BY DOUG PACEY
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com

Garfield coach Ed Haskins left the draw for the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament feeling good about one thing.

“We’re excited about the time,” the 1990 Clover Park graduate said, referring to his team’s 8:30 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday night at the Tacoma Dome.

Haskins wasn’t pleased that his third-ranked Bulldogs, the KingCo League champions, were placed in an incredibly loaded bottom half of the bracket.

No. 1 Federal Way is in the top half of the bracket, but teams ranked Nos. 2-6 all reside in the bottom half, making for some potentially fantastic first- and second-round matchups.

No ranked teams will square off in any of the first-round games in the top half of the bracket, but that will happen twice in the bottom half. Eighth-ranked Curtis meets No. 2 Eisenhower at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and No. 6 Gonzaga Prep plays No. 4 Decatur at 7 p.m.

Haskins wasn’t the only coach that felt like he was staring at a four-day gauntlet. Fourth-ranked Decatur could face the sixth-, third-, second- and first-ranked teams in successive games.

“We got a pretty tough draw,” Gators coach Kevin Olson said. “We just have to take care of business one day at a time.”

Curtis coach Tim Kelly said he’s familiar with Eisenhower because his Vikings have played the Cadets in off-season leagues and at camps.

“I know a little bit,” he said. “We both were at the University of Idaho team camp. And they have a great coach in Pat Fitterer.”

The Curtis-Eisenhower game is the only first-round contest that features two head coaches that have won state titles. Kelly won back-to-back 4A titles in 2001 and 2002 when he coached Lincoln and Fitterer led Sehome to the 1995 4A championship.

The winner of that game will play either No. 5 Foss or Mountlake Terrace in the quarterfinals.

Fifth-ranked Foss, which is in the same quarter-bracket as Curtis and Eisenhower, will meet Mountlake Terrace in the first round.

Federal Way, which is as close to a favorite as this tournament has, will play Redmond in the first round. The Eagles have a potential quarterfinal matchup with Beamer, the third Federal Way School District team in the field. But the state tournament-newbie Titans must first get past Walla Walla. If you’re looking for a Cinderella team in the field, Beamer is it.

“We’re playing really well,” first-year Beamer coach Brent Brilhante said. “We’ve won five of our last six and winning three straight loser-out games is tough in itself.”

In the two morning games, No. 10 Inglemoor plays Roosevelt at 9 a.m. in a meeting of two KingCo teams. Seventh-ranked Kentridge, which is making its third straight trip to state, will face Northwest District champion Mariner at 10:30 a.m.

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271

blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps

BY DOUG PACEY
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com

Federal Way coach Danny Graham won’t have to wait long to see what his team is made of.

The Eagles are making the first trip the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament in 11 seasons and will face three-time defending champion Lewis & Clark in the first round on Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome.

“They are everything that we’re not,” Graham said of the Tigers.

Seventh-ranked Federal Way and No. 3 Lewis & Clark were slotted in the loaded bottom half of the bracket that includes the top three ranked teams – No. 1 Pasco, No. 2 Kentwood and No. 3 Lewis and Clark.

“The lower bracket is definitely stacked,” said Mount Tahoma coach Calvin McHenry, whose Thunderbirds drew Pasco in the opening round.

The Bulldogs reached the semifinals last season, but to get there again Pasco might have to go through No. 2 Kentwood in the quarterfinals. The Conquerors will play Kamiak in the first round.

But the big question surrounding Kentwood isn’t if it can win the state title, it’s “Will Lindsey Moore play?” Possibly the best player in the state, Moore injured her hamstring at practice on Thursday and didn’t play in the West Central District title game on Saturday – Kentwood lost, 52-50, to Auburn Riverside. Coach Keith Hennig said Moore will not participate in practice this week, giving her as much time as possible to heal what he said was a “slightly torn” hamstring.

“The trainer said she can play on it,” Hennig said. “But she could run the risk of having a complete tear.”

The top half of the bracket has a pair of games pitting ranked teams. Tenth-ranked Eastlake plays No. 5 Auburn Riverside at 9 a.m. and No 8 Bellarmine Prep meets No. 4 Snohomish at noon.

Auburn Riverside is going for its third straight state title, but first in 4A – the Ravens won back-to-back 3A championships in 2007 and 2008.

First-year coach Ed Rosin said he was pleased with the Ravens’ draw. A potential matchup with No. 6 Moses Lake looms in the quarterfinals.

“We saw Moses Lake when they played at our tournament (in December),” he said. “We got a good look at them and they’re a good team.”

Bellarmine Prep coach Kevin Meines hopes there’s a reversal of fortune of last season’s first-round meeting with Snohomish that saw the Panthers win.

“We played this game in the first round last year at the same time,” Meines said. “The only thing different is that we’re the visiting team. Hopefully the visiting team will win this time, too.”

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271

blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps

Here are the 4A top-10 rankings. Working on a couple state draw stories right now and will post the 1A-3A rankings on Monday.

Class 4A
Boys
1. Federal Way
2. Eisenhower
3. Garfield
4. Decatur
5. Foss
6. Gonzaga Prep
7. Kentridge
8. Curtis
9. Walla Walla
10. Inglemoor

Girls
1. Pasco
2. Kentwood
3. Lewis and Clark
4. Snohomish
5. Auburn Riverside
6. Moses Lake
7. Federal Way
8. Bellarmine Prep
9. Issaquah
10. Eastlake

CLASS 4A GIRLS

9 a.m. – Eastlake vs. Auburn Riverside

10:30 a.m. – South Kitsap vs. Moses Lake

12:30 p.m. – Bellarmine Prep vs. Snohomish

2 p.m. – Garfield vs. Newport

3:30 p.m. – Mount Tahoma vs. Pasco

5 p.m. –Kamiak vs. Kentwood

7 p.m. – Jackson vs. Issaquah

8:30 p.m. – Lewis and Clark vs. Federal Way

CLASS 4A BOYS

9 a.m. – Inglemoor vs. Roosevelt

10:30 a.m. – Kentridge vs. Mariner

12:30 p.m. – Redmond vs. Federal Way

2 p.m. – Beamer vs. Walla Walla

3:30 p.m. – Curtis vs. Eisenhower

5 p.m. – Mountlake Terrace vs. Foss

7 p.m. – Gonzaga Prep vs. Decatur

8:30 p.m. – Lake Stevens vs. Garfield

9 a.m. – Bellevue Christian vs. Highland

10:30 a.m. – Brewster vs. Winlock

12:30 p.m. – Ilwaco vs. Vashon

2 p.m. – Columbia Burbank vs. Lake Roosevelt

4 p.m. – Naches Valley vs. Chelan

5:30 p.m. – Kalama vs. King’s

7:30 p.m. – Castle Rock vs. Seattle Academy

9 p.m. – Port Townsend vs. Granger

Starts Wednesday at Yakima SunDome

9 a.m. – Chelan vs. Connell

10:30 a.m. – Vashon vs. Onalaska

12:30 p.m. – Rainier vs. Lynden Christian

2 p.m. – Granger vs. Cascade

4 p.m. – La Center vs. Freeman

5:30 p.m. – Columbia Burbank vs. Bellevue Christian

7:30 p.m. – King’s vs. Zillah

9 p.m. –Toledo vs. Seattle Christian

The Class 4A state draw begings at 3 p.m. and the 1A draw is at 1 p.m. I'll be at the draw in Renton and will post the brackets as soon as they are determined.

In the meantime, I pulled the draw procedure from the WIAA Web site:

BRACKET DEFINITIONS

The total tournament first round bracket includes games 1-8. The top half bracket includes games 1-4, the bottom half bracket includes games 5-8. The quarter brackets are as
follows: games 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8.

A modified allocation formula will be followed to determine the #1 teams, with each WIAA District guaranteed a #1 team if that District is allocated at least one (1) team. If Districts elect to combine forqualification purposes, each District will still receive a #1 team. Districts that combine during the regular season would be considered a single District and would receive only one #1 team.

1. The “true” #1 teams from each WIAA District will be drawn first to determine in which half bracket they will be drawn, with an equal number of “true” #1 teams in each half bracket when possible.

1a. The first draw will be to determine into which half bracket, top or bottom half, the first “true” #1 team shall be drawn.

1b. The district with the most #1 teams shall be drawn first, followed in succession by the districts with fewer #1 teams.

1c. The “true” #1 teams shall be drawn into half brackets, alternating top then bottom, or bottom then top, until all “true” #1 teams have been drawn.

1d. As each “true” #1 team is drawn into the top or bottom half bracket, the #2 team from that district will be placed into the opposite half bracket.

1.d.1. With three (3) allocations, the #3 team may be drawn into either half bracket.

1.d.2. With four (4) or more allocations, #1 and #4 will be drawn into the same half bracket; #2 and #3 will be drawn into the same half bracket; any additional allocations may be drawn into either half bracket with an even number, if possible, into each half bracket.

1.d.3. When a District has three (3) or more allocations, they will be drawn into separate quarter brackets if possible.

2. The “true” #1 teams shall be drawn to determine the home team for Games 1-4 and then Games 5-8.

2a. If there are four (4) or fewer “true” #1 teams, they will be drawn into different quarter brackets.

3. Since there are fewer than eight (8) “true” #1 teams, a modified allocation formula will be applied to determine the additional #1 teams. The modified allocation formula will be based upon the number of schools participating in each District/combined District.

3a. The additional #1 teams will then be drawn to fill in as the home team for Games 1-4 and then Games 5-8.

4. The remaining teams will then be drawn as the visiting teams for Games 1-8.

5. No two (2) teams from the same District shall play against each other in the first round.