The Roundup: Behind the Scenes of the Tyran Stokes Experience

GN: I didn't know what to expect. Because you look at him, and he does not look like a kid. He's 6 foot 8. But then you talk to him, and it's like, "Oh, yeah, this is just a kid." That's not to say he isn't articulate — because he is. I think I was surprised that he and I didn't get tangled up in our generational language. One of the things I had asked him was about his playlist, and he listed off a bunch of songs on his calm playlist. And I was like, "Keisha Cole and Mary J. Blige? That's my music!" Then he starts listing off rappers, and I'm like, "I'm sorry. I only know the original ones, but not the contemporary ones."

So I think the takeaway is he's not what the public sees, which is like this villain every night because he's being heckled by student sections, even when playing at Rainier Beach. They turn out in full force. He's so much better than anyone that they played, or anyone in this area, that teams have resorted to so many different ways of trying to stop him, and most of it is trying to get into his head.

He's a caring kid. He's mentoring all his teammates. He's being patient with them. He looks after them, especially JJ Crawford, his little bro. So yeah, I think sitting down with him kind of cast a different light.

GN: What's crazy to me is that the talent is so converged in Seattle (Metro League). They're playing in districts now, so they're playing against Kingco League teams. Kingco's two best teams aren't even within 20 points of any Metro League team. So Rainier Beach's toughest competition are Metro League schools. And they keep playing each other over and over again. Rainier Beach just played Eastside Catholic, and they play O'Dea for the district championship, which will be the fourth time they played them this year. And then they're going to meet them inevitably in the state tournament, which starts next week and the week after. So their toughest competition is their own league, you know, the city schools.

GN: They're in the Tacoma Dome. So if you wanted to go see Rainier Beach all year, and then you read about the crowd, so you didn't want to bother with it, the WIAA state championship is probably your best bet. You're not going to be as close as you would be in a high school gym, and it's not going to be as cool as it is in a hot-box small high school gym.

But I still have to make this point: Tyran Stokes is amazing. I don't know what I expected going in, but from the get-go, the first game, I'm just astounded at the things this high school kid can do. I've seen a lot of the top prodigies, you know, I remember seeing Kevin Durant in high school and being amazed by him, but he couldn't hold a candle to Tyran Stokes at the same stage. He's like a show. I mean, he is worth the price of admission if you're thrilled by dunks. And he doesn't just dunk it or dunk it hard. He does tricks. I was at the NBA slam dunk championship in 1994 watching J.R. Rider pull out the "East Bay Funk Dunk" for the first time, and everyone was amazed. Now, this kid is doing it in games.

I feel like we overuse the word "blessed," but I feel that way about getting to see someone like this in high school, in our backyard, my own neighborhood, and he's being called a once-in-a-lifetime player.

GN: I have said Jamal Crawford is probably the best, most accomplished player to come out of Seattle, period. I think even he would say Tyran Stokes at this stage is a better prospect.

GN: I mean, Mike, he's 6'8". He's not just a skinny kid. He's solid. He's 230, maybe 240 pounds. He handles the ball and he initiates the offense for them. So, he's a 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pound combo guard. He'll run the point, but then they'll run stuff for him to shoot the three. I mean, the combination of things that he can do, and then to have kind of a humility and work ethic about him; I just can't imagine anyone in the past measuring up to that.

GN: No way. They're entrenched here. They're one of the most well-known franchises in the NFL. I was covering the team back when Ken Behring was going to move them down to Oakland. But that team was in a kind of disarray. Even the Sonics, when they were moved, they were a little bit waney in their popularity, so they seemed kind of vulnerable. The Seahawks don't have the marks of a franchise being vulnerable. And I can't even see the NFL owners letting somebody relocate. I don't think that's even a factor.

I think the interesting thing is, who's going to buy the team? And are they going to continue the standard that Paul and Jody Allen have set for them being one of the best managed teams in the league? I hope it's not the Mariners owners. I hope it's not Jeff Bezos. That's the only thing I do know. I know who I don't want.