Lee: NWC boys, Freeman girls rolling

The Associated Press’ first boys and girls basketball rankings last week had a distinct Eastern Washington flavor.

In six of the 12 polls, area teams sat atop their respective classifications.

Those six teams – Central Valley girls (4A), Freeman girls (1A), Reardan girls (2B), Colton girls (1B), Northwest Christian boys (2B) and Colton boys (1B) – will surely be in the mix for state championships come early March.

I caught up with two of the top-ranked teams – the Northwest Christian boys and Freeman girls – this week.

When Ray Ricks took over at NWC 12 years ago, his first order of business was a meeting with parents.

He explained his expectations. Chiefly among those was a commitment to an AAU program.

“Obviously, you’ve got to have athletes. That’s a big piece of it,” Ricks said. “I sat down with the parents and said if you want to be competitive, you have to be committed to an AAU program and travel around.”

The boys in kindergarten that year have reached the high school.

“I’m having a blast coaching these days,” Ricks said.

No wonder. Ricks has an overall record of 244-45 since 2001. Going back to 2004 when the Crusaders lost in the State 1A final, they’re 196-19. And more recently, in the span that includes five state titles in six years, NWC is 144-12.

Chase Ramey was synonymous with the four-peat (2006-09). His younger brother, Cole, was a pivotal player last year when the Crusaders returned to state after being eliminated at district the year before.

In the middle of things this season are 6-foot-6 senior Kwinn Hanson, 6-8 senior Reuben Clark and 6-0 junior guard Dakota Winward. NWC is 14-0 overall and has won 24 straight dating back to last season.

Hanson, AP’s state player of the year last season, is averaging a team-leading 20.5 points and seven rebounds in his third year as a starter. Clark, also a three-year starter, is averaging 14.3 points and six rebounds and Winward, a two-year starter, is averaging 14.5 points.

“This year’s team, to be honest, is the most overall athletic team I’ve had, and they have the highest offensive output that I’ve coached,” said Ricks, an NWC graduate who is also the school’s principal.

Ricks has changed NWC’s offensive style this year. In the 2006-09 era, NWC featured a controlled, low-possession attack.

“My wife says it was boring,” Ricks said. “We’ve turned them loose a little bit.”

Over at Freeman, coach Ashlee Taylor-Nimri is in her fourth year at her alma mater. Her Scotties (16-0) have the region’s longest winning streak at 39. It started with 23 straight wins to end the season a year ago.

Taylor-Nimri believes in conditioning. She has a physical therapist come to practice two or three times a week.

She’s eight wins away from 100. The Scotties have just three losses under her.

Freeman returned four starters this season – seniors Alyssa Maine and Emily Paukert, junior Molly McIntyre and sophomore Sierra McGarity – along with last year’s first player off the bench, sophomore Katie Vold, who is starting this season. Senior Danny Cossey, who started earlier in the year, has filled the sixth spot.

“We’re just starting to find ourselves,” said Taylor-Nimri, who admitted that sounded strange for an undefeated team. “They’re finally starting to play better even though we’ve won every game. We didn’t play as well as I expected.”