At the start of league play, it’s sometimes easy to be fooled by non-league records.
One team may have a really good win-loss record, but might actually be not as strong as another team with a much less impressive record. It’s all about the strength of the schedule each team has faced and other circumstances around their non-league schedule.
So when I looked at the 4A Greater St. Helens League boys basketball teams, it was hard not to be impressed with their non-league records.
First, there’s defending league champion Union, coming off a runner-up finish at state last year. The Titans are a solid 9-3.
Then there’s Camas, which sits at 10-2 after running off eight straight wins to open the season.
And finally, there’s the Skyview Storm, which will enter league play this season at a very impressive 12-0.
All three are in the top eight of the WIAA’s RPI rankings, topped by Skyview at No. 2.
Having not yet seen any of these teams in person this season, I had to ask — just how good are the boys teams in the 4A GSHL this season?
I found the perfect person to ask in Columbia River coach David Long. Long’s Chieftains are off to a pretty solid start themselves at Class 2A with an 8-2 record after going 3-0 at last week’s Lake City Invitational in Idaho.
River’s two losses have come to Skyview and Camas, so Coach Long, how good is Skyview?
“That’s the best team they’ve had at Skyview … ever,” Long said.
Long would know. River and Skyview are neighborhood rivals, and the Chieftains and Storm have faced off every year since Skyview opened. The Storm beat River 67-59 on Dec. 15.
And Camas? The Papermakers beat River 61-56 in overtime on Dec. 13.
“Well,” Long paused for a moment. “Don’t get me wrong. Camas is a really good team, and we had a heck of game with them. It’s just that we felt we let that one get away from us. We had a breakdown and let them score the tying basket on an inbounds with one second left on the shot clock.”
That’s some good insight. The results tell us more.
Skyview beat two solid California teams and defending Oregon 5A champ Wilsonville in winning the Capitol City Classic in Salem, Ore., and the Storm beat a very good Curtis team 63-58 on Saturday.
Not to be outdone, Camas also has a win over Curtis, beating the Vikings 55-51 on their home floor at the Curtis Holiday Tournament. The Papermakers also beat defending 2A champion Foss and took defending 4A champion Kentwood to overtime before falling 60-54 on Thursday.
The other team Camas lost to was Stanwood, also at the Curtis Tournament. Union posted a 63-57 win at Stanwood on Dec. 9.
Put that all together, and it looks like a great season for 4A GSHL boys basketball. We’ll find out pretty quick. Skyview opens league Wednesday at Camas. Then on Friday, the Storm host Union.
And let’s not forget about Long’s Chieftains. The consensus is that the race in the 2A GSHL is between River and perennial league power Mark Morris. But we also learned last season that there are no nights off in the 2A GSHL for boys basketball teams.
The Chieftains will learn that when they open league Thursday at home against Woodland. Then comes the first showdown with Mark Morris on Saturday at River.
And speaking of no nights off, that’s what teams will find in the 3A GSHL for boys basketball. League play opens Wednesday with Prairie at Evergreen, Kelso at Hudson’s Bay, and Mountain View at Fort Vancouver. All should be good games.
Now over on the girls’ side of things, the league races don’t look nearly as compelling. At least from non-league results, it looks like there is clear separation between the top team in most of our area leagues and the rest of the pack.
The exception should be the 2A GSHL where Mark Morris and Washougal should battle it out, with Woodland, Hockinson and Columbia River looking to challenge.
That’s how it looks right now. We’ll learn more this week.
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep editor for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com, on Twitter @360TMart.
