Summer Beat -- Five Wesco Basketball Players Off On Bci Tour

Five high-school basketball players from the Western AAA Conference and WesCo AA head to Las Vegas this weekend for the first leg of the annual Basketball Congress International tour for state all-star teams.

Three state teams travel to the Las Vegas Invitational July 15-23 and the BCI Summer Prep International tournament in Phoenix July 25-31.

The BCI tournaments are two of the summer's major events for college recruiters. "It's after this evaluation time that coaches start setting up home visits for September and October," said Juanita Coach Jim McDonald, who coaches one of the three teams.

Cascade's Iyan Walker and Edmonds-Woodway's Andrew Leckie, both seniors, join the Washington State Seafirst Blue team, a senior team coached by Charlie Cobb, former Cascade high coach, and Decatur High Coach Ed Boyce.

It's one of two state senior all-star teams going to the tournaments. A third team, coached by McDonald and Olympic Coach Al Gleich, plays in the junior brackets of the tournaments.

Shorecrest senior Mike Nilson, Bainbridge senior Mark Shorett and Snohomish junior Kyle Sweet all play for the McDonald/Gleich team.

The rosters:

Seafirst White - Donald Watts, Lake Washington, 6-4, sr.; Terik Brown, Mercer Island, 6-1, sr.; Marques DeCottle, Juanita, 6-2, sr.; Jimmie Rainwater, Chief Sealth, 6-5, sr.; David Sturing, Lake Washington, 7-0, sr.; Jason Perry, O'Dea, 6-7, sr.; Jamal Hill, Mercer Island, 6-2, jr.; Mason Helms, Mercer Island, 6-3, sr.; Matt Schreck, Mercer Island, 6-2, sr.; Lehman Morris, Interlake, 6-2, sr.; Adrian Egger, Eastside Catholic, 6-2, sr.; Randall Berry, Rainier Beach, 6-4, sr. Coaches - Fred Brown, Slick Watts.

Seafirst Blue - Cameron Banks, Auburn, 6-4, sr.; Iyan Walker, Cascade, 6-8, sr.; Brad Brevet, Lakes, 6-6, sr.; Chad Hendrickson, Mount Tahoma, 6-7, sr.; Andrew Leckie, Edmonds-Woodway, 6-4, sr.; Andre Pleasant, Decatur, 6-6, sr.; Doug Schulz, Richland, 6-6, sr.; Jason Terry, Franklin, 6-2, sr.; Bryan Thoemke, Olympic, 5-9, sr. Coaches - Charlie Cobb, Cascade; Ed Boyce, Decatur.

Seattle Baden - Jesse Bond, Eastside Catholic, 6-8, sr.; Michael Johnson, Ballard, 6-4, soph.; Alex Landeen, Garfield, 6-0, jr.; Mikael Moore, Ingraham, 6-1, jr.; Mike Nilson, Shorecrest, 6-4, sr.; David Oswell, Newport, 6-7, sr.; Luke Primm, Wenatchee, 6-7, jr.; Mark Shorett, Bainbridge, 6-5, sr.; Kyle Sweet, Snohomish, 6-6, jr.; Quincy Wilder, Decatur, 6-2, jr. Coaches - Jim McDonald, Juanita; Al Gleich, Olympic.

Watts heats up

That the state's top high-school basketball recruit has lit up the local courts since the Fourth of July should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched him the last two summers.

Lake Washington High School's Donald Watts always seems to get hotter when the weather does.

And if the trend continues in the next month for the two-time KingCo Conference scoring champion, who's left to join the nation-wide recruiting battle for the 6-foot-4 guard? The Suns? The Heat? The Rockets?

"I tell you who's looking good is Donald Watts," said Juanita Coach Jim McDonald when asked what surprises were emerging in summer play. "Holy smokes. He's improved."

Watts, who was the only state player among 140 invited to the annual Nike camp for the nation's best players, said his improvement might have something to do with his new attitude - and the time of year.

"It's not surprising to me," he said. "Every year it seems like two months after the season, I do most of my progress.

"And I'm trying to develop more of a mental toughness. I try not to let people get under my skin."

Getting stronger and playing tougher against opponents that often play him rough to compensate for his skill is part of Watts' summer program. And only part of the long-range plan, that comes with taking the vacation out of summer.

"People are surprised at that, too," he said. "They think I stop practicing because my head gets big. I haven't even begun to do the things I want to accomplish."

He's being recruited by "everyone but Arkansas," said Donald's dad, Slick Watts.

Arkansas?

"Last time, I told the press everybody but Kansas, and Kansas wrote me every day for a week," Slick said.