By Greg Farrar
Hazen senior Dominic Green goes for the score in the Highlanders win over Liberty. Green recently switched his pledge from ASU to UW.

Once Dominic Green secured his release from the scholarship he signed last November with Arizona State University, the record-breaking Hazen High School star knew he wanted to continue his basketball career close to home.

After an informal visit to the University of Washington at the end of April, the 6-foot-7 small forward became intrigued about joining its stellar 2015 incoming freshman class that’s ranked second in the Pac-12 and ninth nationally by Scout.com.

On April 26, Green committed to the Huskies over Washington State University and promised to help restore them to prominence.

“We’re going to have a really good freshman squad,” Green said. “We already do have a good class, and I just want to help rebuild the program to back to how it was when they were really winning games and getting to the NCAA tournament.”

Green bolsters what is arguably the most talented freshman class in UW history that includes shooting guard Dejounte Murray, small forward Matisse Thybulle, combo guard David Crisp, power forward Marquese Chriss, and centers Malik Dime and Devenir Duruisseau.

At the end of April, Washington signed Auburn University redshirt freshman center Matthew Atewe, who has to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Green is particularly enamored about playing with Crisp, his former teammate with the Northwest Panthers, an AAU summer team.

“He’s a guy that if your point guard had a guy all over him and he couldn’t get the ball up, Dominic Green could bring the ball up and get you into your offense real easily,” Panthers coach Garry Ward said. “If you want him to play some 4 (power forward), he’ll rebound tougher than what his frame says he will.

“And he’ll stretch your 4 with his ability to knock down threes and his ability to put the ball on the floor and get in the lane.”

Green, who weighs 182 pounds and has a 6-foot-11 wingspan, is also billed as an above-average defender. He should compete for a spot in the rotation and possibly the starting lineup, considering UW has just four returning players and two starters from a team that was 16-15 and finished 11th in the Pac-12 at 5-13.

Admittedly, Green is a late bloomer. During his senior season at Hazen, he averaged 23 points and passed former UW standout Jason Hamilton to become the school’s all-time scorer.

“I’ve just been really working on my jumpers,” Green said. “I really improved my handles. I’ve gotten quicker. I’ve gotten a little stronger since last summer.”

By Christina Corrales-Toy
Pacific Courts, a new gym featuring two full-sized basketball courts, is set to open in Newcastle on March 9. The facility will serve as a headquarters for the Emerald City Basketball Academy.

The elite youth basketball program that counts University of Washington stars Spencer Hawes and Isaiah Thomas among its alumni lost its Seattle headquarters in August.

The academy wasn’t on the streets long, though, as Baskett, the ECBA founder, teamed up with Cindi Burton, head of the ECBA’s girls programs, to create a state-of-the-art facility in Newcastle.

Pacific Courts, owned by Burton, is the academy’s new headquarters complete with offices and training areas. A large Seattle skyline mural emblazoned with the words “Home of the ECBA” brings the whole space together.

“When it says home of the ECBA, that means something,” Baskett said. “When Cindi and I talked the very first time, I said, ‘I don’t have a home,’ but that’s not the case anymore.”

And what a home it is. Pacific Courts is an impressive facility tucked in a business park behind Tapatio’s Mexican Grill.

It houses two full courts, one high-school sized and the other collegiate, a weight room, offices and an enclosed half-court.

Burton, who named the court after her late father’s company, Pacific Construction Systems, has poured an immense amount of resources into the facility, transforming it from an empty warehouse into the basketball destination it is now.

“My mom closed the construction company in April of last year, so it was nice to kind of let the name live on, because basketball was sort of the thing my dad and I did together,” Burton said.

The courts don’t officially open until March 9, but Baskett said he’s already getting positive responses from the community and local basketball programs.

Pacific Courts will be the home of ECBA’s nearly 40 boys and girls teams, featuring players from across the Northwest. The academy supports athletes ages 8-17 and offers high-quality instruction, along with a chance to compete in regional and national tournaments.

“This is not a place for kids that don’t want to become better,” Baskett said of the academy. “We don’t care how good you are, you just have to have the right commitment. You’ve got to have the right mentality.”

The Liberty High School girls basketball program is a beneficiary of ECBA’s practices, Baskett said. Patriots head coach Carly Fromdahl and assistant Darnell Taylor have experience coaching in the academy.

Curtis Terry, last year’s Liberty girls coach, literally grew up in the ECBA, training with Baskett since he was 14.

“I train the Liberty girls program in the fall,” Baskett said. “We have a little bit of an influence on Liberty High School girls. They’re friends of the program.”

Pacific Courts isn’t just ECBA’s home, though; Burton said the Newcastle community is just as welcome.

Burton plans to offer tiny hoops classes, jazzercise, Zumba, pickle ball tournaments, open gyms and more. People will also be able to rent the space.

“We’ll have stuff all day long for all different types of groups,” she said.

Camps include golf, basketball, tennis, cheerleading and Mini-Hawk, which includes basketball, baseball and soccer.

Camps are five days each and range in price from $69 to $145. They will be held at Lake Boren Park, Renton Academy or Hazelwood Elementary School.

For the full list of camps, go to register.skyhawks.com, and enter your ZIP code. Call Newcastle Parks and Recreation at City Hall at 649-4444 or Skyhawks at 800-804-3509 toll free with questions.

Playground purchase made for Lake Boren Park

The City Council passed a resolution at its Feb. 1 meeting allowing city staff to purchase new play equipment for Lake Boren Park. The vote — 6-1 with Councilwoman Carol Simpson dissenting — allowed the city to forego the competitive bidding process to make the purchase.

The council authorized the move because manufacturer Highwire Inc. retained a low price it offered the city for the equipment last year. The city needed to purchase the equipment immediately to get the lower price.

The playground will be built this spring. A $325,000 state grant is funding the project.