Tyler VanAcker could have kept the status quo for Wilsonville girls basketball this season after being promoted from assistant to head coach, replacing Justin Duke, who went 177-80 with two 5A semifinal appearances in 10 seasons.
But VanAcker, who assisted Duke for eight seasons, rolled up his sleeves and began to overhaul the Wildcats, perennial state contenders.
“There was no stone I left unturned,” VanAcker said. “Offensively, defensively, culturally, we're making adjustments.”
After a rocky start that included three consecutive losses to teams ranked in the top 10 of the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll – No. 2 West Linn, No. 7 Sherwood and No. 1 Tualatin – Wilsonville is building momentum with an eight-game winning streak. The Wildcats are 9-3 overall, 4-0 in the Northwest Oregon Conference and tied for No. 7 in the 5A coaches poll.
“There was a big learning curve the first couple weeks,” VanAcker said. “There was a lot of frustration at first, and things weren't clicking well. It took us a while to get our feet underneath us and start clicking.”
The first-time head coach eschewed scripted sets in favor of a read-and-react offensive philosophy, giving his players more responsibility to make decisions. He implemented the first sets into the offense two weeks ago.
“We played without any sets pretty much the entire beginning of the season,” said VanAcker, who has coached in the Northwest Select AAU program. “It's making basketball simple. We're learning to play basketball by playing basketball. We're trying to play at a speed that is hard for teams to manage.”
Before landing at Wilsonville, VanAcker assisted Brooke Cates for five seasons at Canby, where his father, John, also was on the staff. When Cates and John VanAcker left to coach at West Linn, Tyler joined Duke with the Wildcats.
“We worked so well together,” Tyler said of collaborating with Duke, now the coach at 6A West Salem.
Duke's highly successful run at Wilsonville included five NWOC titles, including the last two seasons. Last year, the Wildcats finished 19-10 and lost in the 5A quarterfinals.
Three players from last year's team moved on to college programs in guards Ryme Jaekel (Portland State) and Audrey Counts (Concordia University-Irvine) and 6-3 post Payton Ratcliffe (Point Loma Nazarene).
But Wilsonville brought back its leading scorer and floor general in first-team all-state point guard Gabi Moultrie, a fourth-year starter who has committed to Utah Valley University.
Moultrie is averaging a team-high 22.8 points and 5.0 assists this season. With 1,941 career points, she is on pace to pass Jill Noe (2003 points, 1999-2002) as Wilsonville's all-time leading scorer. She would be the 26th player in state history to reach 2,000 points.
“She's our leader. She's our engine,” VanAcker said.
Senior post Fareeda ElManhawy (6-0), the other returning starter, is averaging 10.0 points, a team-high 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. The new starters are senior guard Kaia Hix (5-9), junior guard Elise Chiovaro (5-8) and sophomore forward Addi Smith (5-10).
Wilsonville lost at West Linn 80-45 on Dec. 9 before falling at home to Sherwood 54-49 and Tualatin 67-52. The Wildcats made marked improvement between the losses to West Linn and Tualatin, battling the reigning 6A champion Timberwolves to a tie midway through the third quarter.
“That week of practice between West Linn and Tualatin was crucial,” VanAcker said. “It really showed by the way we played. But I don't think in any way that that's our ceiling. That was an indicator of what we're capable of.”
Wilsonville won the eight-team Jade bracket in the POA Holiday Classic, topping Skyview of Vancouver 64-45 in the final. The Wildcats, who have won their last five games by an average margin of 52.8 points, are eagerly anticipating NWOC home games Thursday against Canby (9-4, 4-1) and Jan. 30 against co-No. 7 La Salle Prep (9-4, 4-0).
“That's going to be a big measuring stick for us, to see how much we've grown,” VanAcker said.
jerryu@osaa.org
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