FORKS — Scott Justus, the longtime boys basketball coach at Forks High School, would have never guessed at the beginning of this year that a 6-foot-3 junior guard would be his top player for the season.
Not when he had six solid seniors returning for his 10-player varsity team.
But Braden Decker, who showed up the first of the season much stronger and bigger than he was as a sophomore, not only was the top player for the Spartans, but he was voted the MVP of the Southwest Washington League-Evergreen Division.
Because of his breakout season, Decker also was voted the co-MVP of the North Olympic Peninsula with Sequim’s Corbin Webb.
The two aren’t a cookie-cutter image of the other, but they are awfully close in ability and talent.
Top scorers, stoppers
Both of them are the top scorer and top defender for their respective teams, and they are similar size playing similar positions.
Decker’s worth to the team became apparent when he missed a few games at the end of the season because of a big-toe infection.
The Spartans lost to teams they had beaten before, and they had barely defeated a squad that they had blown out in an earlier game.
“When Braden had a good game, we had a good game,” Justus said.
“When he had a bad game, we had a bad game. he made everybody on the team better.”
League runner-up
There weren’t a lot of bad games this year as Decker sparked the Spartans to second place in league, the second seed in the postseason and just short of the state tournament.
“This is the best year as a team we have had since I have been playing,” Decker said.
“It’s been fun.”
Just like Webb, Decker was given the job of defending the best offensive player on the other team.
It didn’t matter if that player was the center or post and towered above Decker.
The junior guard consistently held the other teams’ top scorer way below his per-game average.
“He’s strong and he’s smart,” Justus said about his prize player.
“He became a great defender between his sophomore and junior years. He had a great football season and it carried over to basketball.”
In football, Decker was voted an all-league defensive end, and he was a Class 1A all-state honorable mention.
There’s no secret about Decker’s new-found strength.
“I worked out [on weights] over the summer and I grew some,” he said.
Decker was listed at 6-1 as a sophomore.
“Being stronger has helped me on defense,” Decker added.
The guard also scored a third of the Spartans’ points this year, averaging 16.4 points per game, up from a respectable 12.3 as a sophomore.
The left-hander became a better ball-handler this year, making it more difficult for other teams to disrupt his play-making.
“This year he developed dribbling from his right hand,” Justus said. “He can handle the ball with his right hand now.”
A player on the high school level who can dribble only on one side is a lot easier to defend, Justus said.
“We will play a left-hander on his left side, making him go right,” Justus said.
When a player is good with both hands, though, that strategy doesn’t work.
Overall, Decker has been a big asset for the Forks program.
“He’s one kid who is very coachable,” Justus said.
“He’s smart, and he asks questions if he doesn’t understand something.
“His GPA is way up there, at 3.5 or something like that.”
The third-year varsity letterman was the sixth player off the bench as a freshman and has started the past two seasons.
The good news for the Spartans is that they get him for another year.
“I’m glad we’re getting him back next year,” Justus said. “The sky’s the limit for him.”
The bad news is that Decker will have a bull’s-eye on his jersey next season after the graduation of the six seniors.
“I think we will be fine,” Decker said. “I will just have to distribute the ball to other players, and work harder to score.”
Decker won’t be backing off from the extra attention next year.
“I like pressure,” he said.
But there could be help on the way, according to Decker.
“There will be some guys — in my grade — who haven’t played for a couple of years, but who will be coming out next year.
“They are big, tall and strong kids.”
That’s not good news to the rest of the league.
Decker has a year to decide, but he’s considering playing at the community college level after he graduates, and then train for two years to play Division II ball.
But he’s also considering playing football — at defensive end and tight end — on the next level.
“Basketball is my favorite sport, though,” he said.
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Sports Editor Brad LaBrie can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at brad.labrie@peninsuladailynews.com.