Congrats to the Rainier Beach Vikings Boys' B-Ball Team

[Fucky McFuckerson]

Appearntly, they are the #1 ranked 3A boys b-ball team in this weeks AP Poll. The coach says that this team may be better than the 2002 team, which fetured Nate Robinson.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/348716_beach25.html?source=rss

New 'best' for Rainier Beach?

Talented lineup draws comparisons to 2002 squad

By DARREN FESSENDEN
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

When it comes to Rainier Beach basketball, the first team that comes to mind is the 2002 group. You know, the one with "Nate and the Twins."

High school basketball in this state has rarely seen quickness like the Vikings had that season.

"The '02 team was as athletic a team as you're ever going to face," said Issaquah coach Jeff Patrick, whose state-qualifying team lost by 27 points at districts to Beach.

Rodrick Stewart (now a senior at Kansas) averaged 19 points that season, while New York Knicks star Nate Robinson and Lodrick Stewart (USC, 2003-07) averaged 18 each for the Vikings.

Patrick thinks that if it were not for Rainier Beach's 59-52 loss to Cedar Hill of Texas (with former Michigan star Daniel Horton) in a holiday tournament in Delaware, the Vikings "probably would have finished the season as the No.1-ranked team in the country."

Instead, the Vikings (28-1, 17-0 in 2002) settled for a state title, which they won convincingly Mercer Island, 67-51.

But six years later, Rainier Beach coach Mike Bethea may be forced to remove the "Best Beach Team Ever" tag from the 2002 unit. And who could blame him, considering his entire starting lineup will likely play Division I college ball.

The lineup is impressive.


Senior guard Reggie Moore (12 points per game, 10 assists per game): Bethea said the Fresno State recruit has "really, really taken off with our offense (since coming from O'Dea two seasons ago) and is starting to do all the little things, kind of like Nate and Rodrick."


Senior guard Mike Ladd (18 ppg, 2 steals per game): Also a Fresno State recruit, Bethea compares him to former wing Terrence Williams (a junior star for Louisville) and the Stewart twins: "He can stroke the 3 and he's probably our best on-ball defender."


Junior guard Aaron Dotson (15 ppg, 6 rebounds per game): The Garfield transfer was the top-rated wing in his class by northwesthoops.com this summer. Bethea said he's "starting to find his way through our system" and will be a "high-major recruit."


Senior forward Ababe Demissie (7 ppg, 9 rpg): "He's been with me four years," Bethea said about the Eastern Washington recruit. "He's our big energy guy."


Senior forward Nyandigisi "Digs" Moikobu (10 ppg, 11 rpg, 3 blocks per game): The Chief Sealth transfer returned to Beach this season after starting his career there. "He's probably playing the best ball of anyone on the team," said Bethea, who mentioned Montana and UC Riverside are interested.

Rounding out Beach's rotation are sophomore guard Jaamon Echols (8 ppg, 2 spg), junior guard D'Vonne Pickett (7 ppg), and senior David Gebru (5 ppg, 6 rpg).

"From 1 through 3, we don't match up (with the 2002 team)," said Bethea, in his 14th season. "But I think 1 through 8, they (the 2002 team) couldn't match up with us."

At 15-1 and 11-0 in the Metro Sound, Rainier Beach was the unanimous No. 1 pick in this week's Associated Press 3A poll.

"I'm real happy with the way the kids are coming together," Bethea said.

"Our chemistry is coming together."

With its 3A-record 11th consecutive state appearance a foregone conclusion, Rainier Beach is poised to provide Bethea with his fourth state title.

He won in 1998 with Jamal Crawford. In 2002, five high-major recruits -- the Stewart twins, C.J. Giles (Kansas, Oregon State), Terrence Williams (Louisville) and Ryan Anderson (Nebraska) -- led Beach to a victory over Patrick's Eagles in the state championship.

Bethea is watching two of his former stars face off this weekend. He will be in Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday for the Nebraska-Kansas game to see Rodrick (4 ppg, 3 rpg) and Anderson (9 ppg, 6 rpg), a sophomore starting guard.

"I get to kill two birds with one stone," Bethea said.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I would like to see some do a compilation of the best teams in WA state history.

Xpanther....What was Prep's highest national rating a few seasons back when they were tearing it up with Martell and Spencer?

 

[Southend_206]

I SEEN THESE GUYS PLAY, THEY'RE REALLY REALLY GOOD, BUT SAYING THEYRE BETTER THAN THE 02 SQUAD IS GOING TOO FAR, I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH THOSE CATS IN 02, GRADUATED IN 03, THEY'RE NOTHING CLOSE TO WHAT WE HAD IN BOTH OF THOSE YEARS. I KNOW COACH BETHEA REAL WELL, BUT UNTIL THIS SQUAD REACHES #1 IN THE COUNTRY LIKE '03 DID, THEN HE CAN SAY THAT.

 

[xpanther206]

I SEEN THESE GUYS PLAY, THEY'RE REALLY REALLY GOOD, BUT SAYING THEYRE BETTER THAN THE 02 SQUAD IS GOING TOO FAR, I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH THOSE CATS IN 02, GRADUATED IN 03, THEY'RE NOTHING CLOSE TO WHAT WE HAD IN BOTH OF THOSE YEARS. I KNOW COACH BETHEA REAL WELL, BUT UNTIL THIS SQUAD REACHES #1 IN THE COUNTRY LIKE '03 DID, THEN HE CAN SAY THAT.

Yeah that's some ^ accurate statements ^ right there. I was about to say that it was the '03 team that ascended to the top of the national USA Today poll, not the '02 team. But that being said, I think it's just fine to use that '02 team as the standard of comparison, b/c I don't see how that '02 team wasn't better than the '03 team. The '03 team was nice b/c the Twins were the show and some of their younger guys stepped in, but that '02 squad also starred the Twins but more importantly, had Baby Iverson absolutely terrorizing opponents backcourts, that '02 squad was the best HS team I have ever seen.

It doesn't sound like this squad has any real high D-1 recruits, however. Nothing wrong with Fresno State, but sounds like they weren't quite good enough for Lorenzo Romar or other Pac-10 schools to recruit. The best two juniors in the state are Abdul Gaddy from Bellarmine Prep (he's verballed to Arizona, unfortunately) and Peyton Siva from Franklin. With Franklin coming into the Metro league next year, an already stacked league is going to be even more stacked, it's going to be ridiculous.

Rainier Beach basketball is just one of those things that you can count on in the Seattle sports scene.

 

[xpanther206]

I would like to see some do a compilation of the best teams in WA state history.

Things like that have been done before I believe, the man to ask that question would be Craig Smith, the Seattle Times HS Sports Columnist. He really knows his shit and is a nice guy as well.

Xpanther....What was Prep's highest national rating a few seasons back when they were tearing it up with Martell and Spencer?

I don't remember where Prep was ranked in 2005. They had issues w/ usage of those superstars as well as a dearth of quality role players. I know they went to a national tournament and beat the Rainier Beach of Wisconsin (Vincent HS from the northside of Milwaukee, they're good every year) and I think they peaked after that.

Prep won state titles in 2000 and 2006. The 2000 squad was more of a "great senior leadership coupled with some young talent style" while the 2006 squad was pretty much built around Spencer. The 2005 team was the one that had Spencer as a JR and Martell, that's the squad that didn't even qualify for state with 2 future lottery picks in the lineup. Also an outstanding team was the 2001 squad, which had a 6'10'' transfer named Jeffrey Day who ended up playing at Creighton. Those guys were supposed to be really good w/ Erik Bond and this random transfer, but they didn't win state.

I graduated in '02, Seattle Prep and Rainier Beach used to have some awesome battles.

 

[xpanther206]

* PS

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton metropolitan statistical area is #9 out of 51 in the United States with populations over 1 million people, in terms of NBA Players Per Capita.

Basically we play basketball better than most.

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

BUT UNTIL THIS SQUAD REACHES #1 IN THE COUNTRY LIKE '03 DID, THEN HE CAN SAY THAT.

Appearntly, they are the #1 ranked 3A boys b-ball team in this weeks AP Poll.

At 15-1 and 11-0 in the Metro Sound, Rainier Beach was the unanimous No. 1 pick in this week's Associated Press 3A poll.

Soooo....im confused...

 

[BAMMER]

Senior guard Reggie Moore (since coming from O'Dea two seasons ago)


Senior guard Mike Ladd


Junior guard Aaron Dotson The Garfield transfer]

Senior forward Ababe Demissie (7 ppg, 9 rpg): "He's been with me four years"


Senior forward Nyandigisi "Digs" Moikobu The Chief Sealth transfer

Rounding out Beach's rotation are sophomore guard Jaamon Echols]RENTON TRANSFER

I think Echols came in from Renton.The program is a joke,they go around stealing players from all over the Puget Sound.It's only a matter of time until they get caught like the Chief Sealth girls.Jesse,he's talkin the country not state....and I believe they were as high as #3 in the country.Old squad would murder them.

 

[xpanther206]

I think Echols came in from Renton.The program is a joke,they go around stealing players from all over the Puget Sound.It's only a matter of time until they get caught like the Chief Sealth girls.Jesse,he's talkin the country not state....and I believe they were as high as #3 in the country.Old squad would murder them.

I would doubt they recruit b/c I don't think they have to. Everybody knows that they are the who's who of hoops around town, particularly the who's who of African American kids playing hoops. I see what you mean though, as guys seem to abandon what on the surface would be better situations, better schools, better neighborhoods etc to play basketball at Rainier Beach. CJ Giles comes to mind, he left Federal Way for Beach. Then there was a guy named Andrew Haskins from Kirkland of all places, who suddenly had a desire to leave Lake Washington HS to play ball at Beach. He's now selling insurance on the eastside by the way, but when you've got somebody talking about leaving a good school like Lake Washington for Rainier Beach, I can see how it'll make you scratch your head.

But I don't think Bethea does anything b/c he doesn't have to, they just come to him and b/c RB is the smallest mainstream HS in the district b/c nobody wants to go there, it's an easy place to transfer.

 

[BAMMER]

I would doubt they recruit b/c I don't think they have to. Everybody knows that they are the who's who of hoops around town, particularly the who's who of African American kids playing hoops. I see what you mean though, as guys seem to abandon what on the surface would be better situations, better schools, better neighborhoods etc to play basketball at Rainier Beach. CJ Giles comes to mind, he left Federal Way for Beach. Then there was a guy named Andrew Haskins from Kirkland of all places, who suddenly had a desire to leave Lake Washington HS to play ball at Beach. He's now selling insurance on the eastside by the way, but when you've got somebody talking about leaving a good school like Lake Washington for Rainier Beach, I can see how it'll make you scratch your head.

But I don't think Bethea does anything b/c he doesn't have to, they just come to him and b/c RB is the smallest mainstream HS in the district b/c nobody wants to go there, it's an easy place to transfer.

I know for FACT they recruit.

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

I think Echols came in from Renton.The program is a joke,they go around stealing players from all over the Puget Sound.It's only a matter of time until they get caught like the Chief Sealth girls.Jesse,he's talkin the country not state....and I believe they were as high as #3 in the country.Old squad would murder them.

I thougth this WAS for country, not state. Since when did tey start doing AP polls for STATE rankings???

 

[xpanther206]

I thougth this WAS for country, not state. Since when did tey start doing AP polls for STATE rankings???

Yeah I know it's kind of weird that they do that. They probably just base it on local sportswriters work but call it the AP rankings.

They definitely are nowhere near #1 in the nation, but a quality program again.

If Bammer's so convinced they cheat and it bothers him, he ought to just turn them in.

 

[Southend_206]

Yeah that's some ^ accurate statements ^ right there. I was about to say that it was the '03 team that ascended to the top of the national USA Today poll, not the '02 team. But that being said, I think it's just fine to use that '02 team as the standard of comparison, b/c I don't see how that '02 team wasn't better than the '03 team. The '03 team was nice b/c the Twins were the show and some of their younger guys stepped in, but that '02 squad also starred the Twins but more importantly, had Baby Iverson absolutely terrorizing opponents backcourts, that '02 squad was the best HS team I have ever seen.

It doesn't sound like this squad has any real high D-1 recruits, however. Nothing wrong with Fresno State, but sounds like they weren't quite good enough for Lorenzo Romar or other Pac-10 schools to recruit. The best two juniors in the state are Abdul Gaddy from Bellarmine Prep (he's verballed to Arizona, unfortunately) and Peyton Siva from Franklin. With Franklin coming into the Metro league next year, an already stacked league is going to be even more stacked, it's going to be ridiculous.

Rainier Beach basketball is just one of those things that you can count on in the Seattle sports scene.

EXACTLY!

 

[Southend_206]

I would doubt they recruit b/c I don't think they have to. Everybody knows that they are the who's who of hoops around town, particularly the who's who of African American kids playing hoops. I see what you mean though, as guys seem to abandon what on the surface would be better situations, better schools, better neighborhoods etc to play basketball at Rainier Beach. CJ Giles comes to mind, he left Federal Way for Beach. Then there was a guy named Andrew Haskins from Kirkland of all places, who suddenly had a desire to leave Lake Washington HS to play ball at Beach. He's now selling insurance on the eastside by the way, but when you've got somebody talking about leaving a good school like Lake Washington for Rainier Beach, I can see how it'll make you scratch your head.

But I don't think Bethea does anything b/c he doesn't have to, they just come to him and b/c RB is the smallest mainstream HS in the district b/c nobody wants to go there, it's an easy place to transfer.

PREACH AGAIN!

WE DIDNT STEAL ANYBODY! EVERYBODY WANTED TO COME AND PLAY AT BEACH, BUT YOU HAD TO SHOW THAT YOU WERE A GREAT ENOUGH PLAYER TO DO SO, BECAUSE COACH MIKE, IS STERN BUT FAIR, HARD NOSE COACH, I TRIED OUT, BUT I FOUND OUT I WAS BETTER @ FOOTBALL LOL.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I thougth this WAS for country, not state. Since when did tey start doing AP polls for STATE rankings???

Yeah that though me off too lol. I was thinking it was for the country and then when I saw where their players were going, it didn't add up.


What ever happened with Tim Ellis? He fell in between the Jamal Crawford/David King era and the Nate Rob/Stewart Twins era, but he was filthy in his own right.

 

[BAMMER]

If Bammer's so convinced they cheat and it bothers him, he ought to just turn them in.

I disagree with it,and I would get nothing in return...other then knowing I'm a rat.It's still 5 on 5....PLUS schoolboy...I love to see Beach beat little Private School kids who've been silver spoon fed their entire lives,and had team shoes at age 8.It just hurts the Sealths,Clev,WS,AND Rentons of the world.Facts are facts....I don't feel a responsibility to name names..so ought to do nathan.


AP is associated press...every writer who votes in Wa. state is in the AP...therefore it's an AP vote.They have been ranking in state since I can remember my brothers in HS in the mid-80's

I disagreed with myself...they were #1 in the nation back in the day.And I used to not believe they recruited...lol
http://siccness.net/vb/showthread.php?t=37636&highlight=rainier+beach

 

[Southend_206]

Soooo....im confused...

YOURE GETTING CONFUSED WITH STATE & COUNTRY, IM TALKING ABOUT THE ENTIRE U.S.

 

[xpanther206]

I love to see Beach beat little Private School kids who've been silver spoon fed their entire lives,and had team shoes at age 8.

Yessir, that's what makes the Metro League great, in most parts of the country they segregate the privates from the publics.

 

[xpanther206]

Bammer this was in today's PI.

Seattle schools' loose transfer policy creates teenage 'free agents'

By DEREK BELT
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

A toothless transfer policy for Seattle Public Schools allows some of the city's best basketball programs to stockpile talent and turns coveted players into teenage free agents.

Aaron Dotson, the most recent high-profile example of a top-flight player jumping from one power program to another, transferred from Garfield High School to nearby Rainier Beach last year. He was not forced to sit out the calendar year, as is required of any student who transfers schools for athletic purposes. Rainier Beach officials say Dotson did not transfer for athletic reasons and was therefore eligible to play. Garfield officials believe otherwise.

When filling out the paperwork to complete Dotson's transfer, Garfield principal Ted Howard, after consulting with Bulldogs coach Dan Finkley and others, checked a box indicating he believed Dotson was transferring for athletic reasons.

Howard said it was all he could do to protest what he thought was an obvious attempt by Dotson to switch teams.

"I feel like I did my part," Howard said. "Then it goes to Rainier Beach and they're supposed to do an investigation."

District policy states that students who transfer and wish to play sports without sitting out a year "should have the principal of the school to which the student has transferred attest that the transfer is not for athletic or disciplinary reasons." In Dotson's case, it was up to Rainier Beach principal Robert Gary Jr. to look into Howard's claims that Dotson swapped schools solely for athletic purposes.

After speaking with Howard and Dotson's family, Gary said he found no reason to believe the transfer was for athletics. He then held a formal discussion with Al Hairston, athletics coordinator for Seattle Public Schools, and signed off on the transfer.

"I investigated the charge and didn't find any proof," Gary said.

School district records indicate Dotson's address changed Aug. 28, right before he transferred to Rainier Beach.

According to the district Web site, moving is one of three ways a student can gain eligibility immediately after transferring. District-initiated transfers and transfers for academic purposes are the others.

Howard said an investigation such as Gary's, in which the receiving school has final say over the matter, is anything but objective.

"The school that took him investigates? Go figure," Howard said. "It's on the honor system. It should be a neutral party that comes in and does that."

Hairston said the policy works because school principals are required to do an "open and honest investigation." He also said his office would become involved in such a case only if an appeal were made. That appeal would likely come from the family of a student who is denied eligibility after transferring.

"Right, wrong or indifferent, that is the policy," Hairston said.

Open-enrollment policy

Seattle Public Schools has an unusual open-enrollment policy that allows students to attend any school in the district. It was implemented in 1997 largely because each school offers a different slate of academic courses.

Open enrollment also gives students the right to switch schools, provided they aren't doing so for athletic purposes or because they are recruited by a coach. Students are not prohibited from transferring schools solely for athletics, but they aren't allowed to compete at the varsity level for one calendar year if they do so.

That differs from Washington Interscholastic Activities Association policy, which requires students transferring from one district to another to meet hardship requirements to become eligible to play sports their first year at a new school. Most districts in the state adhere to WIAA guidelines when dealing with transfers within a district as well, but they are not required to. Seattle Public Schools, because of its open-enrollment policy, does not follow WIAA transfer guidelines.

Dotson, a junior who briefly attended Franklin his freshman year before switching to Garfield, is one of hundreds of students who transferred within the Seattle Public Schools system last year. Rainier Beach has the lowest enrollment of any high school in the district and is eager to accept transfer students. Often there is a waiting list to get into bigger schools such as Ballard, Franklin and Ingraham, making it more difficult for students -- not just athletes -- to transfer into one of those schools.

Switching sides

Dotson, a 6-foot-4 guard with long arms and a soft outside shot, averaged a team-high 18.6 points per game as a sophomore last year, guiding Garfield to the state tournament for the first time since 2002. The future looked bright for the rebuilding Bulldogs, especially with prized incoming freshman Tony Wroten Jr. set to join the team.

Finkley, the Garfield coach, said that outlook changed in June during the Quaker Summer Slam at Franklin High, during which Dotson played just one game with Garfield before transferring to Rainier Beach, a perennial state title contender. The move did not go unnoticed.

"I was baffled, but it didn't surprise me," said Finkley, who said Dotson's father approached him after the game -- a blowout loss to Rainier Beach -- to say that his son was leaving the team. "He never said why. He just said it wasn't going to work."

A few days later, Garfield squared off against Rainier Beach again. Dotson was in uniform for the Vikings, and has been ever since.

"Right after his dad told me (he was leaving), he went right and started playing for them," Finkley said. "Our kids were confused and it kind of became personal. Our kids are still confused."

Stockpiling talent

Rainier Beach, which has won three state championships since 1998, has greeted four top-level transfers in the past two years alone. Dotson and Chief Sealth transfer Nyandigisi Moikobu came from within the district during the summer. Former Renton guard Jaamon Echols also is new to the Vikings this season. Fresno State-bound senior Reggie Moore left O'Dea for Rainier Beach before the 2006-07 school year. He was granted a hardship appeal after his family moved to the Rainier Beach neighborhood to provide 24-hour care for his ill grandfather.

DeAngelo Jones, a former Vikings star now at New Mexico State, played two years at Rainier Beach after transferring from Kennedy in November 2005 for personal reasons. A WIAA district panel initially ruled he was not eligible for the 2005-06 season, but a WIAA hearing officer overturned that decision, allowing Jones to play for the Vikings.

According to published reports, Moikobu lives close to the Rainier Beach campus and transferred because school bus service from his neighborhood to West Seattle was discontinued. Moikobu would have had to ride a Metro bus to school this year if he had continued to attend Chief Sealth.

Rainier Beach athletic director Dan Jurdy said Dotson was granted eligibility because he moved into the school's attendance zone, but Hairston said Dotson didn't have to move to become eligible. He said open enrollment allows students' eligibility to follow them from one school to another.

Because Dotson was eligible to play sports at Garfield, Hairston said, he is eligible to play at Rainier Beach or any other school as long as he is not found to have transferred solely for athletic reasons. Howard questions whether Dotson's move into Rainer Beach's attendance zone was legitimate.

"Maybe. That's the part I don't know," Howard said. "His sister is still attending Garfield, and they have the same address they did last year. If Garfield is so bad, why is his freshman sister still going here?"

Adult influence

Howard said Dotson's family may have had contact with Rainier Beach coaches before filing the transfer request, implying the then-sophomore was recruited by the Vikings. Rainier Beach coach Mike Bethea, who said he is tired of dealing with recruiting accusations simply because of his program's high profile, adamantly denied having any contact with Dotson or his family before the transfer.

"The only time I ever talked to Aaron's dad was when he was a freshman at Franklin and was getting ready to go to Garfield," Bethea said. "He said, 'Hey Mike, what do you think about Garfield's program?' And I said it was a pretty good program. He just wanted to introduce himself."

Finkley, who also lost Dominic Ballard after the 6-4 sophomore transferred from O'Dea to Garfield and then back to O'Dea recently, said star players are treated like NBA free agents. Open enrollment does little to curb the issue, he said.

"It's kind of out of control," Finkley said. "Most of the time it's the parents. As soon as they sense a negative vibe, they want to jump ship."

Francis Williams, a former Rainier Beach coach who guided the Vikings to their first state title in 1988 and resigned midway through the 1994 season because he was fed up with parents and personal attacks, said players usually get too much attention -- good and bad -- when they decide to transfer schools.

"A lot of the time the spotlight is put on the kid when it should be on the parents," Williams said. "If my kid transfers, he can't do that without my blessing. But my name's not going to end up in the paper, his will. A lot of these parents are overzealous and want what's best for them and not their kids."

Williams has been involved with Seattle's youth basketball program for 13 years and still follows the high school game closely. He supports open enrollment and the district's transfer policies -- but only as long as nobody is breaking or bending the rules.

"If they're within the rule book and the guidelines as they're set forth, I say let them go wherever," Williams said. "I tried not to get too upset about transfers, but most of the time we were losing them. It hits closer to home when you lose a player. It stings a little more."

Widespread practice

Rainier Beach isn't the only school affected by transfers, and the Vikings aren't just gaining them. Two years ago, Michael Crudup left Rainier Beach for Cleveland and Sterling Carter traded in his Vikings colors for the green and black of Franklin.

Notable transfers between districts from the past year include Colton Christian, who went from O'Dea to Bellevue, and DeAngelo Casto, one of the state's top college prospects, who left Ferris of Spokane for Franklin in June only to return to Ferris a few months later.

Aaron Bright also turned heads when he left Issaquah for Bellevue after the start of the school year.

Issaquah officials weren't shy about voicing their displeasure, as Bright, a 5-10 sophomore who was second on the team in scoring as a freshman, reportedly played summer ball with several Bellevue players. His family moved to Bellevue, and he was not forced to sit out a year.

"It may be legal on paper," Issaquah athletic director Mike Bailey said, "but it's not right."

Garfield officials sympathize. They say the Seattle Public Schools system is in a tough position because of open enrollment. Williams said people should learn to live with it, as things aren't likely to change any time soon.

"The administrators are stretched to the limits already, and athletics aren't the main reason they're there," Williams said. "These kids are student-athletes and the student part comes first."

'It's frustrating'

Fresh off last year's state tournament appearance, Finkley was giddy about teaming Dotson with Wroten, one of the highest-rated freshman players in the country and the Bulldogs' leading scorer this year at 19.9 points per game. When Dotson said goodbye, however, Finkley was left to wonder what could have been.

"If we keep Aaron Dotson, if we keep Dominic Ballard, maybe we are one of the top 10 teams in the state at this time," Finkley said. "That's not a slap on the kids I have because they're working their butts off, but you never know what happens if we keep both of those guys."

Garfield beat fourth-ranked Federal Way 83-75 at the King Holiday Hoopfest on Jan. 21 and slipped past Juanita 63-55 the following night for its fourth consecutive win. The Bulldogs, who are 11-5 overall and in second place in the KingCo 4A Lake Division, got 21 points from Wroten, who has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season.

At Rainier Beach on Thursday, Dotson scored 11 points to help lead the Vikings to a 89-48 thrashing of Metro League rival Nathan Hale. Rainier Beach is 16-1 overall and is the state's top-ranked team in 3A. Its only loss was in overtime to Franklin, the second-ranked squad in 4A.

"It's frustrating, but there's nothing I can do about it," Finkley said of losing talented players. "I have no control over any of these kids in regard to whether they stay at Garfield or leave Garfield. I just coach the kids that do want to be here."

The only problem with that, he said, is that there's no telling how long they'll stick around.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I don't see anything wrong with students transferring to play at a better athletic program. So its ok for them to transfer because they want a better academic program but not ok if they want a better athletic program???

If nothing else, it is good for our regions basketball culture, because when you have a perennially good team like RB, they get noticed on a national level. People are checking Seattle basketball like they never use to largely because of RB turning out quality college and NBA players, and being recognized as a top program nationally.