Seniors will take final curtain call

There’s still one more chance for the area’s best high school seniors to lace up their basketball shoes and show off their skills on the court.

It’s time for Sports Beyond’s second-annual West Sound Senior All-Star basketball games .

“There’s some great kids, and there’s been a good response to it,” said event founder Rick Walker. “Every year it gets more recognition and gets bigger.”

The girls get the festivities going Tuesday in the Olympic College Bremer Student Center Gym with the hot shot and 3-point shooting competition at 5:30 p.m., followed by their game at 6.

The boys’ contests are scheduled for 7 p.m. with tipoff at 7:30. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students, seniors and kids under 6.

The boys’ game, at least on paper, looks like another high-scoring affair in which the only local notable not participating is Bremerton phenom Marvin Williams, who is slated to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game (March 31 in Oklahoma City) and the EA Sports Roundball Classic (March 24 in Chicago.)

NCAA rules state college-bound players are limited to only two all-star games a year if they want to remain eligible.

Even without Williams, there are plenty of marquee players left to go around.

“There’s a lot of height and I’m sure we’ll see some dunks the younger crowd wants to see,” said Walker, noting there’s more talent on both boys teams. “And there’s good shooters outside where a lot of guys that can hit the ball from 3-point range.”

At practice on Tuesday night, even some of the players couldn’t believe all the talent on the floor.

“It’s going to be different,” point guard Chester Thomas said. “When I throw up the ball there could be three guys jumping for it at the basket. I’m used to just throwing it to Brendan (Campbell).”

Playing on the Puget Sound team, Thomas (5.6 assists per game) not only will have Campbell (14.3 points per game) to throw to, but also CK’s Brice Brooks (18.3), Bainbridge’s Schuyler Boone (14.6), Gig Harbor’s “Baseline Bill” Forelli and Port Angeles’ Scott Helpenstell (15.4).

It’ll be up to the sizeable Cascade front court of South Kitsap tandem Jacob Beitinger and Adam Bennett and Shelton’s Bill Richardson, who all come in at about 6 foot 8 inches tall, to stop the Sound’s inside game.

The Cascades have the edge in the backcourt with King’s West’s Jesse Reeves (13.4 ppg, 5.1 assists), Bremerton’s Phil Houston, Klahowya’s Ryan McElwee (15.6 ppg, 5.6 rebounds) and North Kitsap’s Garrett McKinstry (11.4 ppg, 3.5 assists.)

The girls’ game is equally intriguing as the Puget Sound Team’s roster has Bainbridge’s dynamic duo of Alice Russell and Morgan Zajonc who combined for 42 points in their team’s fourth-place clinching win in the state Class 3A title. Gig Harbor’s Leslie Rodriguez comes in with a 12.4 ppg average and teammate Kelli Milham brings her 10.1 rebounding average.

Look for Milham to bang around on the inside with Cascade’s Loni Tostenrude from South Kitsap. Tostenrude led all West Sounders in rebounds at 10.5 a game as well as a averaging 12.9 points.

The Cascades also have scoring threats in King’s West’s Taryn Hanley (15.2 ppg) SK’s Leah Bradley (11.2) and Port Angeles’ Trish Buckingham (13.1).

“This year should just be as competitive as last year because there’s some scorers out there,” Olympic College womens coach Rick Peters said. “I’m anxious to see what happens because there also are some good defenders.”

Proposed rosters

Due to player availability, organizer Rick Walker said the final rosters won’t be set until right before game time. Here’s how they were planned out as of Thursday.

Boys

Cascade Team

Phil Houston Bremerton

Ben Dyer King’s West

Ryan McElwee Klahowya

Cody Fisher Klahowya

Garrett McKinstry North Kitsap

Dustin Hannafious North Mason

Nate Rosa North Mason

Kyle Turner Peninsula

Bill Richardson Shelton

Colby Brewer Shelton

Jacob Beitinger South Kitsap

Adam Bennett South Kitsap

Coach — Peter Stewart, Peninsula College

Puget Sound Team

Mark Korsak Bainbridge

Schuyler Boone Bainbridge

Brice Brooks Central Kitsap

Sam Weller Central Kitsap

Jeff Acres Central Kitsap

Bill Forelli Gig Harbor

Chester Thomas Olympic

Jeff Shaw Olympic

Brendan Campbell Olympic

Scott Helpenstell Port Angeles

Brady Marunde Sequim

James Brabant Sequim

Matt Finitzer Sequim

Coach — Billy Landram, Olympic College

Girls

Cascade Team

Taryn Hanley King’s West

Sunny O’Brien King’s West

Betsie Parker King’s West

Amanda Hart King’s West

Loni Tostenrude South Kitsap

Jamie McLean South Kitsap

Leah Bradley South Kitsap

Aimee Carroll Central Kitsap

Sarah Bussell Port Angeles

Trish Buckingham Port Angeles

Shakira Dixon Olympic

Lindsay Neste Olympic

Coach — Julie Stewart, Peninsula College

Puget Sound Team

Alice Russell Bainbridge

Morgan Zajonc Bainbridge

Haley Wiggins Bainbridge

Michelle Pegues Bremerton

Latonya Grettenberger  Bremerton

Leslie Rodriguez Gig Harbor

Kelli Milham Gig Harbor

Becky Larsen Gig Harbor

Brenda Stice North Kitsap

Vanessa Sinclair North Mason

Christina Vernon Shelton

Shannon Bolender Shelton

Coach — Rick Peters, Olympic College

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.