By Macerio Clark
The Seattle Medium
As Shane Nowell, a 6’6” junior guard on the Eastside Catholic Boys Basketball team, talks about the disappointment of his team’s third-place finish in last year’s WIAA 3A Boys Basketball tournament with teammates Nolan Hickman and Isaac Ticeson you get a sense that last year’s disappointment is fueling them and the rest of the Crusaders basketball team to win this years WIAA 3A State championship.
“Having that feeling of losing in a real big game and have it reek in your body, [gives us the fire to believe that] we can come take what we fell short of [last year],” says Nowell.
The trio of juniors have had much success on the court dating back to their elementary school days, where they played together at the Rotary Boys & Girls Club. However, last season Eastside Catholic fell short of capturing the WIAA 3A state championship finishing third in the state after losing to the eventual state champions and Metro League rival O’Dea in the state semifinals 49-41.
Over the years, Hickman, a 6’3” point guard, Ticeson, a 6’6” guard/forward, and Nowell have won over 30 tournaments together at the AAU level, but the most memorable moment of their young AAU basketball careers came with a fifth-place finish at the AAU Sixth Grade National Championship.
“The AAU National Championships we came in fifth place in the sixth grade,” said Hickman. “It was important because we were preparing the entire year for nationals, it was a big deal to be ranked #1 and we were trying to take it all.”
According to Hickman, placing fifth in the nation after coming in ranked outside of the top ten in the country showed the nation that they (Seattle Rotary Style) had arrived and they would be one of the elite teams nationwide in the years to come.
“We solidified our spot around the West coast and it tested us nationwide and that was the big test of the year,” added Hickman.
“I separated myself from point guards and [was recognized] as a top point guard in the nation,” says Hickman about the impact that the tournament had on him and his teammates.
Ever since that AAU national tournament, Hickman, Nowell and Ticeson have become closer as friends and it has helped with their success both on and off the court.
“These guys are my brothers so it makes it easier to play on the court with one another,” says Ticeson.
Their bond off the court has helped them during their time at Eastside Catholic as they were ranked number one in the state most of last season and finishing third in the state with a young core group of players. After falling short of a dream season to O’Dea, Nowell knew that he and his teammates needed to be more mature and are ready to seize the moment if the opportunity presents itself again.
With the memory of the loss still fresh in their minds, the trio is much more focused and taking the game more seriously. They are watching more film than last year, they are more vocal about their flaws as a group, and they know what it will take to not have the feeling of agony again this year during the state tournament.
“Taking that loss to O’Dea only motivated us for this year,” says Nowell, with a calm but fiercely competitive look on his face.
“We’re using motivation from last year to go further along this year,” added Ticeson.
With maturing comes more leadership and the trio have accepted their roles on the team as leaders and carrying more of the load than they had to last season. Last season, as a sophomore, Nowell was a starting guard for Eastside Catholic averaging 15.4 points a game. Hickman and Ticeson were both on the second unit averaging 5 points a game. Hickman, who is now the starting point guard, has made a huge leap in the scoring department averaging 18 points per game this season.
“This year we have more of a responsibility, more weight on our shoulders to win games and with us being juniors and seniors we have to impact the game more,” says Ticeson discussing the impact of the team with teammates graduating last season and the role he and the trio have this season.
Eastside Catholic is currently ranked number one in WIAA 3A this season sitting at a state best 16-2 as they gear up for another late postseason run starting this week with the Metro League Playoffs this Weds. at Seattle Pacific University as they will face the defending state champions in the O’Dea Fighting Irish.
