Team Spotlight: Eastside Catholic
Eastside Catholic has become a contender in the 3A classification, and it sort of happened overnight. Prior to 2014, when they made it all the way to the state championship before losing to Rainier Beach, they had never made the…
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Continue ReadingEastside Catholic has become a contender in the 3A classification, and it sort of happened overnight. Prior to 2014, when they made it all the way to the state championship before losing to Rainier Beach, they had never made the 3A state tournament. Eastside went on to finish 3rd the following year before failing to qualify the next two seasons. Last season, the Crusaders returned to the postseason where they took 6th. Losing to eventual champions Garfield High School in the semis. Even with a disappointing finish last season, the Crusaders are just getting started.
The culture at Eastside has always been about hard work and team first. Third year head coach, Brent Merritt is determined to build on the already rich culture. Coach Merritt brings an abundance of basketball knowledge and experience. Brent Merritt played basketball and ran track at the University of Washington from 1989-91. After a successful career playing for the Huskies, Merritt played 11 seasons as a professional basketball player in Brazil. He has coaching experience from Garfield High School, where they won back-to-back state championships. He also coached at Lakes High School in Tacoma, and Ingraham High School. The one thing that drives these Crusaders is competition. “Competition. You have to compete.” said assistant coach James Macintyre. “Competition is a big part of what we do here, Brent makes sure we are always competing.” From watching one of their practices, it is a very competitive atmosphere. From one-on-one to boxout drills, these guys get after it. With the gym echoing with players communicating to each other, no ones voice is louder then coach Merritt. From encouraging statements to trash talking his player, he knows how to gets the most out of his guys.
Most high school teams would struggle putting their starters against their second and third string guys as the talent level dips as you go down the roster. Not Eastside Catholic. They have multiple bodies at every position. Which is a luxury that the coaching staff is well aware of. “We feel comfortable starting any one of our 13 guys. We have that next man up mentality” said assistant James Macintyre. With a loaded depth chart, the Crusaders will be a problem for the foreseeable future as they only have four seniors on their roster.
High school standouts such as Shane Nowell, Nolan Hickman and football phenom, Jaylahn (JT) Tuimoloau all being sophomores, sky is the limit. As these studs lead the way for Eastside, its really the supporting cast that makes this team go.
Griffin Barker: The skilled big man, is the lone senior starter for the Crusaders. At 6’6, Barker is physical on the low block which puts a lot of pressure on the opposing teams front court. He is a good passer from the high post and has a high basketball IQ. This allows the team to run their offense through him. The combination of Barker and JT is overwhelming for opponents, as these two force you to play in the half court. If you had to point out one guy as the leader, Griffin would be the one you would look to. Coaches raved about his defense also. “He is the quarterback of our defense. He sees the whole floor and communicates extremely well.”
Syon Blackman: The ultimate glue guy. Syon is a do it all guard who makes his presence felt particularly on the defensive end. “He brings great energy every night” one coach said about the 6’1 junior. His quick feet and strong frame makes Blackman the primary defender for the Crusaders. Syon excels at getting to the rim and finishing through contact. He is great in the mid-range and is an above average stand still three point shooter. In his first season in a starting role, Blackman will have plenty of opportunity to showcase his skills as he has improved every season.
Chika Nduka: Chika is the backup big but is a major contributor to the teams success. He is the tough guy, the garbage man. And I mean that in a great way. Coach Merritt would describe him as a self motivated competitor. “He wants to guard the other team best player. Its hard to keep him off the floor.” While Barker and JT are bigger and more powerful down low, Nduka can get out and run and is a more versatile defender. His ability to block shots and rebound above the rim makes him a perfect compliment to the other big man in the stable.
Issac Ticeson: The forth sophomore returner is Issac Ticeson. If you watch him you can just see the potential. Coach Merritt knows what his young forward is capable of and he makes sure Issac knows too. “You can see the potential oozing out of him. I stay on him everyday” said Merritt. The versatile wing is a Swiss army knife. He can guard four positions and is an underrated rebounder. Ticeson has a good midrange jumper and uses his length to finish well at the rim. Issac is the younger brother of junior forward Silas Ticeson, who is fresh off winning a football state championship. These two bring great versatility at the forward position causing matchup problems for opponents but creates easy switching opportunities for the Crusaders.
Along with backup point guards Christian Lake and Grant Hunt who bring their lunch pail to work every night. Grant is an underclassmen who is an absolute pitbull and will pick up for 94 feet. Grant hasn’t even sniffed the surface of his potential according to the coaching staff. Whereas Lake is a senior who has an all around game. He can knock down the three with consistency and will take on the toughest defensive assignment.
Eastside Catholic has started the season 2-0. Opening the season against a respectable Foss High School squad, who they blew out of the water by almost 40 points. And put down Metro league opponent Roosevelt on Tuesday by 20.
Tuesday was a great example of this teams depth. “Our depth is probably the best we’ve ever had.” Said coach Merritt when asked about his team strengths after the Roosevelt game. “Everybody knows their role. I have a team full of guys, including JV who have been in the program so long, its easy to fill that next role.”
In a game where Shane got into early foul trouble and Nolan didn’t shoot the ball well, Eastside had no problem keeping Roosevelt at bay. Despite 21 first half points from sharpshooting wing Kyle Luttinen. JT lead the way with 19, followed by Shane who put in 15. Issac and Barker both put in 10 a piece.
At this early point in the season, all be it two games, the Crusaders look dominant. They will try to keep the ball rolling when they visit 2A contender, Renton High School tonight.
The Eastside Catholic Crusaders are young but battle tested. They have the unique combination of size and speed and they have all bought into the team concept. It appears that they have the ‘formula’ you need to win state but with a young group, you can’t look too far ahead. If they can keep it all together, it will be extremely difficult to slow this team down come post season.