Basketball has been a staple of Puyallup for decades. But how much has the sport and its experience changed over the years? 

Isaiah Sonntag has been playing basketball for 12 years. He says his favorite moment was playing against cross-town rival Rogers High School.  

“In my previous years my most memorable time was beating Rogers at home when we had a two percent winning chance and they were making posters with photoshopped pictures of my mom with other Rogers players, it was a very fun moment,” Sonntag said. 

Seth Bruinsma played center for the basketball team in 1998 and says that one of his team’s favorite traditions was praying together before walking out onto the hardwood to the crowd.  

“It was a big thing for me and all the guys; we would do it before every game just before running out and listening to the crowd,” Bruinsma said.  

For Sonntag, the speed of play makes a difference in the game. 

“I like to play off the catch I like to get my shot off quick and if that doesn’t work, I like to get into my pull up jumper,” Sonntag said.  

Bruinsma used his sheer size and strength to bully his way through opponents and get to the hoop. 

“I used my height to play aggressively get to the hoop and finish scoring best I could,” Bruinsma said. 

Sonntag says he did not really change how he sees or plays the game and that he feels comfortable where he is currently at. 

“I’ve pretty much been the same throughout my career. I like to play fast, get my shots off quick,” Sonntag said.  

Bruinsma says the difference in how his position is played now than it was he was grabbing rebounds from the paint. 

“Nowadays they look for a little shorter and more agile, as in when I played it was all about height and aggressiveness, they looked for someone who could sit in the paint and get rebounds,” Bruinsma said. 

Sonntag does plan on playing basketball at the collegiate level but cannot say where just yet. 

“I do plan on playing college basketball. I’m not really sure what my decision is on where I’m going, but you guys will know soon,” Sonntag said. 

Bruinsma did go to college, but not for basketball. Instead he spent his college career hitting game winning runs from the home plate of a baseball field.  

“I was a baseball guy so when the choice came, I chose to play baseball in college rather than basketball,” Bruinsma said.