NEAH BAY — Don’t expect the Neah Bay boys basketball program to be down next year.
Or anytime soon.
The Red Devils are rolling on one of their best streaks ever after capturing third place in state Saturday.
That comes on the heels of claiming second the year before.
Second place is the best Neah Bay has ever done in boys basketball.
“I feel very blessed and I thank God to be coaching such a great group of kids who have the fire, the drive and the desire to play basketball at a high level,” second-year coach Gerrad Brooks said.
Two years ago the Red Devils took runner-up honors after losing just 55-50 to two-time champion Sunnyside Christian in the title game behind All-Peninsula MVP Drexler Doherty.
Doherty graduated and a lot of people thought: Well, there goes the program, according to Brooks.
“People thought I was crazy when I said we would be just fine,” Brooks said.
And sure enough, without a superstar to lead the way, the Red Devils used their patented defense and balanced offensive attack to roll through 1B state a second year in a row, losing a heartbreaking semifinal game, 59-54, to Valley Christian of Spokane.
“That was a tough one,” Brooks said about the semifinal loss.
The Red Devils seemed to hit a higher gear this year despite not having the superstar to stand behind.
“We were almost a better team,” Brooks said.
“Certainly, it helps to have that kind of player in certain situations [a go-to player a team can rely on].
“But it’s also good not to have somebody the other team can key on.
“They have to play us straight up.”
Neah Bay had five to six players who scored in double figures this year.
The Red Devils, 21-4, now lose three standout seniors from this group.
“We’ll be just fine next year,” Brooks said.
That’s despite losing Michael Dulik, Titus Pascua and Keaton Hawkins to graduation.
“Michael Dulik always is a solid inside presence for us,” Brooks said about one of the top players on the team.
Dulik was one of the top scorers for the Red Devils at state.
“Titus Pascua is a good player, and well, just everyone on the team played well this year,” Brooks said.
Leyton Doherty, Drexler’s little brother, had a standout state tourney, too, as one of Neah Bay’s top scorers, including a team-high 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field in the third-place game.
Brooks knows the Red Devils will continue to be strong because they have been under his system for two years and play standout defense in every game.
“Defense is where we hang our hat on,” he said.
“Our kids have been in the system, and we have the talented, athletic kids that our defense utilizes.”
Brooks’ system is built on solid, sound defensive principles that allows the team to get out on the court and run.
It helps, too, that Brooks has taken it upon himself to start a middle school program this year based on the same principles the varsity team uses.
This, of course, will give the younger kids a head start on the system.
Brooks coaches both teams.
It will begin paying dividends next year when a few freshmen come up to varsity to replace the departing seniors.
“We have a couple of eighth graders who could have played varsity this year if we had room in the team,” Brooks said.
That includes a little bit of size as two are 6-foot-plus who Brooks expect to grow to 6-2 to 6-4 in the next couple of years.
“One of them has a 6-5 brother, so I know he will get taller,” Brooks said.
That would be the Moss family that could almost field its own team of four solid players.
That includes 6-5 Robert Moss, who graduated a couple of years ago, and sisters Cherish and Cierra Moss, who have become the go-to players for the girls varsity team.
The youngster is Ryan Moss, who will begin his varsity career next season.
Ryan Moss will be joining a solid core of players, including Leyton Doherty, DeShawn Halttunen, Abraham Venske, Zeke Greene, Josiah Greene, Johnny Smith, Tyler McCaulley and John Reamer.
Don’t expect these Red Devils to fall off in 2012-2013.
