The Best of the Best #11: 1991
Whatcom County high schools have produced some amazing basketball seasons, but of those 100-plus years of state championship seasons and all the other great successes at state tournaments, which years were the best for the county as a whole?
Well, we at www.whatcomhoops.com came up with our top 12 greatest years of boys basketball. Why 12? Because a top 10 just wasn’t enough.
Before you start arguing with our picks, remember that any time you pick the “best” or “greatest” you have to be somewhat subjective. That is really true when looking at seasons that span more than a century of changes.
For example, from the first state tournament in 1923 until 1957, our county’s schools, both big and small, almost always competed in the one “big” state tournament that included all the big-city teams. It may be no coincidence that we had to wait until the new Class A tournament for smaller schools was formed in 1958 for our first state title.
Then there’s the fact that we have more schools now — 12 — than we had for most of the past 100 years, and they are competing in four different classifications (3A, 2A, 1A and 1B). So it’s easier for more teams in the 21st century to qualify and place at state than it was in the 20th century.
Finally, this is not meant to rank the greatest teams or even best tournaments, which would be completely subjective (and maybe we’ll do that sometime in the future).
Our goal was to rank the county’s best years by looking at all the county teams’ accomplishments, particularly their state finishes. The only accomplishment we required to be eligible for the top 10 was that at least one county team had to have won a state championship that year.
And now, let’s count down the top 12 years for Whatcom County boys basketball:
#11
1991
Lynden won the first of back-to-back Class A state championships with an exciting two-point win over two-time defending state champion Grandview in the semis and a 22-point victory over Toppenish in the state title game. Led by seniors Derric Croft and Brian Heppner, the 26-1 Lions were unbeaten on the court (the one loss was a WIAA-imposed forfeit). Blaine, which was beginning its incredible 1990s run, made it two trophies for the WCL by taking fourth place behind Jared Liebert and Rob Adams, who would go on to coach the Lynden girls to a pair of state titles. Not to be forgotten was a great Sehome team led by Jon Kinloch, which placed third in the Class AA tournament, the school’s highest finish until its 1996 state title team.
