The district basketball tournaments — the most consistently exciting playoffs situation in the local sports world — start on Feb. 8, which means there’s just a week left to determine final seedings and scratch names into pre-printed brackets.
Here, then, is a quick look at who’s in the driver’s seat, as well as a few other random notes, on each of the six local basketball leagues.
BOYS
Evergreen 2A Conference
Probable Champ: Preseason favorite Tumwater is 4-0 heading into the last week of action, with games against Centralia (tonight) and Black Hills left.
Contenders: Black Hills and Centralia could each make some noise in districts, though the Tigers will be without star guard Hodges Bailey, who has a fracture in his right foot.
The Other Guys: Mark Morris (surprise surprise) is on top of the Greater St. Helens 2A League standings.
MVP Pick: Tumwater guard Ty Gentry (the tennis star!). Black Hills guard TJ Mickelson (last year’s co-MVP, with Tumwater’s David Cooper) may be the most exciting/talented player in the league, but the Wolves are in third place. Gentry, a fast, lanky point guard, has been running the show on the best team in the league and plays impressive defense.
Who’s In: Everyone, unless the last-place team loses a play-in game to Aberdeen (which happened last year, and Aberdeen’s close to meeting the pigtail criteria again this year). And in this case “in” means in a District 4 play-in game against the No. 5 team from the GSHL (which is still up in the air). So, really, the last-place EvCo team might have to win two pre-postseason games to make districts.
Notes: It’s been a rare case of things panning out about as you’d expect. Black Hills and Centralia are both 2-2, with games against Tumwater and W.F. West remaining, which could mean a tiebreaker of sorts in a week. ... W.F. West has looked solid in spurts, but still has a few kinks to work out if it wants to do much in the playoffs. … Centralia has the shortest bench in the league, usually suiting up seven or eight players for varsity games. Even with what’s been at most a six-man rotation, though, the Tigers have been fun to watch: Christian Peters is a reliable outside threat, Deter Voetberg’s an energetic guard, Nolan Wasson’s about the best-passing forward in the EvCo, and new-to-varsity big men Cale Shute and Layne Pertzborn have been more than serviceable in the paint.
Evergreen 2A/1A League
Probable Champ: Hoquiam (10-2) has a two-game lead over second-place Montesano (8-4). Aberdeen’s 11-1 (14-4 overall), but as a 2A school that only means the Bobcats will get a pigtail game against the EvCo’s last-place team (which looks like W.F. West again) for a District 4 2A tourney berth, should they finish at .750.
Contenders: Montesano, at 8-4, has been the league’s biggest surprise.
The Other Guys: King’s Way Christian, out of the 1A Trico, is undefeated in league play — and coached by former WSU star Daven Harmeling.
MVP Pick: Hoquiam’s Jack Adams III can score in bunches and his team’s not bad, so he’s probably a safe bet.
Who’s In: The top four teams — Hoquiam, Montesano, Eatonville and … someone else. Forks (4-9), Elma (3-9) and Tenino (3-9) are in a tie for fourth among the six 1A teams in the league. Tenino beat Forks twice, but lost to Elma — and plays the Eagles tonight before closing out the regular season against Aberdeen. The Beavers can clinch a spot by winning out.
Notes: It’s been a rough season for Tenino and Rochester, the latter of which will join the Evergreen 2A Conference next year. Still, the Beavers have won their last two league games after a seven-game league skid.
Central 2B League
Probable Champ: Two-time state champion Morton-White Pass hasn’t lost a league game since Feb. 2, 2013 (50-49 at Onalaska), although Napavine came within a point of the T-Wolves on Saturday.
Contenders: Toledo’s 13-3 and in second place, despite currently having one player on the roster that saw any varsity action last season and being picked to finish seventh in The Chronicle’s preseason coaches poll. … Napavine (11-5, third) is one of the more interesting teams heading into districts. Wyatt Stanley presents a ton of matchup problems, and the Tigers clean the glass as well as anyone. … Mossyrock’s in fourth place with a 10-6 record, after going 1-3 with All-State guard/forward Jaron Kirkley sidelined with an injury. With Kirkley back in the lineup, though, the Vikings could make a late surge. They can move into a tie for third with a win at home against Napavine on Wednesday.
The Other Guys: The Pacific 2B League has been dominated by Life Christian Academy, which is once again led by 6-foot-7 shooting guard Luke Lovelady (last year’s P2BL MVP). After LCA and Ocosta (a ranked team for the first time in years), though, there’s a significant dropoff in the Pacific.
MVP Pick: MWP guard Kaleb Poquette reportedly won it this year in what should have been an easy vote. The top offense in the league revolves around the senior Lewis-Clark State College signee, and the All-State and All-Area pick from a year ago was the favorite heading into this season.
Who’s In: Morton-White Pass is locked in at 1; Toledo’s all but locked in at 2 (needing a win over Wahkiakum Wednesday to seal it); Napavine, Mossyrock and Toutle Lake have bit of wiggle room at 3-4-5 (Napavine can seal third with a win over Mossyrock Wednesday; Mossyrock could win Wednesday and beat Onalaska on Friday to force a tie for third; Toutle Lake is 10-6, but plays MWP on Wednesday before closing it out against Wahkiakum on Friday); Adna’s locked in at 6; Pe Ell’s all but locked in at 7; and Onalaska should slip in with the 8-seed, unless Wahkiakum upsets either Toledo or Toutle Lake, or Winlock upsets either Adna or Napavine.
Notes: Toledo, the surprise of the league, is playing with house money at this point. … The Kirkley injury hurt Mossyrock in the standings, though the three games the Vikings lost while he was out were to MWP, Napavine and Toledo.
GIRLS
Evergreen 2A Conference
Probable Champ: Black Hills. The Wolves are 4-0 with games against W.F. West and Tumwater left. The Bearcats’ loss to Tumwater last week means Black Hills is assured a share of the league title. W.F. West can force a tie if it A) beats Black Hills tonight, B) beats Centralia on Friday, and C) Black Hills loses to Tumwater on Friday. Otherwise, the Wolves take it.
Contenders: W.F. West started the season on fire, but is 3-4 in its last seven games. Centralia, meanwhile, is actually only a game behind the Bearcats in the EvCo standings and overall (12-6 to 11-7).
The Other Guys: Mark Morris has a new lineup, but the Monarchs are back on top of the Greater St. Helens 2A Conference standings. Without a pair of NCAA Div. I-bound twins leading the way, though, the Monarchs are a bit less intimidating than the last three years.
MVP Pick: Black Hills’ Emma Duff and Lindsey Nurmi are probably the favorites, leading the league’s best team in scoring.
Who’s In: Everyone! The last-place team in the EvCo, however, plays a pigtail game with the No. 5 team from the GSHL (Ridgefield or R.A. Long).
Evergreen 2A/1A League
Probable Champ: Montesano. The Bulldogs are led by all-everything forward Jordan Spradlin and haven’t lost a league game this year.
Contenders: Elma’s locked up second place, while Eatonville and Hoquiam are set up in third and fourth.
The Other Guys: La Center’s 10-0 and Kalama’s 9-1, but no one else in the 1A Trico is above .500 at this juncture.
MVP Pick: Montesano’s Jordan Spradlin is about as safe a pick as you’ll find.
Who’s In: No excitement here. Montesano, Elma, Eatonville and Hoquiam are headed to the playoffs.
Central 2B League
Probable Champ: Napavine and Toutle Lake have been ripping through the league virtually unhindered, but split head-to-head games. Should they finish tied (which is likely) at 17-1, the top seed will be determined via coin flip — which will be performed at a meeting of the league’s athletic directors on Wednesday. As far as who’s more dangerous in districts, though: Napavine’s won 15 league games in a row by an average of 27 points a game since losing to Toutle in its season debut. The only team to come within 10 of the Tigers since then was Adna (54-49) back on Dec. 12; the next time they played, the Tigers won 63-48.
Contenders: Adna and Wahkiakum are in the C2BL’s second tier. The Mules won the district championship (over Napavine) last year, and junior guard Peyton Souvenir — the only returning starter — has been great when she’s playing anyone but Napavine. Adna has a strong roster, but hasn’t been able to hang with Napavine and Toutle Lake. The Pirates close the regular season with winnable games against Winlock and Toledo, while Wahkiakum wraps up with Toledo and Toutle Lake. As they’re tied at 11-5 in third, the Mules will need to upset Toutle Lake to keep the tie intact.
The Other Guys: Ilwaco’s 8-0 in Pacific 2B League play and hasn’t lost to a 2B team this season. That puts three of the top four teams in the Associated Press poll (Ilwaco, Napavine and Toutle Lake are 2-3-4 behind defending champ Okanogan) in the District 4 tournament. Fun!
MVP Pick: Toutle Lake’s Sam Woodley. The Ducks are (likely) the co-league champs, and Woodley’s an outstanding point guard and the defending MVP. It’s tough to unseat an incumbent, and Napavine’s been too balanced to provide a strong alternative to Woodley, though it’s likely that any or all of the Melissa Lee/Mollie Olson/Grace Hamre trio wind up on the All-League first team.
Who’s In: In order: Toutle Lake/Napavine, Adna, Wahkiakum, Morton-White Pass, Toledo, Onalaska and Winlock. The Cardinals swept Pe Ell and split with Mossyrock, so unless Mossyrock beats Napavine and Onalaska this week, Winlock’s in the playoffs.
