Bellevue athletics is not the gold standard for Seattle or the Great Northwest but for the nation as the Wolverines excel at many of the sports they field at the national or regional level.
Boys basketball is no different as they return five players and three starters from a team that placed third in the state Class 3A tournament last year.
Foreman is the Supervisor
The Wolverines, who are focused on returning to the state final four, are led by 6-2 Boston signee Kyle Foreman ’15 who is the supervisor on the floor as the point guard. Foreman is very quick, likes to dribble and can connect from long distance who was the King County 3A MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
Klimes is Army Strong
Another strong option for coach O’ Connor is Army commit 6-6 Gunther Klimes ’15 who averaged a dozen points per game last year. Klimes’ top choice from the beginning was West Point with or without basketball and when Army offered Klimes verbally committed in August. Klimes was first team all-conference for 3A King County last year.
Honorable Mentions
6-0 guard Sharif Khan ’16 was an Honorable Mention on the all-conference team along with 6-7 power forward Mikey Henn ‘16 last year. 6-4 shooting guard/forward Zack Moore ’15 is one of Seattle’s top 40 seniors.
First Round Opponent
The Wolverines will face Fairfax (Los Angeles, CA) at 12:40 pm at Carlsbad on December 26th in the opening round of the National Division.
Last National Division Appearance Was a Bright Spot
The Wolverines won the 19th Annual MaxPreps Holiday Classic in 2008 by defeating Eisenhower (Rialto, CA) 58-54 in the National Division final. # 22 Aaron Bright ‘10 was named MVP of the 2008 tournament. Bright played for Stanford from 2010-13 as an undergraduate and is playing in his final collegiate season for St. Mary’s while he works towards his master’s degree.
The 2008-09 Wolverine team also had two sons of former NBA players, 6-5 # 11 Alex Schrempf '09 (son of Detlef Schrempf) and 6-3 # 43 Nate Sikma '11 (son of Jack Sikma). Alex Schrempf is now an assistant coach for Bellevue.
In 2008 everybody was looking past Bellevue because legendary program St. Anthony from Jersey City and San Diego High featuring Jeremy Tyler ’10 were getting much of the attention early in the tournament.
Strong Athletic Program
Bellevue has won state titles in cross country, football, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and wrestling. Current Wolverine Kim Williams signed with Stanford last month.
Football Played in San Diego In September
Bellevue’s football team was # 1 in Washington when they brought their 54-game winning streak to Oceanside in September for the two day, five-game 2014 Honor Bowl as they took on California # 11 Serra (Gardena, CA) in the Saturday night marquee game; Bellevue won 31-14.
Bellevue brought their cheer team and marching band to Oceanside at their own expense, with the marching band playing at halftime.
The football team’s 67-game winning streak was broken in the Class 3A state championship in a 35-13 loss to Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, WA) this year.
Bellevue was the team that snapped De La Salle’s (Concord, CA) 151-game winning streak in the 2004 Emerald City Kickoff Classic. The Wolverines defeated the Spartans 39-20 before 24,987 fans at Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks. The Wolverines did not attempt a pass in the game, rushing for 463 yards.
Water Polo Also Headed South, Twice
Bellevue boys water polo (21-7) also came down to San Diego twice this year to play in the America’s Finest City Invitational hosted by Coronado and in the San Diego Open hosted by Valhalla. Water polo won the 2014 state title defeating Curtis (University Place, WA) 8-6.
Bellevue Wolverines at a Glance
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Established: 1923
Type: Public
Head Coach: Chris O’Connor
2013-14 Season: 24-4, 3rd in Class 3A State
Key Players
# 5: 6-1 Kyle Foreman '15 (Boston LOI)
# 10: 6-6 Gunther Klimes ’15 (Army commit)
# 32: 6-4 Zack Moore ’15 (top 40 senior in Seattle)
# 3: 6-2 Sharif Khan ’16 (top 20 junior in Seattle)
# 34: 6-7 Mikey Henn ’16 (top 20 junior in Seattle)
2008 National Division Championship Results
MVP: Aaron Bright ‘10
1st Round: def. Chrisman (Independence, MO) 74-57
Quarterfinal: def. Windward (Los Angeles, CA) 57-48
Semifinal: def. Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, CA) 60-47
Championship: def. Eisenhower (Rialto, CA) 58-54