Webb joins ‘Total Package’ hoops team in SW trip

March 21, 2014 4:10 pm

The opening tip of the 2008-2009 prep basketball season is months away, but Ary Webb is already hitting from long range.

Try 1,200 miles away.

Webb and members of the Total Package Blue summer league basketball team are in Los Angeles this week finishing a summer of touring some of the top prep invitationals on the West Coast.

Webb, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard/forward and senior-to-be at Sequim High School, joins nine other West Sound-region all-stars as they scramble for playing time, experience and exposure to college recruits.

“The traveling part is the best part,” Webb said from a cell phone in Los Angeles. “I don’t think I’ve ever played against a New York team in my life. We played teams from Pennsylvania … (and) teams from everywhere.”

Other members of the Total Package Blue Team include Tionne Curry of South Kitsap, Kyle Erickson of North Kitsap, Christian Wesley of Central Kitsap, Chad Rasmussen of Curtis, Jordan Cain of Bellarmine Prep, Austin Jenkins of Gig Harbor, Ryan Rogers of Auburn-Riverside, Skyler Stillwell of Yelm and Webb’s most familiar opponent, Port Townsend post Parker McClelland, who’s now a teammate.

“I’m such a stronger player (now),” Webb said. “I attack pressure defense make. These games make me more mentally tough, too. I can handle a lot more.”

Total Package also has a Red traveling team including Brett Skogstad from North Mason, Peninsula’s Gene Lee and players from Bainbridge, North Kitsap, South Kitsap and Olympic high schools.

Both the Total Package teams recently competed in the Northwest Premier Showcase at Bellevue Community College. The Blue squad went 1-3, losing a tough game to a Seattle squad that features three players ranked in the top 20 in the country at their positions.

Last week, the Blue squad competed at the Reebok Summer Championships, with hundreds of teams playing throughout different venues in Las Vegas.

Webb said his squad qualified for the semifinals before falling.

“My summer is basketball,” he said. “It feels good to be getting a workout.”

Webb and Total Package Blue finish the summer campaign this Friday at the annual Double Pump Best of Summer Tournament at Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles.