Bigger goals: Franklin point guard Aaron Brooks was disappointed with the way he and his teammates approached Friday’s game against Snohomish. The Quakers, he said, expected to be playing in the evening semifinals – not an afternoon consolation game.

“We wanted to be playing for No. 1,” Brooks said. “We didn’t expect to be playing for fourth place. That kind of messed up our focus. That’s still no excuse for not coming out and not playing hard.”

The Panthers say they’ll gladly take home a trophy at the expense of Franklin.

“It’s good to take a trophy home to show the school,” Snohomish guard Ryan Sommer said. “It feels good to win two games. We didn’t just want to win one.”

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