Prep Basketball -- The Best Of Washington To Square Off With Oregon -- Husky Recruits Lead The Rosters For Boys, Girls

Husky basketball fans eager to see Ballard's Michael Johnson and Prairie's Dan Dickau team up at Washington next season can get a preview Sunday.

Johnson and Dickau will lead the Washington boys squad into the annual Northwest Shootout at Portland State University. The event features the top boy and girl high-school senior players from the state against their Oregon counterparts.

This is the fourth year for the boys game, which will be played at 7:30 p.m., and the third for the girls, who tip off at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be televised by Fox NW.

The Washington boys roster also includes Aaron Bellessa of Decatur, Jason Heide of Issaquah, David Emslie of Seattle Prep and Jason Robbins of Franklin. Head coach is Al Gleich of Olympic High School.

Megan Franza of Cascade (Leavenworth) and LeAnn Sheets of Tumwater, also University of Washington recruits, are the gems on the state's girls team.

Eastlake's Kim Sorenson, headed for Santa Clara University, and Monroe's Kristin Stringer are the only local representatives. Nesha Thomas, who led Federal Way to the Class AAA state title this past season and has signed with Pepperdine, declined an invitation because of graduation conflicts, according to Al Aldridge of Prairie, who is head coach of the Washington team.

Traditionally, the Northwest Shootout follows Washington's all-state games. This year, the boys all-state games will be played June 19 in Yakima. There will not be any girls all-state games.

The boys all-state event has involved two games the past several years - one in Seattle and one at an Eastern Washington site. One has featured the Class A/B all stars, the other the top Class AAA/AA players.

This year, each classification gets an all-star game at the Yakima SunDome. The B game starts at 2:45 p.m., followed by the A's at 4:15, the AA's at 5:45 and the AAA's at 7:30 p.m.

The girls all-state series was revived last year after several years off and will return next year, according to Central Valley's Dale Poffenroth, president of the state girls coaches' association. Plans for this year's event came unraveled when both Poffenroth and Karen Anderson, who was helping him coordinate in the Seattle area, recently lost their fathers, Poffenroth said.

Northwest Shootout

Washington boys - Aaron Bellessa, Decatur; Jason Robbins, Franklin; David Emslie, Seattle Prep; Lane O'Connor, Columbia River; Dan Dickau, Prairie; Jason Heide, Issaquah; Michael Johnson, Ballard; Casey Calvary, Bellarmine Prep; Ryan Jones, Capital; Derek Van Weerdhuizen, La Center. Coaches - Al Gleich, Olympic; Les Eathorne, Bremerton (retired); Rory Rickard, Republic.

Washington girls - Megan Franza, Cascade (Leavenworth); LeAnn Sheets, Tumwater; Kim Sorenson, Eastlake; Tricia Lamb, St. John-Endicott; Kristin Stringer, Monroe; Heidi Hatcher, Tumwater; Crystal Lee, Central Valley; Briana Abrahamsen, Mountain View; Angelina Wolvert, Mountain View; Kristen Willis, Kamiakin. Coaches - Al Aldridge, Prairie; Shelley Hjort, Battle Ground (retired).

Oregon boys - Jared Price, Barlow; Brian Heinle, Sheldon; Travis Cole, Lakeridge; Scott Turner, Tualatin; Tim Clark, Sutherlin; Jared Buckmaster, Jesuit; Dan Drennan, Sheldon; Daniel Carter, North Medford; Dennis Nathan, Gresham. Coaches - Larry Knudson, Gresham; Terry Woods, Parkrose (retired); Willis New, Sutherlin.

Oregon girls - Ashley Smith, Oregon City; Kristina Anderson, Marist; Angie Heer, Crescent Valley; Elizabeth Guppy, Westview; Sara Burt, Westview; Brianne Meharry, Oregon City; Sharon Rissmiller, Tigard; Christine Urbanski, Glencoe; Sarah Peterson, Ashland; Shannon Copple, Cascade. Coaches - Mark Neffendorf, Westview; Tom Greenough, Hood River Valley (retired); John Hartford, St. Paul.

All-State games

AAA City - Ryan Bender, Shorewood; Trever Tillman, Mountlake Terrace; Aaron Bellessa, Decatur; Casey Calvary, Bellarmine Prep; Keanta Lathrop, North Thurston; Jon Madison, Port Angeles; Mike Haney, Port Angeles; Chris Anderson, Shadle Park; Erik Carlson, University; Antwon Jones, Shorewood. Coach - Ed Pepple, Mercer Island.

AAA State - Alan Minahan, Inglemoor; Jason Heide, Issaquah; Justin Bursch, Ferris; Jason Robbins, Franklin; Dan Dickau, Prairie; Lane O'Connor, Columbia River; Scott Salisbury, Richland; Mel Stubblefield, Davis; Tyson Whitfield, Eisenhower; DeAndrey Mosby, Rogers (Spokane). Coach - Wayne Gillman, Ferris.

AA City - Charlie Van, Bellingham; Michael Johnson, Ballard; David Emslie, Seattle Prep; Dan Curley, Anacortes; Rian Cool, Lake Stevens; Brian Johnson, Mount Rainier; Ben Addink, White River; Ryan Jones, Capital; Tyler Jeans, Centralia; Ryan Chinchen, Mark Morris. Coach - Dave Dickson, Bellingham.

AA State - Steve Berry, Selah; Shawn VanWinkle, Prosser; Tim Sprangers, Colville; Ryan Monroe, Riverside (Chattaroy); Josh Sweet, West Valley (Spokane); Tucker Urdahl, Cheney; Adam Enfield, Lynden; Abe Fox, Port Townsend; August Parker, Cheney; Shane Makanan, O'Dea. Coach - Denny Humphrey, Cheney.

A West - Derek Van Weerdhuizen, La Center; Ross Jorgusen, Toledo; Brian Remington, King's; Brian Douma, Bellevue Christian; Terron Lenear, Foster; Tyler Teeple, King's; Brian Jones, Nooksack Valley; Justin Cotrone, Ilwaco; Shane Sheppard, Foster; Mike Renner, La Center. Coach - Forbes Lapp, La Center.

A East - George Petticrew, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls); Jordan Green, Cashmere; Curt Pentecost, Zillah; Billy Bender, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls); Lance Marquardt, Connell; David Rusk, Omak; Carlos Simmons, Medical Lake; Cody Marlow, Goldendale; Brook Nickell, Chelan; Jeff Carlson, Chelan. Coach - Miles Caples, Cashmere.

B West - Jon Johnson, North Beach; Peter Rutledge, Orcas; Josh Frunz, Rainier; Jeff Linquist, Naselle; Cory Peterson, Manson; Tyler Kuske, King's West; Fran Michelena, Clallam Bay; Luke Salma, Willapa Valley; Jason Baldwin, Republic; Mark Rickard, Republic. Coach - Rory Rickard, Republic.

B East - Travis Greenwalt, Liberty (Spangle); Ben Peterson, Springdale; Ben Scheele, Rosalia; John Galbreath, Ritzville; Travis Titchenal, Reardan; Troy Nealy, Lacrosse-Washtucna; Parker Barth, Pateros; David Countryman, Sprague-Harrington; Jason Pierce, Almira-Coulee-Hartline; Jeff Whitehall, Waterville. Coach - Dan Smith, Reardan.