BASKETBALL
1993-94 Season
Not only did Kettman make the Sehome varsity squad as a sophomore, he excelled.
The Mariners won their first 10 games of the season, and during that stretch, Kettman averaged 13.1 points per game. That included a 22-point game at Anacortes, and a 22-point game at home against Edmonds-Woodway.
It also included a close 52-50 win over Ferndale in which Kettman picked up a loose ball under the basket and banked in a close shot with 10 seconds to go to ultimately win the contest.
He also hit four 3-pointers in a 55-52 win at Lynden.
Sehome finished the regular season splitting the final 10 games, and stood at 15-5 going into the district tournament.
He scored a season-high 24 points in a 70-66 win at Burlington-Edison.
Sehome dropped its district tournament opener to Monroe, 65-49, despite the 11 points and eight rebounds of Kettman, both of which led his team, but the Mariners turned it around and defeated Bellingham 41-34 and then beat Lynden 45-44 to get into the state tournament.
Sehome dropped its two state playoff games, to Garfield and W.F. West, but it was easy to see that big things were on the horizon for Kettman and his teammates.
He was third on his team in scoring, with 253 points scored over the 25 games. He was one of just five players on his team that played in all 25 games, and he was the second highest scoring sophomore in Whatcom County behind only Ryan Skogstad of Ferndale.
He also averaged 5.8 rebounds per game.
1994-95 Season
It was a tremendous junior season for Kettman and the Mariners, as Ryan began the season scoring in double-digits in the first four games of the season.
In that fourth game of the season he led his team with 19 points and 10 rebounds in an 85-46 win over Stanwood.
A few games later he erupted for 21 points at home against Lynden, and the Mariners won that game 64-43 for their 10th straight win to begin the season. He hit five 3-pointers in the contest,
He then scored in double-digits in five of the next eight games, all of which Sehome won, as the 18-0 Mariners entered the showdown against Mount Vernon at home.
The Bulldogs nipped Sehome 50-49, but the Mariners came back in the next game to put up 107 points against North Delta as they finished regular season 19-1.
Sehome defeated Bainbridge Island 77-52 in the first round of the district tournament, and followed that up with a 65-33 drubbing of Ferndale.
Kettman shook off a back injury to score 13 points in the district championship game against Shorecrest, and the Mariners won 63-57, and were back in the state tournament once again.
Sehome was matched up against Garfield for the second straight year to open up the state tournament, but this time the Mariners got their revenge and won 67-64.
O’Dea defeated Sehome 63-53 in the quarterfinals, but the Mariners bounced back the next day to defeat Capital 68-66 behind Kettman’s 17 points which led the team.
Kettman then scored 11 points as Sehome defeated Hanford 58-47 on the final day of the state tournament, which gave the Mariners a 4th place finish.
He averaged 13 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in the state tournament, and was named the Class AA State All-Tournament Team. The MVP of the tournament was Jason Terry, who went on to star in the NBA.
Ryan finished the season with 328 points scored in 27 games (12.1 average), which was the second most on his team. He also averaged over seven rebounds per game and was named to the All-Northwest League 1st Team.
1995-96 Season
Going into his senior year, Kettman and his teammates knew that they had the chance to accomplish something pretty incredible. They worked extremely hard in the offseason, and they needed to as Sehome was moving up into the largest classification in the state.
Not only was it a great season, it was a magical one. A dominating one. A perfect one.
Highly regarded as the best boys basketball team in Whatcom County history, the Mariners went a perfect 30-0 and went on to win the state championship.
Ask anyone who got to witness this team first hand, they would say it was team basketball at its purest.
Sehome opened the season with a 82-39 win at Sammamish, and Kettman scored 13 points in the first quarter alone.
He scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the following game, a 95-42 win over Kamiak at home.
Kettman also scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers, in an 83-44 victory over Marysville-Pilchuck. 20 of his points came in the first quarter alone.
2,400 fans filled Sehome’s gym when the Mariners battled Mount Vernon, who was also undefeated at the time. Sehome won the game 73-55, with Kettman leading the way with 23 points.
The Mariners jumped out to a 28-0 lead on the road against Snohomish on the way to a 95-62 win. Kettman hit four 3-pointers and scored 24 points in the game.
Every game was won by a double-digit margin, and when the Mariners defeated Decatur 81-42 in the state championship game, it cemented a legacy that is still talked about today. It was the most one-sided outcome in a title game since 1940.
The closest game Sehome had all season was a 61-50 win over Lynden, a game in which Kettman did not play.
Kettman scored 19 points in the championship game, and scored over 20 points in five other games that season.
The Mariners averaged nearly 80 points per game, and held their opponents to under 50 points per game.
Kettman was named to the Class AAA State All-Tournament 2nd Team, despite rolling an ankle during the tournament.
He was also named All-WesCo 1st Team, and was named Class AAA All-State 1st Team.
They were also ranked nationally and cracked the USA-Today Top 10.
Kettman finished the season averaging 15.6 points per game, as well as 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Basketball Career
He was regarded by many as the best overall player on the best overall team in Whatcom County history. A player that could do everything on the court, whether it was shot from deep, bang down low, grab rebounds, play defense or pass the ball. He went on to star at Western Washington University where he became a fixture with the Viking program.
