Looking back, the numbers are both shocking and puzzling.
How does a school of more than 2,000 students, one that is known for its athletic prowess statewide, have just 11 girls turn out for the basketball season?
Boggling as it might seem, that’s exactly what Kentwood High’s Keith Hennig was staring at six short years ago: A relatively empty court.
Empty as that court might have been at the time, those who were there possessed plenty of hope — and big dreams.
“The second (that wife Wendy and I) took over, even though we had just 11 girls, we had the expectations that we were going to win,” said Hennig, recalling tryouts that first year. “The girls slowly bought into the system, bought into the team and started believing we’re going to win. We haven’t always had the most talented teams, but we always have played as a team.”
This past winter, however, Hennig did have the most talented team. And it showed as he guided the Conquerors to a 28-1 overall record and the school’s first Class 4A title on the girls basketball court, a season that culminated with a 60-47 victory against Snohomish on March 7 for the state crown.
Add it up and Hennig proved to be the obvious choice for the Kent Reporter’s Coach of the Year for Female Sports.
The winter was a magic ride like no other for the Conquerors, a group of nine girls who bonded like family. Of course, part of that bonding was a credit to the Hennigs – Keith, Wendy and their two boys, Trevor and Brady – who would literally turn an ordinary practice into a family gathering. Matter of fact, if 3-year-old Trevor or 1-year-old Brady wasn’t around during tip-off, something seemed amiss for the Conquerors.
“They devoted themselves to the program,” said forward Courtney Johnson. “It was a family atmosphere the entire year.”
A winning atmosphere, too.
Matter of fact, the Conquerors won their first 24 games of the season, a run that began in early December and didn’t end until the final day of February. And it didn’t take Hennig long to realize something special was happening with this bunch.
To be precise, it was the first few games of the season, when Kentwood swept through the prestigious Nike Northwest Invitational in Beaverton, Ore., a tournament which the Conquerors capped with a 74-67 win over St. Mary’s of Stockton, Calif. St. Mary’s came into the tournament as the nation’s top-ranked team.
It was during that tournament when Hennig decided to go with a nine-player roster, a number that is several fewer than the majority of high school teams.
The biggest reason for that decision, Hennig recalled, was due to how the team came together as a tight-knit group during those early victories.
“We honestly were going to bring more players in,” said Hennig, who stepped down at the end of the season and finished with a 136-25 overall record. “We had nine and we were going to work in some junior varsity players. But we had that tournament at the beginning of the season. And the team bonding, the routines they went through before and after games … we didn’t want to change that.”
Little changed for the Conquerors as the season progressed.
One notable difference between this group and the Kentwood teams that qualified for the three previous state tournaments, however, was a simple tweaking of the defense. In previous seasons, the Conquerors used a swarming, baseline-to-baseline pressure defense. This past winter, Hennig chose to implement a trapping style of defense.
“Our switching man-to-man defense and not pressing all the time (as in past years) allowed us to stay out of foul trouble,” Hennig said. “We worked on our half-court defense. It was more of a pack defense and forced teams to shoot from the outside.”
The end result couldn’t have been better for Kentwood, which won its fourth straight South Puget Sound League North Division title and won games by an average score of 68-43. Along the way, three different Conquerors earned first-team all-league accolades and three others earned honorable mention.
But it was about more than just being the most talented team on the court, but the most unselfish as well. During crunch time, it didn’t matter who scored as long as the Conks put the ball in the bucket.
Hennig did plenty of coaching, too.
“I think there were a lot of things behind the scenes that a lot of people didn’t see. He’s honestly one of the smartest coaches I have ever known,” said Lindsey Moore, who was named the North Division’s MVP. “He scouted like crazy. He always had a game plan for every team we faced. He’d watch players (from other teams) and know there tendencies and know exactly what we had to do defensively.
“I think one of the main reasons we won was because of him.”
But Hennig’s impact on the Kentwood program goes far beyond the 2008-2009 season. In fact, it began six years ago, when he took over as coach and instilled a simple belief in every girl who stepped on the court that no matter what the odds, they could win. It’s a foundation that was established in 2003 and grew stronger with each passing year.
Before Hennig arrived, Kentwood never had qualified for the state tournament. Upon stepping down, the Hennig-guided Conquerors had qualified for the last four postseason parties.
“By the numbers alone, he made a huge impact,” said All-SPSL first-team guard Jessie Genger. “His coaching style, having his wife there and the kind of atmosphere that they brought really set the program apart from any in the state.”
Indeed. Because as much success as Kentwood has enjoyed during Hennig’s run, it will continue into next winter, when the Conquerors enter the season on a 53-game SPSL North winning streak, a stretch of victories that dates back to January of 2006.
To go from 11 girls six years ago to a state crown is simply icing on the cake, Hennig acknowledged.
“If you want a storybook ending, I don’t think you could have asked for a better one,” he said. “We did everything we could. To finally get to the top and get that ring, it’s an unbelievable feeling.
“It couldn’t have happened to a better group of girls”
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
