Years of playing together laid foundation for Stanwood’s success

STANWOOD — The Stanwood boys basketball team is an offensive clinic on the court.

Operating like a well-oiled machine, the senior-laden Spartans seamlessly mesh their versatile big men, stellar guard play and pinpoint outside shooting into a dynamic attack, showcasing their wealth of scoring options while expertly moving the ball for high-percentage shots.

It’s team basketball at its best.

And by no coincidence, it stems from years of continuity. Nearly all of Stanwood’s ultra-successful senior class has been playing AAU hoops together since elementary school.

The No. 7-seeded Spartans (21-3) will look to continue their season — and careers — with a win over No. 10-seed Shorecrest (22-2) in a loser-out Class 3A state tournament game at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome.

“They have an idea of where the other one’s going to be, or what the other one’s going to do,” Stanwood coach Zach Ward said of his team’s offense. “You hear people say that a lot, but you don’t really get it until you witness it. There’s so many times I could think back to with these guys where a pass is made or a move is made, and they had to have known where the other player was going to be, or what that tendency was going to be.

“And it wasn’t the first time they’d done it. They know (to) throw it to the outside shoulder on that kid — they know where he wants it. Just little things like that you don’t have to try to breed in a 12-week season. They’ve been doing it for nine, 10 years.”

“We always know who’s going to be where,” senior Chase Strieby added. “We kind of have that sixth sense, people might say.”

Years of playing together laid the foundation for this season’s high-powered Spartans offense, which averages 76.6 points per game. Stanwood has scored at least 80 points 10 times and twice topped 90 points, including a season-high 97 in a district quarterfinal win over Marysville Pilchuck.

Perhaps even more impressive is how widely the scoring is dispersed. Stanwood has had five different leading scorers this season, and 11 different Spartans have scored in double figures. Five different Spartans average at least eight points per game.

“None of us really care too much about who scores,” senior AJ Martinka said. “Some teams have a leading scorer, and if he doesn’t get his points, the whole team just breaks down. But with us, we don’t care. That’s why we’re able to be so successful.”

Strieby and Martinka, a dynamic duo of versatile 6-foot-6 seniors, lead Stanwood’s attack and present matchup problems for opponents. Strieby, a post who can stretch the floor with his mid-range game, averages a team-high 15.6 points per contest. Martinka, a guard who can overpower defenders on the perimeter with size and strength, averages 15.5 points per game.

Yet Strieby and Martinka are just two of many key Spartan contributors.

Versatile 6-foot-4 senior post Quinton Borseth averages 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from 3-point range. Senior guard Bryson Kelley provides 8.9 points per game, despite transitioning to more of a ball-handling role this season. Austin Wilhonen, a scrappy, athletic 6-foot-5 post, averages 8.8 points and 6.8 rebounds. Do-everything senior Cameron Plautz supplies 6.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Stanwood’s depth was exemplified earlier this season when Strieby missed six games after suffering an injury during the team’s opener at the Under Armour Holiday Classic in San Diego. The Spartans barely flinched, recovering from an opening-round loss to win their final three games in the high-caliber tournament.

“Didn’t miss a beat,” Ward said. “It doesn’t take away from Strieby, but it speaks to those (other) dudes. Next man up. … That was really cool to see.”

Stanwood’s senior class, comprised mostly of two- and three-year varsity players, has been instrumental in the program’s recent success. The Spartans have only one Wesco 3A loss in the last four years and have made five consecutive state appearances, including what will be their third trip to the Tacoma Dome in four seasons.

Stanwood heads into the Hardwood Classic with added confidence after a valiant performance in last Saturday’s regional against an elite Garfield team featuring three nationally ranked recruits.

The Spartans’ four-point halftime lead quickly unraveled during a rough third quarter, and No. 2-seed Garfield prevailed for an 83-76 win. Yet, Ward said, “even though that was a loss, we look at it like we got better that night.”

“To go out there, perform and actually hang with them for three of the four quarters, I think can be nothing but motivational gain — just realizing that you can play at that level,” Ward added. “And that’s what it takes now. We’re going to have to take that, bottle it, and then open that up (Wednesday) and try to play at that same level against a good Shorecrest team.”

Wednesday will be the third time in less than a month that the two Wesco 3A rivals have squared off, with Stanwood winning the teams’ regular-season finale and Shorecrest taking the district title-game rematch.

A victory would advance Stanwood to the modified double-elimination portion of the tournament and pit the Spartans against undefeated and nationally ranked Nathan Hale in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Ward hopes his team’s season continues as long as possible, but no matter how this week transpires, he’ll look back on this group with great fondness.

“I think people outside that don’t deal with them every day just see that they’ve won a lot of games, which is true,” Ward said. “But I think that’s a product of who they are as kids. They’re just as good off the court as they are on the court.

“The opening night of districts,” he added, “we played Saturday night, and there’s seven or eight of them at Special Olympics at 7 a.m. the next morning. Just things like that. I don’t know if that exists everywhere else, but I know it does with our guys, and I think that’s cool. They’re a great group of kids that I think will be successful in whatever they do.”

“It’s cool when you can have a team where everyone’s some of your best friends,” Martinka added. “I think that helps on the court, as well as it’s just cool to have relationships with the guys. We’ll all be best friends for the rest of our lives.”