SHORELINE — The King’s boys basketball team has come so close twice.
The Knights have made it to back-to-back 1A state championship games, and they have finished second both times.
This year, King’s is hoping maybe the third time is the charm.
“It’s definitely motivation for me,” said King’s sophomore Corey Kispert. “The last two years we’ve gotten second place. It’s definitely extra motivation having been there and been on the wrong side of things.”
King’s head coach Rick Skeen made it to three state championship games with Burlington-Edison before becoming the Knights’ coach four seasons ago. In his career, Skeen is 0-5 in title games.
He just shrugs it off.
“It’s not about me. It’s funny because a lot of people think it is,” Skeen said. “… It’s about the kids. If I’m ever lucky enough to be part of a group that wins it all, it doesn’t change the other ones. The kids that graduated last year, or the year before — or the kids I had in Burlington — they still got second and this doesn’t change that.
“At the end of the day I’d love to win — I’m a competitive person and I don’t like to lose — but it’s about the kids and about their experience. I’ve heard them say things like, ‘Do it for coach.’ I told them I’ll love them the same whether they win three this week or lose two.”
In their first trip to the Yakima SunDome, King’s was a bit of an underdog, upsetting a few teams on its way to the championship game on Saturday. Last year, more teams knew about the Knights, who lost to Zillah 52-46 in the title game.
This season, as the No. 2-ranked team in 1A, no one is overlooking King’s.
“I don’t know if ‘pressure’ is the right word, but there’s a lot more preparation that goes into it just knowing you have a target on your back and everyone’s going to take their shots at you,” said senior forward Calvin Kispert. “But that just makes more motivation to prove that you deserve it.”
For Calvin Kispert and Noah Bundrant, two of the Knights’ eight seniors, there’s a sense of urgency in their final games at King’s.
“We want it more than we ever have,” Bundrant said, “and we’ve been working really hard to get there.”
Kispert, Bundrant — a first-team, all-league selection — and other seniors including Andrew Ayers, Brett Jones, David Barhanovich, Matt Royal, Josh Alexander and Chris Martin embrace whatever role is needed to help the Knights succeed.
“I always say talent is the No. 1 thing,” Skeen said. “You’ve got to have kids that can shoot, pass and dribble and we’ve got a lot of them here. But then it takes buying into the program and unselfishness. We have a lot of kids that I think could play way bigger roles, score way more points at most schools in the county and are willingly coming off the bench and accepting the role.”
King’s has faced more than its fair share of adversity this season. The Knights suffered a bus accident on their way home from the district championship game on Feb. 14 when the team bus flipped on its side.
Only two players missed the next game and all were back and available for last week’s 60-35 regional win over Charles Wright Academy.
“We talk about it a lot,” Skeen said of the accident. “I want to forget the scary part. I want to get rid of the nightmares and I want us to move on from that, but I also hope we won’t forget because I think it’s changed a lot of us. I think this has been a tight group all along — it’s been a hard-working and fun group — but there’s no doubt the last couple weeks have been different.”
The Knights’ new motto, “saved for a reason,” has been put on shirts for the team and its fans. Calvin Kispert says basketball has been “a tool to move on.”
“I think basketball’s been a really huge part of us getting past us and getting back in the gym,” Kispert said. “It’s amazing that we have our whole team back and that we don’t have any injuries. That’s really helped us out.”
Calvin and Corey Kispert have been vital for the Knights this season. Calvin, the older brother, raves about Corey — a sophomore who averaged about 19 points per game and was the Cascade Conference Most Valuable Player.
“I don’t know if he should be taking too much coaching from me,” said Calvin, who was a second-team all-Cascade Conference selection. “It’s fun. It’s not something that everybody gets to do and I’m going to take advantage of the next couple games while I can. He’s a great kid and I love him to death.”
Skeen said both players have been great representatives for the King’s basketball program.
“They’re just such great role models for the program,” Skeen said. “They’re just two unbelievable kids. They’re 4.0 students, leaders on our campus and community service guys. They’re heroes to a lot of King’s Elementary kids, just for who they are and what they’re about. The fact that they’re really good at basketball is also nice.”
Corey is excited to make his return to state. The sophomore had seven points in last year’s title game and is excited to get back on the big stage and show what he, and his teammates, can do.
“It’s always exciting to go to the SunDome,” Corey said. “It’s a culmination of all the hard work that we’ve put in the whole season and it’s really unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s so big and so loud and I get kind of nervous just thinking about it.”
Calvin, meanwhile, is eager to enjoy his final state basketball experience.
“For three days you get to make basketball your whole life,” he said. “You’re hanging out with your team the whole time and it’s three straight days of basketball, basketball, basketball. Honestly, win or lose, I love this team and I love my coaches and my teammates. It’s been a great year so far and hopefully we can end it as best as we can.”
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