2019-20 Team Preview: Sunnyside Boys Basketball

Key Players

G/F Daniel Singleterry - Highly dependable contributor last year as a sophomore, as he averaged 15 Points Per Game. The 6-foot-1 junior hopes to be competing at an All-League level this season.

G/F Ethan Copeland - Copeland is a high quality shooter who is now going into his third year on the varsity roster. He had a very productive off-season, and now this 6-foot-2 junior is in line for a breakout season.

G Alex Lopez - It’s not often that a freshman plays major varsity minutes, and especially not at a 4A school, but that’s exactly what Lopez did last year. He really prides himself on defense, and is a great floor general. 

Overview

The Grizzlies are just two years removed from going 19-4 and playing in the state tournament. It was a special season that really put Sunnyside Basketball on the map. 

That memory is still fresh enough to make this program believe they can build on that success. Last year was a bit of a down year, as they were debuting a brand new rotation. They would finish 3-17.

But with just about every contributor from last season back for the 19-20 campaign, the expectation is that they once again compete for a Big Nine title. 

The head coach of Sunnyside, Bruce Siebol, is now going into his third season in charge. He’s fielding a very unique roster this year because there are no seniors on it. Even with the lack of upperclassmen, he feels there’s enough experience to carry them this season. 

There are plenty of go-to options on this team, but there will be a lot of responsibility on Daniel Singleterry and Ethan Copeland to perform at a high level. They were both All-League honorable mentions last year. 

A potential drawback on this year’s team is there isn’t a whole lot of height. So these two players at 6-1 and 6-2 will be counted on to not just score, but also get rebounds and defend the the big guys. 

Helping them out in the post area is 6-foot-2 junior Darion Beeman. He has good work ethic and should be a consistent performer. 

There’s a whole lot of guards on this roster, but Alex Lopez will be counted on to be an anchor for the position group. He started all 20 games last year, and so he’ll be asked to do a little bit of everything this season.

Also playing the point guard spot is going to be 5-foot-8 junior Isaiah Isquierdo. He’s a hard-nosed defender who should be much improved from last season.

Another returning contributor is going to be 6-foot sophomore guard Logan Rodriguez. One of the key traits you look for in underclassmen is good leadership. As the starting QB, Rodriguez has plenty of that. 

A few players that will be emerging from the JV ranks is 5-foot-9 junior Dominic Gonzalez, 5-foot-7 junior Sergio Navarro, 5-foot-8 sophomore Devin Escamilla, 5-foot-10 sophomore Carlos Reyes, and 5-foot-7 freshman Brent Maldonado. 

All those players helped themselves over the summer time, but still have work to do to lock down consistent playing time. There should be a lot of rotating happening early in the season as Sunnyside looks for the right combo to win games. 

Projection

There’s no doubt that there’s potential with this years Grizzlies team, but they will have to grow up quickly. Perhaps most importantly, they’ll have to believe they belong in the upper echelon. The Big Nine has some tremendously talented teams this year such as Davis, Eastmont, and Wenatchee. If the Grizzlies can capture momentum early, they can certainly ride that to a Big Nine Title Game appearance. 

Key Games

@ Wenatchee 12/21

Davis 1/10

Eastmont 2/11

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