It’s officially basketball season in Federal Way.
And that’s actually a pretty big deal in this city. High school basketball is king, and queen, as far as sports go in Federal Way. Beamer, Decatur, Federal Way and Thomas Jefferson kicked off practice Nov. 15 and will start their preseason schedules next week.
The Federal Way High School girls program is stacked again this year and has the look of a big-time, state championship contender. The Eagles are looking to head back to the Tacoma Dome for the third year in a row and hope to win the South Puget Sound League’s third Class 4A title in a row. Kentwood won the 2009 title and Auburn Riverside won last season.
Federal Way basically returns its entire roster from a squad that entered last season as the top-ranked team in Washington — something that should happen again this year.
Leading the list of returners is the 6-foot-2 Talia Walton, who signed to play at the University of Washington earlier this month. Walton averaged 12.8 points a game and led the SPSL in rebounding during the regular season by grabbing 11.8 per game. Walton also led the league in blocked shots.
Also back for Federal Way are guards Brittany Barrington (8.5 points, 8.8 rebounds a game), Darah Huertas-Vining (14.6 points, 4 assists), Chantel Dixon (6.6 points) and Dyesha Belhumeur (6.6 points, 7.1 rebounds), along with senior post players TyShana Burgess and Jaleecia Roland. Burgess was leading the Eagles in scoring at 15.4 a game before academic issues allowed her to only play in eight games. Roland, a 6-footer, played in just 11 games before an injury and was scoring 6.2 points and grabbing 10.4 rebounds a game.
On the boys’ side, the district lost a lot of “star power” from a season ago. Gone are a pair of Division I signees from Federal Way in Isiah Umipig and Cole Dickerson. The two led the Eagles to the school’s first-ever state championship in 2009, and also to a second-place trophy in 2008 and a third-place finish last season.
Umipig is averaging 10 points in his first three game at Cal State Fullerton and Dickerson tallied four points for the University of San Francisco in a win over Seattle University last week.
Beamer and Decatur will also be without a pair of future Division I players with the departures of Kevin Davis and Jordan McCloud.
The 6-foot-8 Davis is currently playing at Tacoma CC, but has already committed to join the University of Washington in 2011. McCloud, a Decatur grad, inked with Seattle U last spring.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be impressive basketball being played in Federal Way this season.
At first glance, Decatur looks like the team with the best shot at winning an SPSL title. But the Gators will be doing it as a Class 3A school and playing against teams they have never seen before.
Portland State-signee Jerron Smith was a first-team, All-SPSL selection last season after leading Decatur in scoring at 20.9 points a game. In the past two seasons, Smith has scored in double figures in 58 of 60 games. He tallied 30 or more points five times last year and should become Decatur’s all-time leading scorer this season.
The Gators, however, will be playing without two-year starter Terrell Williams. The point guard transferred to Mount Rainier for his senior season.
Like most years, Federal Way High School should be in the mix atop the SPSL South Division, thanks to a pair of transfers in Napa Mefi and Deshea Bell. Mefi is Beamer’s all-time leading scorer and averaged 17 points a game last season for the Titans. Bell led Kennedy Catholic in scoring a year ago at 21 points a game.
But longtime coach Jerome Collins will surround Mefi and Bell with a very young and talented roster, including four freshmen led by DeeShawn Tucker.
The Beamer and Thomas Jefferson boys programs should be in for a little rebuilding this season. Both teams lost nearly all of their scoring from a year ago and will be breaking in several new players.
It’s going to be a fun season on the basketball courts for all Federal Way teams. The SPSL season kicks off Dec. 3.
