Wesco North: A Look At Boys Basketball

With the 2014-2015 basketball season kicking off, excitement is in the air. This season looks more unpredictable than any other before it. Who will rise up and grab the Wesco crown? A quick look at the conference’s 3A and 4A divisions shows that it will be interesting to watch, almost like a new book, where every game is an exciting new page where anything can happen.

Jackson, the number one ranked  4A team in the state last year, and the 4th place finisher in the  2014 state playoffs, is only returning three players from last years roster. Jackson’s path this season will be revealed soon once the season is in full swing, but it surely will not be another Dan Kingma, Jason Todd, and Brian Zehr dominated season.

Taking a look at the 3A division, some key teams will be battling it out for the crown and their ticket to Tacoma. Some expected contenders this season are Stanwood, Marysville-Pilchuck, and Arlington. Stanwood, coming off of a 20-0 regular season last year and a 6th place finish in the 3A state playoffs, had six varsity players graduate last season, four of whom were starters. They opened their season with a win against Shorewood, but encountered the first loss of their season against Inglemoor, losing 64-65 despite a 16 point effort by A.J. Martinka. Even with the majority of the starting lineup graduating, and a 1-1 start to the young season, Stanwood is likely to hold their own, as they have done in the past when dealing with a newly shaped roster.

Marysville-Pilchuck only had to say farewell to four players last year and are returning most of their key players. This could lead to the tomahawks making some noise in Wesco this year. With a 3-0 start to the year so far, and Josh Bevan leading the way, having scored 30 points and knocking down 6 three pointers in the Tomahawks recent win against Bellingham, the team looks confident as league play approaches.

With Arlington being the newest addition to the Wesco North 3A division, this year is a different story than usual. While the Eagles are returning many players from last years varsity lineup, all five of their starters graduated last year. While they’re not necessarily a young team, they are slightly inexperienced. The Eagles opened their season up with a convincing win over Mount Vernon in a non-conference game, winning 86-57. This offense has potential to do some damage in the conference and in the playoffs. In the win over Mount Vernon, Junior guard, Donovan Sellgren, scored 21 points, and Sophomore guard, Drew Bryson, scored 22, nailing four three pointers in the process. The inexperienced Eagles won their next two games, escaping, Snohomish 55-52 after two key scores in the last minute of the game by Junior, Donovan Sellgren, and clawing past Shorewood, 70-67, with the help of Senior, Nathan Aune, who had 18 points, and Sophomore, Drew Bryson, who finished with 19 points.
These three teams make for an intriguing Wesco North 3A division. Once the league games kick off on January 9th, the games that decide these teams playoff fates will be intense and competitive games to watch. With the new look to this conference and the different strengths the teams bring to the table this year, Wesco fans are in for an interesting and exciting season.