By AARON MANAGHAN
Sports editor
The Klahowya Eagles didn’t waste any time getting the 2007-08 boys basketball season started.
Klahowya kicked off the season Monday with an exciting loss to Central Kitsap 68-62. While most teams would at least have a day in between, the Eagles were back out on the court Tuesday, thumping Chimacum 62-32.
“It’s OK,” Klahowya coach Scott McMinds said. “It gets us in shape. It’s tough to go two nights back to back but one thing it does is it gets us in shape.”
After a 2006-07 season that saw Klahowya finish 10-10 overall and advance to the West Central District tourney, the Eagles got a taste for success.
Now they’re hungry.
“It’s a good start to the season,” senior Chris Zumdieck said of the 1-1 start. “This year, it’s more like we’re expected to go. We expect to win.”
And while that change of attitude has been a breath of fresh air at the school, McMinds said the time is now to back it up.
“I think that we’re definitely building,” McMinds said. “It’s great to have a successful year like we had last year, but we start fresh. What I told the guys yesterday was, ‘We’re at ground zero. We have to earn everything we get.’ One thing I really appreciate about these guys is they are hard workers.”
And as McMinds said, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get back this season. That’s where games and situations like the Eagles began with will pay off.
“(Tuesday) was a mental test just as much as it was a physical test,” McMinds said. “We played pretty hard (Monday) and expended a lot of energy. Coming out tonight we were a little sluggish.”
But the Eagles still found a way to win — by 30.
“It’s great to win,” McMinds said. “But I told the guys, I was more proud of the effort (Monday) than (Tuesday). Not to say anything bad about Chimacum, but we have to get better. We’ve got to stay hungry because we face some tough teams this year.”
In Monday’s opener, the Eagles fell behind 20-5 at the end of the first quarter, a CK lead that grew to 17 at the half. But 2A Klahowya outscored the 4A Cougars 43-32 in the second half to close the gap, led my Andre Moore’s 18 points. Caleb Leavitt, who came back this season slimmed down, added 16 in the near-loss.
Against Chimacum, the Eagles were led by Zumdieck’s 16, as well as 14 from Moore and 13 from Leavitt.
The Eagles were able to keep the pace fast, running and gunning all over the overmatched 1A Cowboys. Zumdieck said with the team’s limited height, the gameplan is to keep things running — a lot.
“Just run, find the open man and get easy shots. We don’t want to settle for threes,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of size. So we make up for that with our speed and quickness.”
When asked if he thought the team looked comfortable in the up-tempo offense, McMinds was straight to the point.
“It better be cause we’re not big,” he said smiling. “Chris is our tallest guy and he was our point guard last year.”
At 6 feet, 4 inches, Zumdieck is indeed the tallest Eagle. Last year, the Eagles were able to rely on 6’5” John Rarig and sharpshooter Kyle Spoon. As a result, McMinds said the team is still figuring out its best plan of attack.
“I told a couple guys, and I was telling (CK coach) Tim Fryer, we’re still trying to find our identity,” McMinds said. “Losing guys like John Rarig and Kyle Spoon, we’re still searching for who we are, how to make the best game plan to utilize the talents we have.”
And with a tough Olympic League, the Eagles know they’ll have to find the answer to that question.
“Our league is stacked,” McMinds said. “On any given night, anyone could win. I hope we’re in the mix. I think we can be.”
While Moore and Zumdieck figure to lead the Eagles offensively on most nights, Leavitt too will often find himself in double-figure scoring.
“He trimmed down a little bit,” McMinds said. “He’s getting his shot off a little faster.”
With a new point guard in North Mason transfer Darell Newman, McMinds thinks the team can be dynamic.
“Darell is a great asset. He’s a great passer and he can shoot,” McMinds said. “He came in right after the football season from North Mason and came to every open gym. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of it.”
But the Eagles, despite the school’s long-standing rivalry with the Bulldogs, wasted no time in making Newman feel at home.
“The guys were very generous and welcoming,” McMinds said. “He stepped in and made friends pretty much right away. He fit in well, but they were also accepting.”
If anything, it gives the Eagles more incentive to take down their rivals.
“Yeah,” McMinds said. “He already knows he’s gonna have a target on his back when we get there.”
Klahowya heads north for a 7 p.m. game tonight against North Kitsap. Last year, the Eagles stunned NK with a 71-69 win.
