To say the first year under head coach Jordan Thomas was a struggle would be an understatement.
Just two wins and a goose egg in the Evergreen Conference put the Centralia High School boys basketball team in the basement last winter. Games weren’t competitive by the fourth quarter and got out of hand quickly in the first half.
Last year is in the past. Thomas, with a full offseason to implement his scheme, believes better days are on the horizon.
Sooner rather than later?
“The more we watch film, the more we're gonna see where we have to stay consistent,” Thomas stated.
Centralia has just five seniors on its varsity roster, captained by guard Kadin Yeung, and some size down low. Sophomore Braden Baine stands 6-foot-7, Julian Dado Navarette is 6-4 and Tristin Henning is 6-2.
Even so, in the Tigers’ season-opening loss to Woodland 76-50 on Tuesday night, they were outrebounded by 10 and struggled to contain offensive boards.
“We’ll get a lot better,” Thomas said. "We’re going to be a run-and-gun team."
The two victories a season ago were to a pair of Class 1A programs in Montesano and Rochester. Centralia (0-1) will play those two three times plus a trio of 1As – Elma, Fort Vancouver and Tenino – before the EvCo season kicks off.
It also gets another District 4 rival in R.A. Long and a C2BL foe in Mossyrock.
"Once we get more reps, we’ll be OK,” Thomas said.
One of the primary ways Centralia aims to put up points is a perimeter-oriented attack. Yeung, Trevor Griffis, Johnny Ruiz and Alfonso Villaba all attempted multiple 3s in game one.
In an Evergreen Conference where W.F. West graduated plenty of production, Tumwater is replacing its point guard and Black Hills loses some paint presence, Thomas believes the league has the potential to be wide open.
The belief of a team running away with the title by the end of January hasn’t crossed his mind.
“It is going to be very competitive,” Thomas said. “All the coaches want a good, competitive atmosphere. Now, can we thrive in those moments?"
Tuesday’s game was a case of installing the wrong gameplan.
Thomas admitted the offense he put in was to combat Woodland’s zone defense. The Beavers came out in straight man-to-man and frustrated the Tigers to the tune of just 10 first quarter points on four made field goals.
Centralia got to as close as 10 thanks to an 8-0 spree, but Woodland answered with a 10-2 run to go back up 20 points.
“Our man offense, we didn’t spend as much time; wasn’t on the kids,” Thomas said. “Their offense spread us out and we could not hedge on screens.”
Yeung poured in a game-high 23 points on four trifectas. Ruiz chipped in 11 and Baine added nine and four rebounds. For the Beavers, James Long registered a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double while Jackson Gabbard notched 18 points and Tanner Cusick added 12.
Centralia will take on Montesano on Monday to get back in the win column. One game doesn’t concern Thomas, yet he understands how to avoid slip-ups now in year two leading the program.
“We’re in a good place overall,” Thomas said. “Fifty points with basically no offense (gameplan) is pretty good.”
