Looking for breakout year

By Dean Wong

In boy's basketball, the Ballard Beavers will rely on a strong inside game combined with tough defense as they open the new KingCo season.

"We are ready to get rolling. We had a good week of practice. The kids are excited. We are moving in the right direction," said third year head coach Billy Rodgers.

Last year the team was 5-10 in KingCo and 8-10 overall with wins over Woodinville (twice), Juanita, Rogers, Cascade, Ingraham, Roosevelt and Redmond.

Ballard was second in the league in defense. "It's one of our most consistent areas. We have been super defensively. We need to, the league is so good," said Rodgers.

"We will once again feature solid interior play from our post players, allowing us the ability to rebound and defend the top teams in the league," said Rodgers.

Offensively, the Beavers have more work to do. "We expect that it will take some time to develop our offense as a whole, but we hope that we will be able to play at a fast pace that our fans will enjoy," said Rodgers.

Post players John Barnes, a sophomore and Berhanu MeKonnen, a junior will be counted on to anchor the middle.

Barnes was named to the KingCo Honorable Mention list for his play as a freshman a year ago. During the off season, he was tutored by former Beaver and University of Washington star Michael Johnson.

Barnes grew an inch and is now 6 feet five inches tall. He has become quicker and stronger. Coaches want him to shoot more from the perimeter this season and run the court.

Rodgers says senior Joey Bolinger, the football team's starting quarterback and Lee Richardson will also contribute in the post. "Our strength is on the inside," said Rodgers.

The inside game will complement the outside game. "With four solid inside players, all strong physically, it opens up space for Eric Taylor and Ben Wilson to operate," said Rodgers.

Taylor, a junior, is the team's point guard. "He started every game last year. He made varsity as a freshman. As Eric goes, we go," said Rodgers.

This year the coaches have asked Taylor to score more, to offset the loss of All-KingCo player Nigel Peter-Denman to graduation.

Wilson, a senior, didn't play a lot last season but has made progress during the team's training camp.

Senior Jimmy Mirante is one of the top Beavers on defense. "We are looking for him to have a breakout year," said Rodgers.

The rest of the Ballard roster includes: juniors Nolan Kozu, Dylan Peterson, Taylor Rausch; sophomore Kegan Lucas; and senior Cameron Meratina.

"Our ultimate goal is always to qualify for the KingCo playoffs, which we believe is within reach if we are well prepared and ready to compete every night. This will be accomplished through our focus on good character, a great work ethic and the development of solid fundamentals," said Rodgers.

Ballard takes on Lakeside in a non-league game on Saturday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. at Ballard. Next after that is another home game with Woodinville on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.

The assistant head coach this year is Derek Fulwiler. The assistants are Ron Newton, Steve Boyd, Keven Wynkoop, John Nygaard, Marques Chinn and Gary Smith.