SLAM: Slam aiming for IBL championship

| MARK MALIJAN THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

“Most of us have played with each other before at some level and I think that’s something that’s set us apart,” forward Lukas Henne said in a phone interview. “We know how to play as a team. Some teams put a bunch of good players together but they don’t have good chemistry. That’s not a problem for us.”

At least half the Slam’s roster played at Western Washington University at some point over the last six years, and three members, Henne, Ryan Diggs, and Tyler Amaya spent the better part of three years together. Factor in that four members of the team have been with the club since the Slam’s inception

IBL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

BELLINGHAM SLAM VS. ELKHART EXPRESS When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 18 Where: Whatcom Pavilion on the campus of Whatcom Community College Cost: Tickets range in price from $25 for reserved courtside (if available), to $12 for adult general admission seating. Children are $7.

in 2005, and it’s easy to see why on-court camaraderie has been important to Bellingham’s success.

“You look at our stats and we average quite a few assists,” Henne said. “I don’t think you’re ever going to find guys on this team complaining because they aren’t getting enough shots. If we do it has nothing to do with opportunities, it has to do with not working hard enough to get an open look.”

So far this season the Slam’s fast-paced style and strong guard play have worked well with the IBL’s up-tempo design. The team is averaging 133 points per game (the IBL plays with a 22-second clock and limited timeouts) with five players scoring at least 17 points a contest.

Bellingham joined the IBL this year after back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals of the American Basketball Association playoffs in its first two seasons.

The Slam meet an equally impressive Express team in the IBL championship game, however. Elkhart comes into the game with a 23-1 record and boasts the IBL’s second leading scorer in Cedric Moodie (28.1 ppg).

The Express also have two players on the roster who are at least 7 feet tall, something that the Slam, which typically starts a frontline that averages about 6-foot-6, are very aware of.

“We can probably safely assume our posts are something they are going to look to take advantage of,” Henne said. “But we think we’ll be able to use our guards to our advantage. If they try to slow it down we can get out and run on them. That’s one way you can take the bigs out of a play.”

And while even on their home court the Slam are probably considered an underdog against an Express team littered with former NCAA Division I players, Henne said the team likes its chances.

“We’re excited and really looking forward to this,” Henne said. “Hopefully we can play in front of a full house and win Bellingham a championship.”