Boys Basketball / Class 2A State Tournament -- Wheeler Roots For Former Rainier Beach Teammates

TUKWILA - Keith Wheeler watched with pride as his former Rainier Beach teammates edged Mount Vernon in the semifinals of the Class 3A state boys basketball tournament last week.

He would have loved to have been in the stands when the Vikings held off Olympia in the championship game. But he had a championship game of his own to play that night. Wheeler is the wheel man for the second-ranked Foster boys basketball team, which beat Steilacoom for the West Central 2A District title on Saturday.

The Bulldogs took a 22-3 record and 15-game winning streak into this morning's game against Chewelah (17-7) to kick off the 2A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Wheeler, a 6-2 senior point guard, expects a few Rainier Beach players in the stands cheering for him this week.

"They're my old teammates," he said. "I was pulling for them, and they'll support me, too."

Wheeler played at Rainier Beach as a freshman and sophomore, but admitted he was headed in the wrong direction.

"I was having a lot of problems due to stress on and off the court," he said. "My parents felt it would be best if I started over somewhere new."

Wheeler knew they were right.

"I was hanging around with the wrong crowd," he said. "I wasn't getting in trouble, but I was on my way to getting in trouble."

So, Wheeler went to live with his uncle in Tukwila and enrolled at Foster. Coach Grant Cussak, who was an assistant to Damon Hunter last year, remembers his first impression.

"He was pretty raw," said Cussak, who took over as head coach this season when Hunter stepped down to pursue his master's degree. "He needed to get a little discipline in his game."

Wheeler played the off-guard position and averaged nearly 14 points per game as the Bulldogs placed fourth in the 1997 Class A state tournament. This season, he moved to the point position and has averaged 15.5 points and five assists, earning most valuable player honors in the Nisqually League.

"He's been fantastic," Cussak said. "He's taken things over on the floor."

But Wheeler has had plenty of help. He's one of four players who averages a dozen or more points, followed by junior Yusef Aziz (14.0), senior Brandon Lyons (13.8) and junior Darnell Lyons (12.5). And the contributions don't stop there. The Bulldogs go seven deep.

Wheeler said this season's team is much closer than last season's.

"Last year, we just didn't have that togetherness," he said. "Last year, I was kind of nervous going into the (state) tournament. This year, I'm so comfortable and confident this team can do something real special. I can't explain about the chemistry on this team. We honestly like each other."

Cussac likes his team's chances in the tournament.

"We're playing our best basketball, and it's a good time to be doing it," he said.