The Best of the Best #2 (tie): 2010
Whatcom County high schools have produced some amazing basketball seasons, but of those 100-plus years of state championship seasons and all the other great successes at state tournaments, which years were the best for the county as a whole?
Well, we at www.whatcomhoops.com came up with our top 12 greatest years of boys basketball. Why 12? Because a top 10 just wasn’t enough.
Before you start arguing with our picks, remember that any time you pick the “best” or “greatest” you have to be somewhat subjective. That is really true when looking at seasons that span more than a century of changes.
For example, from the first state tournament in 1923 until 1957, our county’s schools, both big and small, almost always competed in the one “big” state tournament that included all the big-city teams. It may be no coincidence that we had to wait until the new Class A tournament for smaller schools was formed in 1958 for our first state title.
Then there’s the fact that we have more schools now — 12 — than we had for most of the past 100 years, and they are competing in four different classifications (3A, 2A, 1A and 1B). So it’s easier for more teams in the 21st century to qualify and place at state than it was in the 20th century.
Finally, this is not meant to rank the greatest teams or even best tournaments, which would be completely subjective (and maybe we’ll do that sometime in the future).
Our goal was to rank the county’s best years by looking at all the county teams’ accomplishments, particularly their state finishes. The only accomplishment we required to be eligible for the top 10 was that at least one county team had to have won a state championship that year.
And now, let’s count down the top 12 years for Whatcom County boys basketball:
#2 (tie)
2010
A case can be made for both 2007 and 2010 to share the top spot in our rankings. Each had a state champion, a record five state placers (including a state runner-up) and a record six state qualifiers. In 2010, the champion was Squalicum in 2A. The return of injured all-stater Keith Stackhouse to a lineup with four other talented seniors completed a two-year run with the second of the Storm’s back-to-back titles and a 53-2 record. Also in the 2A tourney, Spencer Backstrom led a balanced Mount Baker squad that bounced back from a 1-6 start to take fifth at state, and Ryan Seto led Lynden to a sixth-place trophy. The year’s biggest surprise was the second-place finish of Meridian in the 1A tourney. Led by Josiah Sebens, the Trojans had their best-ever finish at state. Nooksack Valley added an eighth-place finish in 1A behind Kyle Impero, and Lummi Nation was that year’s sixth state qualifier, but did not place in the 1B tourney.
