Very few people who saw Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals could forget when Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Magic Johnson started at center for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. All Johnson did was score 42 points and lead the Lakers to a NBA title-clinching win over the Philadelphia 76ers - claiming the Finals MVP trophy in the process.
Now imagine what would have happened if it if had been Abdul-Jabbar who had to take the place of Johnson at point guard. Pretty hard to picture, isn't it?
But that's similar to what Lynden sophomore Stephanie Somers was asked to do by girls' basketball coach Rob Adams last summer. She'll once again be the Lions' starting point guard at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Tumwater High School, when Lynden takes on Mark Morris in the regional round of the Class 2A State Tournament.
"I was a little nervous at first," the 5-foot-11 Somers admitted in a phone interview. "But he kept bringing up that this was a great opportunity and he knew I could do it if I just worked at it. ... It was kind of crushing at first, but it turned out to be all right."
Crushing, because all Somers really knew on the basketball court was playing in the post.
All through AAU it had been the only position she had ever she played, as Somers said she was always one of the taller girls on her team.
Even as a freshman, Somers had played the post for Lynden.
Played it pretty well actually, averaging 3.9 points while coming off the bench in 27 games last year.
"She came into a program that was rich in tradition and had a lot of depth, and as a freshman was able to work her way up onto the varsity squad," Adams said in a phone interview. "Then on varsity, we found some playing time for her in the post. ... With the help of a pretty good supporting cast, she starting playing in some pressure situations and played well. She provided some huge playing time for us down the stretch on a team that finished sixth at state. I'd say that shows how talented a player she is."
Why, then, move her away from something that obviously worked last year and shift Somers to a position she was unfamiliar with for her sophomore season?
The answer is simple - to get her on the court more often.
Though Somers showed great promise as a freshman, the Lions' post was crowded. There was little chance she was going to supplant Lynden seniors Amber Stokes or Kortney Grattic in the starting lineup, especially not when they were Lynden's top two returning scorers from 2010-11.
"We wanted to put the most playmakers on the court as we could," Adams said.
Doing so meant finding another position for Somers to start. The most obvious place to put Somers, in Adams' mind, was at the point.
"The unique thing about Steph as a freshman, beyond her size and her length, was her basketball IQ," Adams said. "She grew up around the game, and she understands it. That helped with the transition."
Somers admits she was nervous about making the transition at first.
But after playing the point for a good portion of the summer league and early during the regular season, she started to realize "it was pretty fun."
Though always a good at handling the ball for a post player and extremely athletic, she had to learn how to deal with pressure from smaller, quicker guards out in space, rather than just moving to get open shots in the paint. Learning to deal with pressure defenses also was a challenge.
"It was eye-opening at first," she said. "Coach just kept reminding me that it was a great opportunity for me and a great opportunity for the team."
Adams said he knew he was asking a lot of his sophomore, but he felt she had the skills to make the transition work.
"Her basketball IQ was so high, and her length and athleticism made it possible," Adams said. "But I knew she was going to have to work at it. Last year, she played 27 games with her back to the basket. This year, she has to play facing the basket. She went from people guarding her 4 feet from the basket to people guarding her 80 feet from the basket. Plus as a guard, you're out there on an island. If you make mistakes, everybody sees it. In the post, the mistakes kind of get hidden a little better. But we knew she had the toughness to battle through that."
Somers is now third on the team with 6.6 points per game and is averaging 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 blocks and obviously gives the Lions great versatility.
Adams said he saw Somers really begin to grow into the position about seven or eight games ago.
"We started to notice that when she would make a mistake or if something would happen, her body language wouldn't change," Adams said. "That's a hard thing to do when you're handling the ball 80 percent of the time. We talk about the next-play mentality here, and once she got that, she started to roll. She started looking ahead to what happens next, and not so much on what happened last time. Her biggest game, for sure, was that play-in game at South Whidbey. She made big play after big play and big shot after big shot. She doesn't have that game, I'm not sure we're in this position now."
So that begs the question, does Somers return to the post next season, or do the Lions keep her at the point?
Lynden does graduate both Stokes and Grattic after this year, after all.
"That's still to be seen," Adams said. "It's predicated on how the rest of the kids fill the roles that we need filled. Our message never changes here at Lynden - just the kids do. This offseason, we'll break everything down and see what is the best move for us to make. The biggest thing is for Stephanie to continue to develop as a basketball player - not as a post player or a point guard - but continue to develop into a complete basketball player."
And wherever she ends up playing is just fine with Somers.
"I was nervous at first, but I've liked playing guard a lot," Somers said. "I'm fine playing wherever Coach wants. We have some good posts coming in, and I'm sure that will help, too."
Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2271.
GIRLS' REGIONAL ROUND GAMES
All girls' games in the regional round of the state tournaments are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25. Winners move on to state quarterfinals on March 1 at Yakima (2A and 1A) or Spokane (1B):
CLASS 2A
? Blaine vs. Olympic: 4 p.m. at Stanwood
? Lynden vs. Mark Morris: 6 p.m. at Tumwater
? Sehome vs. White River: 6 p.m. at Mount Tahoma
CLASS 1A
? Lynden Christian vs. Rainier: 6 p.m. at Glacier Peak
CLASS 1B
? Lummi vs. Cusick: 4 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace
2011-12 LYNDEN ROSTER
No. Player Yr. Ht. Pos. G Pts. Avg.
2. Mandy Warner Fr. 5-5 G 25 41 1.6
3. Taylor VanDalen Jr. 5-6 G 25 22 0.9
4. Sierra Sharp Jr. 5-7 G 17 14 0.8
5. Maddi Hommes Jr. 5-10 F 25 64 2.6
10. Kaitlyn Mark Fr. 5-8 G 7 10 1.4
11. Ashlyn Morgan So. 5-0 F 9 5 0.6
12. Mikayla Brown Sr. 5-10 G 25 76 3.0
14. Amber Stokes Sr. 6-2 F 23 285 12.4
20. Kelsey Bouwman So. 5-10 F 25 153 6.1
22. Kat Webb So. 5-0 F 11 28 2.5
23. Kortney Grattic Sr. 5-11 F 24 400 16.7
25. Tanna Benson Fr. 5-8 G 5 2 0.4
33. Stephanie Somers So. 5-11 G 25 164 6.6
2011-12 LYNDEN SCHEDULE
Nov. 29 Brookswood Secondary L 68-54
Dec. 2 King's W 57-51
Dec. 5 Nooksack Valley W 60-40
Dec. 9 at Squalicum W 57-34
Dec. 15 Ferndale* W 51-43
Dec. 19 at Mount Baker* L 48-28
Dec. 20 Archbishop Murphy W 47-33
Dec. 28 Sumner (at Lynden Christian) W 64-51
Dec. 29 at Cascade Christian (at Lynden Christian) L 50-49, OT
Jan. 3 at Bellingham* W 75-52
Jan. 5 Meridian* W 59-49
Jan. 10 at Lynden Christian* W 44-36
Jan. 13 at Mount Vernon* W 50-39
Jan. 23 at Sehome* L 53-44
Jan. 25 Squalicum* W 65-55
Jan. 27 Anacortes* L 52-31
Jan. 28 at Burlington-Edison* L 42-37
Jan. 31 at Nooksack Valley* W 60-46
Feb. 2 Blaine* W 51-47
Feb. 6 Sedro-Woolley* W 68-27
CLASS 2A NORTHWEST DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Feb. 8 at South Whidbey W 46-43
Feb. 10 at Burlington-Edison L 39-37
Feb. 13 Cedarcrest (at Skagit Valley College) W 53-38
Feb. 15 Archbishop Murphy (at Mount Vernon) W 48-33
Feb. 17 Sehome (at Mount Vernon) L 54-36
CLASS 2A STATE TOURNAMENT
Feb. 25 Mark Morris (at Tumwater) 6 p.m.
