EVERETT — When a team loses six players to graduation and then moves up from the 1A classification to 2A, you can expect to see changes.
Such is the case with the Archbishop Thomas Murphy boys basketball team.
Perhaps change is not always a bad thing, though. Last year, the Wildcats exited early at the Class 1A state tournament after winning the Northwest 1A League title.
Back then, the team depended on its young skill players to back up the senior go-to guys as solid contributors.
This year, those contributors get to take center stage. The Wildcats lost many of their most experienced players, like four-year-starter Luke Hagel and top-scoring league MVP Wes Taylor, who shared the responsibilities in the post with current senior Chris Mitchell.
But the team fills those shoes with players who are oozing with athleticism — players who are now seasoned veterans.
“It’s going to be hard to replace the seniors, but coming back are some really athletic kids,” said coach Jerry Zander. “We’re probably more athletic than we’ve ever been. It’s very hard to play against speed and quickness.”
The athleticism comes from players such as Mitchell, who at 6-foot-6 presents an imposing force in the post; Alex Ungs, who as a 6-3 junior already has two years of varsity experience; and speedy, veteran skill players such as Kyle Wilkins and Stan Smith.
To complement all of that quickness and athleticism, the team will play a fullcourt-oriented style of play this year, whereas last year’s team worked most efficiently with a halfcourt set.
“Moving up to 2A is going to be tough, but I’m looking forward to playing at that level during my senior year,” Mitchell said. “Everyone is going to work hard, and I’m confident that as a team we can all pick up from where we left off.”
The Wildcats are facing a new kind of competition this year in the upstart Cascade Conference. While Zander has every reason to expect a certain degree of success for his team, he is cautiously optimistic.
“I don’t know what to expect from other teams since we moved up to 2A, so we’re just going to concentrate on whatever we as a team need to work on,” Zander said. “I have a feeling that this is a team that is going to improve a lot throughout the year. They’re very talented, but they’re going to have to come together and gel.”
The process of gelling has been put on hold while the football team finished its playoff run. Several of Archbishop Murphy’s impact players participate in football as well as basketball.
During practice the day after Thanksgiving, none of the football players had worked with the retooled basketball team, which leads to the question of whether lack of preparation or even fatigue might be a factor for the Wildcats this season.
Zander is not concerned. He dealt with the same issue when the football team won state championships the past two years.
“I’m used to this,” Zander said. “If anything, I see the shortened season as an advantage. The football players come in recharged because they get to play a new sport and they’re less likely to grow tired of the game by the end of the season because they haven’t been playing it for quite so long.
“They know that other people have had a head start, so they take their preparations very seriously.”
There are only two real obstacles that Zander sees. One is getting used to moving like a basketball player instead of a football player. The other is remembering how to catch a round ball instead of a pigskin.
As for the members of the team who have already been preparing for the season, they harbor no resentment over the fact that certain players are missing practices.
“The guys who play football know what winning is all about,” said senior Patrick Ackerman. “It can only help us to be more competitive.”
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