Arda Aydin believes this King’s Way boys basketball team is deeper than the one that won the fourth-place trophy at last season’s Class 1A state tournament.
But the Knights have not been as deep as they wanted to be because Aydin, a two-year starter and the team’s most valuable defender, suffered a season-ending knee injury before his senior year got off the ground.
Instead of guarding Cascade Christian’s best player on Saturday in a regional playoff game at Battle Ground High School, Aydin will do his best to support his teammates from the bench as they try to earn a return trip to the Class 1A tournament in Yakima.
In fact, the Knights might play without as many as four players who have been starters. Kyle Gonzales (appendectomy) might be able to play if King’s Way reaches Yakima. Post Preston Danberg (ankle) and guard Skyler Freeman (illness) might also be sidelined according to Knights coach Daven Harmeling.
From the day Aydin was injured Harmeling has preached a no-victim mentality to his players.
“I don’t feel bad for our team. I do feel bad for Arda because he misses out on this experience,” Harmeling said.
Aydin tore the ACL in his right knee during a fall league game in September, though the initial diagnosis was less severe. The reality hit during a Dec. 15 game against Kalama when he came down with a rebound and felt his right knee give way.
Basketball helped Aydin feel at home as a 14-year-old King’ Way freshman who moved with his mother from his native Turkey to Vancouver in pursuit of better education options. Close friends of his family have lived in Vancouver for a long time, and King’s Way Christian felt like the best fit when he arrived, Aydin said.
Volkan Aydin, Arda’s father, played professional basketball in Turkey for more than a decade and was a member of Anadolu Efes of Istanbul when it won several domestic championships. Volkan Aydin now coaches a minor-league team in Turkey.
Arda Ayden has spent at least a month each summer visiting his father in Turkey. He plans to return there immediately after graduating from King’s Way in the spring to have his knee repaired by a surgeon there.
The knee feels much better now than it did in December. Aydin can walk, but there are no jump shots in his immediate future. At practice, he shags rebounds during shooting drills, sweeps the floor and runs the scoreboard.
“I’m like a water boy now,” Aydin joked.
Actually, he is more than that,Harmeling said.
“He’s really done a great job of supporting the guys,” the coach said. “If we’re struggling he’s the first guy to pick up guys and say something positive.”
What the Knights lost when Aydin was injured was perhaps the best two-way player in the Trico League. At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Arda has the build of a post player. But he was the Knights point guard as a junior and always drew the toughest defensive assignment. Harmeling noted that last season Aydin held many of the players he defended to less than half their season scoring average.
As for Aydin’s basketball future, that depends upon his recovery from the knee surgery. He said he plans to return to Vancouver after spending a month or so in Turkey, but he isn’t yet sure where he will attend college.
Though not a Division I-caliber player, Harmeling believes Aydin can be a very successful player for a small college program.
“He has a very unique skill set,” Harmeling said. “He’d be a tremendous defender and ball-handler. And he’s always going to be a great teammate.”
That future, though, isn’t on Aydin’s mind right now. His focus is on supporting the Knights in their pursuit of a state title — repaying the support he has received from them since his injury.
One example: Fellow senior Darion Lycksell threatened to skip practice if Aydin didn’t show up. That kind of support helped Aydin stop dwelling on his injury.
“I love all of them,” Aydin said. “I’m here to support all my teammates.”