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As Lower Columbia College was walking off the court on Saturday after its final practice of the season, Skagit Valley coaches and players were getting prepped for the last NWAC tune-up.
For the first time this weekend, Morton graduates Chad Cramer and Carl Howell were on the court together. They small-talked with each other before going their separate ways.
“I like talking hoops and he is a massively successful coach,” Cramer said. “(I like to) talk about Morton basketball, which is my favorite subject.”
Basketball runs deep in Morton. From longtime Mark Morris head coach Bill Bakamus to Darrell Grove and the late Gil Coleman, it’s a long list of icons.
Yet on Sunday in the NWAC Men’s Championship game, it was Cramer and Howell at center stage as coaches for the two teams chasing glory.
Skagit Valley won a back-and-forth tussle with LCC 77-72 to claim its first NWAC title in 38 years at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. It also marks the third title that Howell has claimed as a head coach, the first time an NWAC coach has won three.
“Morton will be happy either way,” Howell said less than 24 hours before tip. “How many small towns like that have three guys that went on to be college coaches? It is a special group.”
Before Morton combined with White Pass, the then-Huskies were a constant figure in the state tournament through the late-1970s into the 80s. They went back-to-back in 1987-88, were runners-up in ‘89 and made three other appearances in the 80s. Howell graduated in ‘84, just before the run of state titles.
Still, his influencer Jerry “Hardrock” Wood was instrumental in getting him and his classmates involved with hoops at an early age.
“He got all of us kids playing on the blacktop,” Howell said. “He was a local legend.”
A Skagit Valley graduate, Howell got into coaching at the age of 26. He started at Central Washington before getting his first head coach gig at Tacoma Community College.
Success followed.
TCC won over 75 percent of its games in Howell’s first stint. After a 10-year stay in Tacoma, he was an assistant coach at Eastern Washington for four years. Then he came back to the NWAC and back to TCC as head coach in 2008. Then in 2019, Howell was named head coach for the Cardinals.
“That was intriguing coming back to Skagit,” Howell said, noting just four appearances in 28 years was between his tenure and the late-Dave Quall’s time. “The program fell on hard times. It was a prideful thing and also a challenge. Having a lot of connections enabled me to get the program back on track.”
Howell became the fastest NWAC coach to win 500 career games earlier this season. It came in a mid-December game versus Centralia College. He had a handful of supporters from East Lewis County that made the trek to Big Bend College.
“That was cool,” Howell stated. “I like controlling my own destiny, I’m the worst loser you'll ever see.”
Cramer was an assistant for MWP when it won two straight state titles in 2014-15 and took over the program in 2018 up until a fourth place finish at state in 2023. He established himself and jumped at the chance to be a college assistant in Longview.
“It has been such a fun challenge,” Cramer said. “Such good players and coaches. For me, coming from the 2B level to (this) level has been a huge challenge for me and I’ve enjoyed taking that on.”
There’s plenty of local connections for the Red Devils. Napavine alum James Grose, one of the best pure scorers to come through Lewis County, is a regular starter. W.F. West alum Parker Eiswald saw six minutes of court time in the title game.
One-time Tenino player Noah Schow is also in the starting lineup. Grose and Schow combined for 24 points and eight rebounds on Sunday. Skagit Valley led by as many as eight and got 17 points from its bench to LCC’s goose egg.
The Cardinals also forced 15 turnovers that turned into 18 points plus more than doubled the Red Devils in points in the paint (46-22).
While they never crossed paths as preps in Morton, Cramer and Howell keep in touch. When Cramer first took the MWP job, he put in a call to Howell.
“He reached out to me about defensive schemes,” Howell recalled. “I could tell he was passionate about it. It meant a lot to me. I really try to help guys that way.”
Morton helping Morton. A classic combo in itself.
“It seems like the longer I do this, some people are from Morton or Morton-adjacent,” Cramer said. “You’re from there, played against them or coached by them. It is really cool and people don’t realize it until you talk to them.”
Post-2019, the two most winningest programs in the NWAC are LCC and Skagit Valley at 146 wins apiece. The Cardinals now take a one-game cushion in that contest.
There’s mutual respect between the two Morton guys that have found their love of coaching at two-year institutions.
“He coaches hard. He has a good eye for talent and he puts that talent together where the pieces fit,” Cramer said. “I think guys like to play for him.
“This is really, really neat for Morton to have representation like that in the championship game.”
