Sidelines

Is it too early to start talking about next Tuesday’s boys basketball game between No. 1 Federal Way and No. 6 Kentwood? The defending state champs playing against the best center in the the state — 6-foot-10, UCLA-bound Josh Smith.

This showdown (7 p.m., Dec. 8 at KW) will be huge in determining the champion of the South Puget Sound League North Division and will be an early indicator at the favorite to win the 2010 Class 4A state championship. Federal Way enters the game as the top-ranked team in Washington and the 45th-ranked team in the nation, according to ESPN Rise. They are also the defending state champions.

But Smith and Kentwood have been getting a lot of attention during the offseason, despite not qualifying for the last two state tournaments. The Conquerors will be playing at the 2009 T-Mobile Invitational Dec. 29-30 in Birmingham, Ala. Kentwood will be joined at the tounament by the state champions from Texas, Yates, Alabama state champ, Butler, and Florida power, Winter Park High School. The tournament will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports Network.

Kentwood will also play another nationally-television game when they take on Portland’s Jefferson High School on Feb. 2. The game will be on ESPN. Federal Way will also take on Jefferson, the defending Oregon state champions, at the King Holiday Hoopfest. That game will be television locally on Fox Sports.

But all that other stuff will go out the window when Tuesday’s game tips off.

A few things I’m interested in finding out in this game …

The Eagles are better than they were last year. I know it’s hard to believe, but I think it’s the case. I know they won the program’s first-ever state championship last season, but they didn’t have all their guns firing until the state tournament. Isiah Umipig wasn’t 100 percent healthy all season and the 6-foot guard is a huge difference maker for the Eagles. When healthy, Umipig is one of the most complete guards in the state. He can do it all on the basketball court — pass, score, shoot, play defense, even rebound. And he does it in effortless fashion.

The Eagles certainly looked better in their season-opening 110-85 throttling of ninth-ranked Lincoln. Yes, 110 points folks. That’s a number Federal Way didn’t reach all of last year. And the Eagles did it against a very good Lincoln team. Very impressive.
Also added to the mix is the 6-foot-3 Tyrell Lewis, who transferred to Federal Way from Mount Rainier. Lewis does things similar to Andre Barrington from last year’s team. He plays physical defense, is a freakish athlete and can also score.
And I haven’t even mentioned Cole Dickerson yet. The 6-foot-6 silky smooth forward led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding a season ago, despite being a junior. The University of San Francisco-bound senior started the season with 29 points against Lincoln.

Kentwood did beat Federal Way last season, which was one of only two losses the Eagles suffered. But you have to look closer at the 52-50 Kentwood win.

Federal Way played most of the game without Dickerson, who was suffering from the flu and only managed two points before heading to the bench. Also, Umipig was in his first week back from an ankle injury and had only three points against Kentwood.

Federal Way was also playing at the King Holiday Hoopfest two days later against Decatur, which was a humongous game last year because of numerous factors like Michael Hale transferring and the two schools not being in the same division anymore. They were also No. 1 and 2 in the state at the time and playing at the University of Washington, which added to the intensity of the game.

So the Eagles could have been looking a little ahead during the loss. Federal Way did beat Kentwood the two other times they played last year.

For Kentwood, it should also come down to the play of their guards.  Will they  take the open shot or try and force the ball down low to Smith?
We all know what Smith is going to deliver … around 25 points, 15 rebounds, a few blocks and four or five rim-rattling dunks. What got the Conquerors in trouble at times last year, however, was when they tried to force the ball into Smith, who often was double and triple-teamed, which is exactly what will happen Tuesday against Federal Way.

On a side note, Tuesday’s game will also give Umipig the ability to talk a little junk to Smith. Umipig’s future college basketball program at Cal State Fullerton beat Smith’s future home, UCLA, in both teams’ opener this season at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles earlier this year.
I’d love to hear some thoughts on those planning on attending. It should be fun.