Hard work pays off
Bryan Peterson knows the exact point where the West Valley High School boys basketball season turned and the team decided it was going to win.
The Eagles, a perennial power during their years in the Greater Spokane League, entered their first season in the Class 2A Great Northern League as an unknown – a team starting from scratch after graduating most of its roster a year ago.
With just one player entering the season with varsity experience, the team dropped its first game to Idaho power Coeur d’Alene, then bounced back to knock off Post Falls and Moscow.
On a December night in Sandpoint, the Eagles dropped a two-point decision to a team that would eventually finish 9-14.
“Our coaches were pretty mad about that one,” the junior wing said. “And they were right to be. That was a game we never should have lost to a team we never should have lost to. You could tell they were, maybe, a .500 team at best, and we made them look good.”
When West Valley returned to the practice room, the team started the season over.
“We did a lot of running, we worked on the basics,” Peterson said. “We basically started from scratch and decided to get serious about the season. After that, we went on a pretty good run. We won 12 in a row after that.”
GNL runner-up Pullman put the only blemish on West Valley’s league record with a 62-51 victory on the Greyhounds home court.
The Eagles defeated Medical Lake 57-42 Thursday in a District 7 2A playoff game and raised their record to 18-3. In the latest Associated Press basketball rankings, the Eagles are sixth. Longview’s undefeated Mark Morris is ranked No. 1, followed by Lynden, Burlington-Edison, Wapato, Hockinson and Grandview.
What’s more, there are two West Valley basketball teams in the postseason: The Eagles girls knocked off Medical Lake, 58-53, in a first-round game Wednesday at West Valley.
“It’s pretty exciting around here these days,” Peterson said. “There’s a lot of excitement around basketball. It’s probably the sport we get the most excited about here, and to have the girls in the playoffs makes it that much more interesting.”
The boys squad had their traditional team meal the night before their playoff game Wednesday, then capped it off by cheering on the girls squad.
The 2006-07 Eagles may have been shy on varsity experience, Peterson said, but they were honed by standout competition against last year’s 21-6 team that placed eighth at the Class 3A tournament.
In fact, West Valley placed in three of the past four Class 3A state tournaments. The previous trophy-winning teams both finished their seasons with 23-4 records.
“There’s a tradition in this program of playing well,” Peterson said. “We’re very aware of that and we intend to continue it.”
When you grow up in the West Valley system, he added, you play against solid competition whether you’re on the varsity or not.
“Most of us played together on the junior varsity,” Peterson said. “We played against last year’s varsity every day in practice. They kicked our butts every night, but it made us get better – we had to get better so we could make them better.
“Our coaches like it when we get after the varsity and push them hard. When you play against that kind of competition, it makes you better. After playing against them all last year it was pretty easy to make the transition to playing varsity.”
That experience will pay dividends in the postseason, Peterson said.
“You have to take your game to the next level in the playoffs,” he said. “We saw how last year’s team did it. They showed us how.”
Playing in the Great Northern League has been a new experience, he said.
“The GSL was more of a friendly league,” he explained. “We got after each other, but it was different. Now, when we go into a gym to play a team, it’s as if we’re taking on their whole town. It’s a different experience.”
What’s not new for Peterson is his role as a scorer – a role he’s always managed to fill at each level.
This year he’s averaged more than 16 points per game, with a season-high, 27-point effort coming against Colville.
“I don’t like to have to create my own shot,” Peterson said. “That’s what I like about this offense. You don’t have to. All I need to do is sit back and let the game come to me. That’s how we play best, when everyone is filling their role.”