
Less than a month into the season, the Tigard boys basketball team has already surpassed its win total from last year, and Head Coach Stu Bailey thinks the team is just starting to show signs of how good they can be.

“We started off a little slow at the beginning but things are getting better,” Bailey said. “Night in and night out, we’re going from playing just eight kids to playing all 15. We have the ability to play all 15 at times because we’ve got great kids who work super hard. The fall off isn’t quite there from number eight to number 15.”
Of the team’s 15 players, 11 of them are seniors, many of whom have been playing together long before high school. Plenty of those kids have been playing together year-round, as well, and not just in basketball. More than half of the team just finished playing together in football, and a bunch of the team also plays various spring sports.
“In an age when it seems like communities and media and people like to celebrate kids who are one-sport athletes, but at Tigard, we like to celebrate the kids who go out and play as many sports as they can,” Bailey said.
“We just have a bunch of kids who are like throwbacks. It’s how it used to be. Your best athletes would go play a different sport every single season. It’s super, super fun.”
The closeness helped keep the team together last year when then-Head Coach Shawn Alderman died suddenly on Feb. 5. Alderman was 52 at the time and was in the middle of his 25th year coaching at Tigard.

Bailey coached alongside Alderman for 26 years in all, and the two went to high school together and played against each other in college. He said the year was hard on everyone around the program.
“The kids that were here last year were amazing,” Bailey said. “How they handled that adversity, they kept me going. We kept each other going.”
But it was a tough year, Alderman said, between losing the school’s long-time coach and losing on the court as well. The Tigers won just two games last year.
“We just weren’t winning,” he said. “We got through it, but that’s it. We got through it.”
Tigard dropped its first two games of the season this year, and it looked like the Tigers might be in for another rough year. But they bounced back, winning three straight after that to sit at 3-2 as of our press deadline.
The third straight win was an impressive road victory at Beaverton. Things were a bit close in the first half, but Tigard went on a run in the third quarter and pulled away, winning 62-48. The Tigers were led by star senior Colt Ness, who earned all-Three Rivers League first-team honors a year ago as a junior.
Bailiey said Ness has been a big reason for the early-season success, as he sets the tone for the rest of team.

“He’s the hardest worker in the gym. He leads that way, as well as vocally,” Bailey said. “He tries to get everybody else involved. I would have loved to play with him. I was a guy hoping to get some shots up and he’s always looking to get everyone the ball.”
One of his early season running mates has been fellow senior Corbin Cichy, who is back in the program after a few years away. Bailey also said it’s been a strong start to the season for one of the team’s captains, Hudson Boyd, noting that the senior has continually improved throughout his high school career.
Kingston Hunter is one of the team’s few juniors, and has been a key contributor in the starting lineup, Bailey said.
“He’s got lofty goals this year, especially on the defensive side,” Bailey said.
Bailey said he wants this season to be about the kids on the team and celebrating their success.
“I know they came out of that adversity last year with more appreciation for everyday things, and we don’t want to forget what happened,” he said. “This year, we have the opportunity to celebrate them. That’s going to mean a lot to them. It’s important that this year, these kids get a lot more of the attention.”