SHORELINE — The exit of a celebrated senior class shifted the Shoreline Christian boys basketball team into rebuilding mode on the heels of back-to-back state tournament appearances.
Graduation left the Crusaders without their go-to scorer, primary ball handler and only big man. Former reserves and role players are pitching in to patch the holes.
“We’ve got a group of kids who have kind of been in the backseat for a while,” second-year head coach Adam Haulter said. “They’re going to have to learn to be the ones to step up and win games.”
For the past two years that job belonged to Garth Brandal. The versatile forward ranked among the state’s scoring leaders at 25.1 points per game as a senior and accepted an offer to play for Whitman College in Walla Walla.
The consistent offense of last year’s Northwest B League most valuable player wasn’t all Shoreline Christian lost. Equally important as Brandal’s presence was the poise of first-team, all-league point guard Tim Gunderson and the interior defense of center Ben Werkhoven.
Those pivotal departures have broadened the burden of senior Geoff Jacobs and junior Grant Brandal, the only returning starters from last season’s tri-district championship team.
Jacobs has slid over from shooting guard to the point and Brandal is leaving the post to take over his brother’s territory on the wing. The duo combined for nearly 16 points per game last year and were all-league honorable mention selections.
Much of the scoring load will also fall to juniors Brett De Yager and Jacob Groen and senior Eric Dodd, who replaces Werkhoven in the paint. Dodd isn’t built as thick as his predecessor but Haulter considers the 6-foot-2 center more offensive-minded.
“He gives up some height, but he’s real strong and has a real solid base,” Haulter said. “He’s going to definitely have to stay on the floor for us because size-wise we don’t have a lot to plug in.”
Despite an absence of big bodies, Jacobs stressed the importance of establishing a post game to keep defenses honest and set up quality shots on the perimeter.
“We need to get open looks underneath the basket on offense,” Jacobs said. “If we just shoot from the outside we’re bound to have off nights. We have to have an inside presence to take control of the game.”
Quickness was the trademark of Shoreline Christian’s state tournament teams and the Crusaders still favor an on-the-go style to offset their thin frontcourt.
“Obviously we don’t want to get into a lot of halfcourt battles with teams that are a lot bigger than us,” Haulter said. “We’re going to (force) a pretty quick pace. We’ve got a lot of good ball handlers, which is fortunate. We’ll be able to get things started quickly in a possession.”
The Crusaders will also use their speed to harass opponents with stern defensive pressure and tough-to-crack fullcourt traps. Defense-oriented drills dominated the team’s preseason workouts.
“Right now our main focus is our press,” Brandal said. “That’s what we’re relying on. If (teams) get it down low, we’re a little bit in trouble.”
Jacobs agreed that how effectively the Crusaders defend as a unit and prohibit teams from penetrating will be a determining factor of how the season plays out.
“We don’t have anybody above 6-2 or 6-1 so it’s going to be a hard-nosed, aggressive defense every game,” he said. “We’re going to be a pressing, up-in-your-face defense.”
As part of the revamped eight-team Northwest 1A/B League, Shoreline Christian will play twice as many conference games. The top three Class B schools will compete with the top finishers from the Northwest B League for tri-district berths.
Haulter expects a balanced conference from top to bottom.
“We don’t have any games where I can point to the schedule and say, ‘That’s definitely a game we should win.’ The opposite is also true. I don’t see any games that we can’t win,” Haulter said. “It’s got the potential to go 11 different ways and I think it’s going to depend on how mentally tough this team becomes and how quick.”
Blowouts weren’t uncommon for the Crusaders last season as five of their wins were by more than 20 points. In games decided by five points or less, Shoreline Christian was 5-2.
“Last year we had some games where we knew we’d get our reserves a lot of playing time,” Jacobs said. “This year you’re going to have to play hard every single minute of the game because you could potentially win all of them or lose all of them. It’s going to be difficult.”
For the first-year starters and a youthful supporting cast with limited court time, responding to tense situations will be a new experience.
“Maturity is going to be the biggest issue we face in terms of how fazed our guys are by tight games, by tough competition. That and who steps up to fill those roles of scoring and leadership that have been vacated,” Haulter said.
“It’s going to be a fun season one way or another. We’re going to see a lot about what these guys are made of.”
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