EVERETT
Some basketball teams are like a shallow pond; there’s so little depth that one quickly sees to the bottom.
On the other end of the spectrum are the surging Archbishop Murphy Wildcats, who are more like an ocean.
Thanks to an unusually deep, talented roster, the Archbishop Murphy High School boys basketball team is arguably having its best season in program history. Ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Class 2A poll, Murphy (16-3) has won 16 consecutive games and on Friday wrapped up a perfect 14-0 Cascade Conference campaign.
First-year Archbishop Murphy head coach Greg Turcott – whose team plays host to Northwest Conference No. 4 seed Sehome (10-11) 7 p.m. Thursday in a first-round District 1 tournament game – said one huge asset has propelled the Wildcats.
“We have depth and not a lot of 2A teams have eight, nine guys (who play key roles), so that’s been our big edge,” said Turcott, who coached 4A Kamiak the past two seasons.
Five Murphy players average at least seven points: point guard Davon Fleming (10 points per game), wing/post J.D. Melton (nine), post JJ Quinlan (nine) and guard Paris Felder (nine). The team’s four seniors – Fleming, Melton, Quinlan and guard Nate Hards – play the most minutes, Turcott said. But the coach regularly relies on a balanced foundation of contributors that includes younger players like Felder, a sophomore, and junior wing Casey Wagner.
Having so many capable athletes on a team that can put just five guys on the court at once can be tricky. But thanks to an unselfish attitude it’s been a breeze for the Wildcats.
“They’ve been very team-oriented,” Turcott said. “It’s hard for high school kids to play in an eight- or nine-man rotation; everybody wants to be on the court all the time and be the focal point. They’ve had to sacrifice some things.”
Of course, winning smoothes over the lack of individual attention. During its 16-game win streak, Murphy has had six different single-game leading scorers. This month the hot player has been Quinlan, a burly 6-foot-3 Central Washington University football recruit. He started February with a 25-point game against Sultan and last week averaged 17 points in victories over South Whidbey and Granite Falls. Quinlan uses superior strength to score inside and clamp down on defense.
“JJ’s a total football-first guy and did not play much basketball in the offseason,” Turcott said, “but he’s a real testament to what the weight room will do for a high-school athlete.”
Quinlan and Melton, both captains, needed time to transition from football to basketball. They played on Murphy’s gridiron squad that lost against Lynden (the eventual state champion) in the semifinals Nov. 29. While the close friends eased back into basketball, the Wildcats struggled, starting 0-3. It included a season-opening loss against Kamiak, which turned out to be Kamiak’s only victory in 2008-09.
But Murphy’s Dec. 29 non-league triumph versus Lambrick Park (B.C.) kickstarted a Wildcats squad that hasn’t lost in nine weeks. Quinlan and Melton helped spark and sustain the surge.
“It took them a little bit of time to get the rust off,” said Turcott, “but really by the end of December they were in basketball shape and playing pretty well. They’ve carried us in a lot of ways.”
It was just a matter of time, said Quinlan, who grabs about five rebounds per game: “It’s a new coach and a new system so we just had to get used to each other and learn our roles. After that we just took off and never looked back.”
Along the way Murphy achieved several program milestones.
•On Jan. 7 it beat King’s of Shoreline for the first time ever, according to Turcott, and three weeks later it beat the Knights again.
•Murphy won its first league title since 2004 and its first ever as a 2A team.
“It’s just a really good time right now and Archbishop Murphy basketball is on the up and up. It feels good to be a part of,” said Melton, referring to his team and the undefeated Wildcats girls squad (20-0 and ranked No. 2 in 2A). The Murphy girls play host to Northwest Conference No. 4 seed Burlington-Edison (14-6) 7 p.m. Friday in a first-round District 1 tourney clash.
So which Archbishop Murphy team is better, boys or girls? It’s an ongoing debate, said Melton, who dates Sam Pettinger, a junior guard on the Wildcats girls squad.
“We always have a little bit of trash talk,” Melton said with a big grin, “but it’s a good time.”
At the district tournaments the Murphy teams will try to place in the top four and earn a trip to the state championships. If they both succeed, the squads can settle their “Who’s best?” debate at the Tacoma Dome.
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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