News Archives

Monday September 10, 2012
Alaska High School Basketball
     The first official day of the 2012-2013 season is Monday, November 26th. Players are working out across the state in preparation for what stands to be an exciting year. See you at the gym!

Saturday August 18, 2012
Basketball Camp a Success!
     While the masses were trolling the waters surrounding Juneau during the 66th annual Golden North Salmon Derby, 40+ school-aged youth were engaged in the development of their fundamental basketball skills at the Juneau Fast Break Basketball Camp. This camp was held August 10-12, open to all those entering 2nd -12th grades, and supported by the Juneau-Douglas High School Boys basketball team and their booster organization, the Fast Break Club. Through the dedicated work of an entirely volunteer staff, campers worked hard and had fun while improving their shooting, dribbling, rebounding, and defensive fundamentals. The JDHS boys basketball staff ran the camp and was supported expertly by local players, alumni, and coaches.

Camp director and JDHS boys basketball head coach, Robert Casperson, would like to thank the following for their efforts helping Juneau’s future have a safe and enjoyable learning experience: George Houston, Akeem Micheli, Steve Houlihan, Greg Huebschen, Kevin Casperson, Dee Booster, Gilbert Mendoza, Jim Carson, Bob Saviers, Mike Foster, Emily Johnson, Lance Ibesate, Eric Gross, Brittany Fenumiai, Taylor Larson, Alex Fagerstrom, Bruce Jones, Marissa Brakes, Kaitlin Fagerstrom, Manase Maake, Kevin Guimmayen, Keith Ainsworth, Gunnar Shultz, Adam Empson, John Yadao, and Esra Siddeek. Also invaluable to the success of the weekend were Misha Culver and Corby Abel. They employed their outstanding organizational abilities by running the registration process, compiling player skills-test scores, and making the final preparations for the closing ceremony.

The JDHS boys basketball staff looks forward to building on his year’s experience and plans to bring you the Juneau Fast Break Basketball Camp again next summer!

Sunday July 22, 2012
Juneau Fast Break Basketball Camp - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The opportunity to improve your skills has returned to Juneau after a summer hiatus

The Juneau-Douglas High School Boys Basketball team and the Fast Break Club are sponsoring the Juneau Fast Break Basketball Camp, August 10-12. The camp is for boys and girls entering 2nd through 12th grades in the 2012-13 school year; 2nd through 6th grades attend the morning sessions and 7th through 12th grades attend the afternoon sessions. Friday’s sessions are: morning 8-11 a.m., afternoon noon-3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday sessions are: morning 9 a.m.-noon, afternoon 2-5 p.m.

The camp is held at the JDHS gymnasium. Cost is $75 per player.

The weekend will be filled with fundamental instruction focused on improving individual skills through drill work and competition. Players will be grouped by age and appropriate level. Current and former high school and college coaches and players will provide personalized instruction in a positive learning environment to promote skill development and confidence. The gym will be open 30 minutes prior to the start of each session and close shortly after the end of each session.

For more information call 321-2595 or email juneaubasketball@gmail.com.

Thursday April 12, 2012
Crimson Bears' hoopster Yadao playing in state all-star game - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Juneau-Douglas High School senior Tony Yadao can’t seem to hang the sneakers up for the season as accolades keep sending the whippet-fast guard around the country.

Yadao will be competing in the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches Second Annual Senior All-Star Basketball games tonight at Soldotna High School and Saturday at Anchorage’s Grace Christian High School.

Players, 24 boys and 24 girls, are chosen by coaches throughout the state in recognition for senior, and high school, basketball careers that have been impressive. JDHS’ Lance Ibesate also was selected but is currently into his baseball season and cannot attend.

“It is pretty cool and special that we had two kids from our team selected to represent Juneau,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “It is a great nod to those two because they have worked so hard, since they were in the fourth grade they have been playing and focused.”

The selection truly represents the top players in the state as the process involves all four school-size classifications.

The selection for Yadao comes on the heels of his recent trip with 11 other Alaskan players coached by Dimond’s Jim Young on an Alaskan Exposure swing through some of the 36 colleges in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. Yadao received several offers for play as did Crimson Bears’ teammate Alec Calloway.

Yadao also received some attention from the University of Alaska Anchorage during the state basketball tournament and his performance there has resulted in scouts looking forward to his play this weekend.

Calloway has an offer from Edmond’s CC (Wash). Ibesate has had numerous contacts including the College of the Redwoods (Calif.), the same school that gave former JDHS guard Dom Brinson his chance and resulted in a scholarship at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Senior Taylor Swofford also has been contacted by Minnesota’s Oak Hill Christian College.

“He’s a hard worker and has learned a lot,” Casperson said of Swofford. “He has come a long way in his three short years in the game.”

Senior Evan Gross will attend Brown University but is deferring for a year to join his brother in Europe. Jesse Miller will be attending UAA to run cross-country. Ryan Kelly is pursuing baseball colleges and Darien Stanger is looking for soccer action on the pitch.

Joining Yadao on the AABC senior all-star team is Haines’ Tyler Swinton. Swinton, also receiving UAA attention, is coming off an impressive display in the Lion’s Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament where he nearly led the Haines Merchants to the “B” bracket championship.

“I am really happy for Tony and am glad I can go up and support him,” Casperson, who will be a chaperone said. “It is an old cliché but this really is a feather in his cap. It is something that Juneau, Crimson Bears fans and all basketball fans should be happy for him. And for Lance getting that recognition also. To be recognized as one of the top 24 seniors in the state is pretty nice.”

The boy’s team will also include Dimond’s Colter Lasher and Luke Adams, Bartlett’s Treshawn King-Dunbar and Trenton Anthony; Wasilla’s Braydon Kuiper, Connor Devine and Dylan Ferro; Monroe’s John Michaels and LaDarius Milton; Barrow’s Colin Long and Edward Benson; and Houston’s Scott Kramer and Phillip Pease. Also selected to play are Evan Withrow, Soldotna; Chris Parker, Eagle River; Farimang Touray, Service; Colton Anderson, Nikiski; Jared Straight, Palmer; Bo Reilly, Kenai; Jared Miller, Dillingham; Nathan Hadley, Buckland; and Chance Hunter, Scammon Bay.

The boys will be coached by 4A Coach of the Year Rob Galosich from Dimond, 3A Coach of the Year Chuck Boerger from Grace Christian, Soldotna’s Matt Johnson, and 1A Coach of the Year Wayne Morgan from Aniak.

Southeast also received recognition on the girl’s side with Craig’s Melissa Castle (UAA bound), Yakutat’s Tina Esbenshade, and Haines’ Hannah Wing and Amey Messerschmidt being selected. The girl’s team includes Wasilla’s Alyssa Hutchins and Pherriar Brumbaugh; and Point Hope’s Abbie Koenig and Caroline Long. Also playing are Savanna James, Houston; Jenna Buchanan, Galena; Brianna Kirk, Noatak; Saige Stefanski, Colony; Kandice Carroll, Ft. Yukon; Morgan Wensley, Kenai; Wedney Paleo, East; Cheryl Nidoy, West; Kristin Smeaton, Dillingham; Dessirrea Kenworth, Kotzebue; Caitlin Auble, Valdez; Meg Berry, Seward; Kira Polk, Bethal; Kasara Brandenburg, Palmer; Echo Winfrey, Hutchinson; Sierra Pedersen, Su Valley.

The girls will be coached by 4A Coach of the Year Steve Caciari from West Valley, 3A Coach of the Year Levi Duca from Dillingham, 2A Point Hope State Champion Ramona Rock, and state qualifier Soldotna’s Doug Blossom.

This year’s senior all-star games’ sponsors include: ASRC, Conoco Phillips, Larson’s Chiropractic, National Guard, Kimmel Athletic, Nike Team, YMCA and ASAP Printing. The travel expense for each athlete must be self-provided.

Sunday March 18, 2012
Crimson Bears beat Kardinals in tourney finale - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     JDHS boys defeat Kenai 51-38 in fourth/sixth-place game

Together.

The word bounced down the locker room corridors beneath the University of Alaska Anchorage basketball court after the Juneau-Douglas boys basketball team defeated Kenai 51-38 in the 4A state basketball championship’s fourth/sixth-place game on Saturday.

“Together,” JDHS senior guard Austin Shoemaker said as the players filed out of the gymnasium. “We played together. It was all about playing together. Getting each other shots. It was never about the individual.”

That theme was apparent as senior guard Tony Yadao scored 13 of the Crimson Bears first 15 points with no one-on-one sets.

“Together,” Yadao said outside the locker room. “We are all together. This is the first year that we have had such good team chemistry. We all bought into coach Robert Casperson’s system and that paid off for us. We knew this was our last game and gave it our all, and there are no regrets afterward.”

Yadao scored on an opening layup, off a screen, a steal, and all out of the offensive sets as the Crimson Bears opened a 15-10 first quarter advantage.

Shoemaker opened the second period with a put back and Alec Calloway scored two baskets in a row, the last on a no-look pass from Shoemaker, as JDHS pushed to a 21-12 advantage.

“Hard work, dedication and toughness,” senior guard Lance Ibesate said. “And together we achieved that.”

When Kenai hit two buckets to make a run Ibesate drained a deep three, Yadao fed Calloway underneath and Fenumiai followed a shot inside as JDHS slowly widened their lead to 29-20 at the half.

“A great year as we became a great family,” senior wing Alec Calloway said. “We became close friends. These guys are my family from now on.”

When Kenai made a surge in the third quarter it was senior center Evan Gross who challenged the Kardinals at the rim, blocking two shots in a row, part of his game-high six rejections. Gross sacrificed his scoring this season to be a defensive hub, pick setter and rebounder for the team.

“It was a great season and a good finish after four years,” Gross said. “It was nice to finish with a win, we haven’t done that in a while. This is a great group of kids and it has been really fun playing with them. We had a mindset, and it was coach Casperson’s philosophy, to stick together and I think we did that.”

The past three trips to state resulted in a final game loss. The 2012 Crimson Bears were not about to let that happen.

Leading 43-33 starting the final period the Crimson Bears gave coach Casperson his last grey hair of the season by letting Kenai get within eight points.

“They kind of got caught up in a frantic pace for a while,” Casperson said. “We took a time out and discussed that when the clock is running that is our friend, and when we have the ball the other team can’t score and we were going to work for lay ups and free throws the rest of the way.”

“When we have that much senior experience on the floor and waiting to come in off the bench you have guys that understand what we are talking about,” Casperson continued. “As a first year head coach I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to work with. They were very dedicated in the off-season and in their desire to improve. They are very positive individuals and very willing to do what we asked and had no complaints. They got after it and always encouraged each other. The senior class and the school can be very proud of their season. They set a high standard for the underclassmen to look up to.”

Then, together, the team flowed down court. Fenumiai followed a missed shot to score, Ibesate hit a free throw, Shoemaker hit two free throws Fenumiai hit another free throw and senior Ryan Kelly put a soft lay in off the glass.

“We worked hard and accomplished a lot to get fourth at state,” Kelly said. “We wanted more but this is a high seed overall.”

Yadao led the Crimson Bears with 16 points, Fenumiai and Ibesate nine apiece, Calloway eight, Shoemaker six, Kelly two and Gross one. Ibesate dished out a game-high six assists and Shoemaker pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. JDHS outrebounded Kenai 36-25. The Crimson Bears hit 12-21 at the charity stripe, Kenai 10-16. Colton Hayes scored 16 points for the Kardinals, AJ Hull added 14, Bo Reilly four, Garrett Berg and Shane Spalding two apiece.

JDHS junior Jackson Lehnhart summed up his season as a lot of fun.

“The seniors were definitely with us all,” Lehnhart said. “It was together. You didn’t see the separation between classes that there can be, they were friends more than they were seniors.”

Saturday March 17, 2012
JDHS 4A State Tournament Awards - Juneau Empire
     â€¢ Tony Yadao: All Tourney Boys

• JDHS girl's team: Sportsmanship Trophy

• Marissa Brakes and Esra Siddeek: All Tourney Girls

• Gabi Fenumiai, Ari Gross, Ryan Kelly and Evan Gross: Good Sport Team members

• Haley Klemmentson and Rina Soriano: All Tourney Cheer Team

Friday March 16, 2012
JDHS boys beat Lathrop at state tourney - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Crimson Bears victory advanced them to 4th-place game Saturday

ANCHORAGE — Alec Calloway scored the first basket of Juneau-Douglas High School’s second breakfast game of the 4A Boys state basketball championships and the Crimson Bears never looked back in a 55-42 win over Fairbanks’ Lathrop High School on Friday morning.

“We just wanted to live to play another game,” Calloway said. “If we lose we are done for the season. I just wanted to play hard and crash the boards hard.”

Calloway rebounded on Lathrop’s next missed shot, sent an outlet pass to Lance Ibesate who hit Austin Shoemaker for an easy layup. Evan Gross scored on the next possession caused by a Calloway block and Tony Yadao followed that with a deep 3. The only starter not scoring in the first period was Ibesate, who dished out three assists in the stanza and the Crimson Bears were up 16-8 to start the second period.

Calloway scored 12 of his 14 points and seven of his team high 11 rebounds in the first half.

Ibesate scored two quick layups to start the second period and Ryan Kelly, Jeffrey Pusich and Phillip Fenumiai capped off a substitution run that left the Malemutes (11-13) panting for a second wind and looking at a 30-17 deficit.

“I think we had our moments,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “Sadly, all the 8 a.m. practices and that game yesterday paid off for us. We had a decent start and were pretty active. If you take care of the ball and get good shots at the rim you will be in any ball game, and if you make those shots you put distance between yourself and your opponents. Lathrop is quick and they have fast hands. Their zone threw us off but we were able be patient. I am so proud of our guys for rallying today. It showed some leadership. We have a lot of seniors and they wanted to make sure they keep playing, so I am glad they worked hard today and played together.”

JDHS (21-6) didn’t let up in the second half as Shoemaker had two steals and Yadao hit three jumpers in a row as the Crimson Bears went on a 9-3 run to start the third period. JDHS led 46-29 starting the final period.

Yadao would finish with 14 points, 11 in the second half, and Ibesate added 11 with game high six assists and six rebounds. Gross added six points and three rebounds, Fenumiai three points and three boards, Kelly, Jackson Lehnhart and Shoemaker two each, and Jeffrey Pusich one. Shoemaker also pulled down five rebounds. JDHS had 15 turnovers in the contest and 27 between the first two games of the tourney.

The Crimson Bears hit 12-of-22 shots at the charity stripe, the Malemutes 8-of-11. Tremon Washington and Ryan Graham-Taylor led Lathrop with 10 points apiece.

“Juneau did a good job today,” Lathrop coach Milo Griffin said. “We have faced them five times in a row in this tournament and never beaten them. They always push the ball up the floor and a very disciplined team. They are going to give us 110 percent effort.”

The Crimson Bears will play Kenai at 2 p.m. Saturday in the fourth game at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

“We won’t change anything we do,” Casperson said. “We will just watch their game, find out their tendencies and go from there. Our team wanted to do the best they could, and that was a win today and hopefully a win tomorrow.”

Thursday March 15, 2012
Service slips past JDHS in tourney opener - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Hours before many capital city residents had downed their first cups of coffee, the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears’ boys basketball team had already put in a morning of hard work in the first game of the 4A state championships against the Service Cougars.

In, arguably, the most difficult game of tournament play the Crimson Bears and Cougars showed just how even their WPI rankings were in a 47-46 eye opener that dropped JDHS into consolation play and Service into the semifinals.

“We just wanted to win,” JDHS guard Lance Ibesate said. “We practiced all week at 6 a.m., we put in the hard work. It just went the other way. They are a very good team and good luck to them in the tourney.”

The Cougars used a barren beginning by the Crimson Bears in the fourth quarter to go on a 6-0 run and turn a 32-31 deficit into a 40-32 lead.

“We hit some dry spells,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “And Service was able to take advantage of those.”

Ibesate and Tony Yadao hit back-to-back deep 3s to bring JDHS back within two and Austin Shoemaker tied the game on a shot under the hoop with 2:54 remaining to play, but Service’s Adam Klie hit two free throws to give the Cougars the lead again and Fairmang Touray nailed a 3 to swing the momentum again.

Evan Gross picked up his third foul with one minute remaining, but the Cougars couldn’t convert and Austin Shoemaker drove the baseline and was fouled, converting both free throws to narrow the deficit to two at 45-43.

A pair of Service free throws by Fairmang put the Crimson Bears down four with 20 seconds remaining. Yadao found nothing but net with a triple to put the game at 47-46 with 16.8 seconds remaining, but the Crimson Bears got caught in a defensive rotation and couldn’t find a foul to stop the action until 2.8 seconds remaining.

A key rebound by Shoemaker gave JDHS a desperation shot by player-of-the-game selection Yadao from half court. The ball caromed off the backboard and the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“We all knew that this was the game that we wanted,” Yadao said. “It was one of our goals to get past the first round. Service is a tough team and we prepared well. Both teams competed but at the end of the day one team has to lose.”

It was a tough loss for the Crimson Bears, as they seemed to have control of the tight ball game throughout the first three quarters of play.

Alec Calloway scored on a put back to open play and had two key rebounds and Shoemaker hit a short jumper for a 4-0 lead just one minute into play.

Service would go on a 6-0 run to take the lead and JDHS responded with a Yadao score and free throw and two Ibesate charity stripers to regain the edge on the scoreboard.

JDHS lead 13-8 to start the second period and opened up the largest lead of the game at 19-11 as Yadao found two easy paths to the basket and Darien Stanger made two free throws. The Cougars closed the period with a 7-2 run to pull within four at the break, 21-17.

“No one tried to be a hero,” Casperson said. “They played like they have all season, as a team, and they trusted one another to get the job done. Our whole focus was attacking the rim and looking for layups and I think we did that.”

JDHS would score 16 points off of turnovers and Service 12 on Crimson Bears’ miscues. The teams both hit more than 70 percent from the charity stripe with JDHS going 12-for-17 and Service 8-for-11. Rebounds were 28-25 in favor of the Cougars and scoring off the bench showed Service with an 11-9 advantage. JDHS was 40 percent from beyond the arc. Service hit 30 percent of its treys.

“We put a lot of pressure on their defense,” Casperson said. “And they put a lot of pressure on ours.”

Service went to a full-court press to open second-half play and pulled within a point before Yadao and Shoemaker notched free throws and Yadao buried another three-pointer for a 25-21 advantage. Gross and Ibesate had back-to-back blocks to keep the Crimson Bears rolling until Service’s Klie nailed a shot and a free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play that pulled the Cougars within one point starting the final period at 32-31.

The game featured five lead changes and five ties with Service taking the lead with a triple, opening the final period and JDHS tying the score for the last time at 2:54.

Ibesate was honored with a third team All-State selection by the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches just prior to the state tournament.

“It feels good definitely and is a great honor,” Ibesate said. “But we are not in this for individual awards, we want that team award. We have to keep our heads up and not be devastated by this loss. We have to keep working. It is not over yet.”

Yadao led the Crimson Bears with 18 points and pulled three rebounds, Ibesate added eight points and four assists, Shoemaker had seven points and two rebounds, Phillip Fenumiai scored five points and grabbed a team-high six boards, Calloway added four points with four rips, and Stanger two points.

Klie led Service with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, Touray and Marquis Robinson scored 10 apiece, Darren Muller seven, Aukusitino four, Ihro Raguindin and AJ Collins two apiece.

“My hat’s off to them (Service), but I tell you what, I am really proud of our guys,” Casperson said. “We didn’t do anything wrong. I think we played a pretty good high school basketball game. I think our guys executed all the things that I asked them to and that we had prepared for and sometimes when you do that you can still come up short. I am disappointed for our guys but certainly not in them. They played hard and just came up short today.”

The Crimson Bears now face the loser of the 5 p.m. matchup between No. 1 seed Wasilla and eighth-seeded Lathrop. It is another early breakfast game, scheduled for an 8 a.m. tip. Another game the Crimson Bears have prepared to serve up some high intensity play in.

“You still can’t take away all the success we have had this year,” Yadao said. “We still have a chance to end our season with a win and that is what we are looking forward to doing. We all look up to each other and believe in each other. It is not just one person on this team; we need everyone and that is the key that has held us together this season. And coach Casperson has held us to that.”

In the locker room after the loss the Crimson Bears regrouped.

“I told them it was just time for us to change our goal,” Casperson said. “Our goal was to come up here and work to win a state championship. It didn’t happen. Sometimes in life your goal’s need to change when the situation and the circumstances change. That is what we are going to do. We are going to change our focus and prepare for our next opponent.”

Monday March 12, 2012
Alaska All-State Basketball teams announced - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Ibesate, Siddeek and Fenumiai receive distinctions

The Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches selections to the 2012 All-State Teams were announced on Monday. Juneau-Douglas senior Lance Ibesate was a 4A third team selection for the Crimson Bears’ boys and juniors Esra Siddeek and Gabi Fenumiai were second and third team selections for the girl’s honors. Ketchikan’s Kyle Day was a second team selection for the boys.

Sitka’s Mik Potrzuski and Sariah Ady and Haines’ Tyler Swinton were second team picks for 3A, and Craig’s Melissa Castle and Petersburg’s Carolyn Kvernvik were third teamers.

Yakutat’s Tina Esbenshade and Skagway’s Rori Leverton were first team 2A selections; Klawock’s Cassi Williams and Hydaburg’s William Carle were second teamers and Klawock’s Tonya Busse was third team.

Following are the AABC All-State selections:

4A Boys – Player of the Year: Connor Devine, Wasilla. Coach of the Year: Rob Galosich, Dimond. First Team – Devine (Wasilla), Ryden Hines (Dimond), Adam Klie (Service), Colter Lasher (Dimond), Treshawn King-Dunbar (Bartlett). Second Team: Trenton Anthony (Bartlett), Connor Looney (Palmer), Braydon Kuiper (Wasilla), Amu Aukisitino (Service), Kyle Day (Kayhi). Third Team: Lance Ibesate (JDHS), Evan Withrow (Soldotna), A.J. Hull (Kenai), Marques Robinson (Service), Kendall Brown (West).

4A Girls - Player of the Year: Alyssa Hutchins, Wasilla. Coach of the Year: Steve Caciari, West Valley. First Team: Hutchins (Wasilla), Sierra Afoa (Dimond), Hannah Matson (West Valley), Kaillee Skjold, (Soldotna), Mary Klapperich, (Colony). Second Team: Taylor Blake (Palmer), Alexis Imoe (Wasilla), Aminata Cole (Dimond), Esra Siddeek (JDHS), Savannah James (Houston). Third Team: Gabi Fenumiai (JDHS), Caitlyn Brice (West Valley), Alysha Devine (Wasilla), Josie Broderick (North Pole), Taria Page (East).

3A Boys - Player of the Year: Gus Simmers, ACS. Coach of the Year: Chuck Boerger, Grace Christian. First Team: Simmers (ACS), LaDarius Milton (Monroe Catholic), Colin Long (Barrow), Scooter Bynum (Monroe), Calvin Hoffman (ACS). Second Team: Mik Potrzuski (Sitka), Tyler Swinton (Haines), Jalen Terry (Seward), Nathan Blanford (Nome), Eddie Benson (Barrow). Third Team: Tyler Wells (Monroe), John Michaels (Monroe), Darren Silas (Hutchison), Glacier Rohrer (Valdez), Jared Miller (Dillingham).

3A Girls - Player of the Year: Jenna Buchanan, Galena. Coach of the Year: Levi Duca, Dillingham. First Team: Buchanan (Galena), Lynette Hepa (Barrow), Kristin Smeaton (Dillingham), Mimi Wood (Hutchison), Dessirea Kenworthy (Kotzebue). Second Team: Caitlin Auble (Valdez), Sariah Ady (Sitka), Meg Berry (Seward), Devynn Johnson (Nome), Alex Derifield (Valdez). Third Team: Melissa Castle (Craig), Kira Polk (Bethel), Dallas Dickerson (ACS), Carolyn Kvernvik (Petersburg), Misa Webber (Cordova).

2A Girls - Player of the Year: Brianna Kirk, Noatak. Coach of the Year: Bea Klaich, Nikoleavsk. First Team: Kirk (Noatak), Tina Esbenshade (Yakutat), Megan Bauder (Cook Inlet Academy), Chelsea Tooyak (Point Hope), Rori Leverton (Skagway). Second Team: Kelsi Leaf (CIA), Abbie Koenig (Point Hope), Cassi Williams (Klawock), Kilina Klaich (Nikoleavsk), Lorenda Mitchell (Selawik). Third Team: Caroline Long (Point Hope), Shanelle Coopchiak (Togiak), Shanyce Pacheco (Bristol Bay), Trisha Norton (Noatak), Tonya Busse (Klawock).

2A Boys - Player of the Year: Danny Wells, Noorvik. Coach of the Year: Darren Zibell, Noorvik. First Team: Wells (Noorvik), Stuart Towarak (Unalakleet), David Reischach (CIA), Chance Hunter (Scammon Bay), Andre Tipikin (Nikoleavsk). Second Team: Anthony Ashby (Noatak), Ronald Oviok III (Point Hope), William Carle (Hydaburg), Henry Kanulie (Akiachak), Walter Tebbits (Noorvik). Third Team: Jack Wheeler (Ninilchik), Nathan Hadley (Buckland), Jalen Katchatag (Unalakleet), Denzel Tooyak (Point Hope), Justin Ulak (Scammon Bay).

1A Girls - Player of the Year: Kandace Carroll, Fort Yukon. Coach of the Year: Ed Lester, Newhalen. First Team - Carroll (Fort Yukon), Marina Koonooka (Gambell), JoJo Nashookpuk (Alak), Sierra Nickoli (Newhalen), Maggie Beans (St. Mary’s). Second Team: Denise Fernandez (Shishmaref), Tracy Ahnangnatoguk (Brevig Mission), Ayla Rickteroff (Newhalen), Jazzlyn Garnie (Teller), Michelle Ningeulook (Golovin). Third Team: Ardyce Nayakik (Alak), Emma Weyiouanna (Shishmaref), Amber Barr (Kiana), Trish Morgan (Aniak), Maxine Kimoktoak (Koyuk).

1A Boys - Player of the Year: John Peterson, Golovin. Coach of the Year: Wayne Morgan, Aniak. First Team: John Peterson (Golovin), Tyler Anelon (Newhalen), Joe Kohler (New Stuyahok), Harry Morgan (Aniak) Joe Jemewouk (Elim). Second Team: Vernon Rock (Shaktoolik), John Tretikoff (Newhalen), Travis Tunguing (New Stuyahok), Shield Stalker (Kivalina), Brandon Tagarook (Nunamiut). Third Team: Eknaty Cobb (Newhalen), Aaron Solomon (Fort Yukon), Tyler Henderson (Huslia), Terrell Tanner (St. Michael), Brandon Long (St. Michael).

Tuesday March 06, 2012
There Be Dragons! - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     There are rumors of things that live beyond Egan Drive, past Mendenhall Glacier and over the horizon of Stephens Passage.

Beasties with three-handed jump shots; hulking creatures with elbows that can sever a man’s (or ladies) head from neck and torso; dastardly critters with breath that smells of Icy Hot and Ben Gay; wretched thingies that crouch low in the shadows and spring up without warning to snatch the life from unsuspecting travelers.

Such is the land of the ASAA state basketball tournament.

And there be dragons that await our lads and lasses venturing there.

And Lynx and Cougars.

The WPI (winning percentage index) seedings were announced on Sunday by those wicked kings on the thrones of the Alaska Scholastic Activities Association.

Various feudal lords won their respective region tournaments and seek to conquer the court north.

The Southeast Conference’s victorious Juneau-Douglas High School boys and girls; Cook Inlet Conference’s Dimond Lynx and runner-up West Anchorage Eagles (girls) and Dimond and runner-up Bartlett Golden Bears (boys); Northern Lights champions Wasilla Warriors and runner-up Soldotna Stars (girls) and Wasilla and runner-up Colony Knights (boys); and the Mid Alaska Conference champs West Valley Wolfpack (girls) and Lathrop Malemutes (boys).

ASAA implemented two At-Large WPI berths this year. On the girls side they went to the Northern Lights Conference’s Colony Knights and the Palmer Moose. This is the first time four teams from one conference have made the state basketball tournament.

The boys WPI berths went to Cook Inlet’s Service Cougars and Northern Lights’ Kenai Kardinals.

The WPI measures strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not measure margin of victory or game location, only whether a team wins or loses. It is similar to the NCAA’s RPI (ratings percentage index) used in the NCAA tournament selection and seeding. The basic WPI formula is 50% team winning percentage and 50% opponents’ winning percentage. Only games against other Alaskan schools are counted.

Following are the bracket seedings based on WPI and instate records:

Boys – 1. Wasilla (18-0) vs. 8. Lathrop (11-6); 4. JDHS (18-3) vs. 5. Service (20-4); 3. Bartlett (15-4) vs. 6. Colony (13-9); 2. Dimond (23-0) vs. 7. Kenai (10-7).

Girls – 1.Wasilla (20-1) vs. 8. Palmer (9-8); 4. Soldotna (15-3) vs. 5. Colony (15-9); 3. West Valley (18-3) vs. 6. West Anchorage (17-7); 2. Dimond (21-0) vs. 7. JDHS (13-9).

The Crimson Bears will face their most daunting task to date, against foes that have vanquished them earlier in the year, the Service Cougars (boys) and Dimond Lynx (girls).

The JDHS girls played the Lynx the first week in February and at Dimond. The game was close at 12-9 after the first quarter. Six JDHS turnovers in the second quarter resulted in the Crimson Bears being outscored by 12 and trailed 32-17 at the half. They would lose the game by 16 points, outscoring the Lynx in the third period, staying even in the fourth and losing 54-38.

“Dimond is definitely beatable,” JDHS coach Dee Boster said. “Out defense has improved and gotten more intense.”

The Crimson Bears didn’t have Kaitlin Fagerstrom at the time and Gabi Fenumiai had just returned to the roster and the Lynx double-teamed her inside. JDHS was not prepared to shoot the ball from the perimeter.

Fagerstrom will give another outside scoring threat with Esra Siddeek and another defender on the perimeter with Marissa Brakes, Kymberlee Kelly and Sierra Tagaban. Fenumiai has seen multiple double teams since that game and has adapted. Dimond will run on the heels of Alexis Rogers, Tara Thompson and Aminata Cole.

“We definitely have our work cut out for us but everybody is beatable,” Boster said. “If we play the way we have been; then we have a very good chance of getting the job done; winning is not impossible. We must be patient on offense, something we did well at regions. . It was the Dimond game that brutally showed us we needed other people to step up and shoot the ball from outside; it was that game that made us incorporate way more shooting into our practices to get people Kymberlee, Marissa, Sierra and Kaitlin to SHOOT the ball. We have improved on that and hopefully will have more offensive threats; which hopefully will make it harder for Dimond to double team Gabi and be more aware of others on the perimeter.”

The JDHS boys played the Cougars on February 1 and lost 67-60. The Crimson Bears trailed by two, 15-13, starting the second period and tallied 23 points in the second stanza to take a 36-30 halftime lead. Phillip Fenumiai hit three triples in that run and had 17 points for the game while Alec Calloway, Austin Shoemaker and Lance Ibesate added 10 apiece and Tony Yadao seven. This is significant because the Cougars like to run and so do the Crimson Bears, and both teams play a hard defensive brand of full court plunder. JDHS went 19-22 from the charity stripe in that contest and SHS went 24-38. The Crimson Bears led 50-46 starting the final period, when they were outscored 21-10.

“Service is a guard driven team,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “They don’t have a lot of size, their bigs are more perimeter oriented or have those abilities.”

The Crimson Bears have a height advantage with Evan Gross, Gary Speck, Jeffrey Pusich and Taylor Swofford. The Cougars rely on the triple threat shooting of Adam Kile, Amu Aukusitino and Marquis Robinson.

“We had opportunities to win that game,” Casperson said. “We have to minimize our mistakes and maximize our efficiency on the offensive end. We need to move our feet and keep them in front of us and not reach on defense. We identified some things we need to work on when we played Thunder Mountain and Sitka, both very strong teams, in Ketchikan. It is a new setting and a new situation and you never know if we will feel the pressure. In the end though it is just basketball. Our guys have experience through the season and through their careers with playing basketball, and that is going to be our focus. Playing basketball. At regions we had a look in our eye, we were calm, collected and confident.”

Ibesate, Yadao, and Gross started at the state tourney last season and Calloway and Fenumiai played credible minutes.

“They have been there,” Casperson said. “The bright lights and big city stuff. I am not going to bring a tape measure like in Hoosiers or anything like that and measure the baskets for them. The Sullivan Arena is a great venue for sports, on the flipside it is completely different from anything anyone plays in during the high school season.”

The Crimson Bears know what lies beyond the edge of the court-world.

To get to the site of the impending battles ye must cross the tundra, sail an ocean, skirt a mountain, and pass a Starbucks or a McDonald's; then ye hang a horse’s trot left at Good King Sullivan’s Arena.

Pay heed brave knight and...

Beware, here be dragons.

Monday March 05, 2012
Crimson Bears the #4 Seed at State
     The boys basketball team has earned the #4 seed at the state tournament next week. They will play the #5 seed, Service, at 8:00am on Thursday, March 15th. Stay tuned for more details!

Monday March 05, 2012
Final results from Southeast Region V hoops tournaments - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     4A boys and girls champions: Juneau-Douglas High School. Boy’s runner-up Thunder Mountain, girl’s runner-up Ketchikan.

3A boys and girls champions: Sitka High School. Boys runner-up Mt. Edgecumbe, girl’s runner-up Craig.

4A girls All-Conference team: Juneau-Douglas – Gabi Fenumiai, Marissa Brakes, Esra Siddeek; Ketchikan – Jayley Taylor, Melissa Elliott; Thunder Mountain – Jonelle Staveland.

4A boys All-Conference: Thunder Mountain – Ben Jahn; Juneau-Douglas – Tony Yadao, Lance Ibesate, Alec Calloway; Ketchikan – Kyle Day, Travis Taylor.

Free Throw Contest Winners: Girls – JDHS Esra Siddeek; Boys – Kayhi’s Kyle Day.

4A Cheer champions: Juneau-Douglas High School.

3A Cheer champions: Sitka High School, runner-up Mt. Edgecumbe.

Sportsmanship Award: Haines High School.

Good Sport and All-Academic not available via press time.

3A boys All-Conference: Petersburg – Taylor Pullar; Craig – DJ Almenzor; Metlakatla – Tadd Yliniemi, Erik Hudson; Haines – Tyler Swinton; Wrangell – Clayton Stokes; Mt. Edgecumbe – Kacy Green, Jaylin Prince, Dominique Hall; Sitka – Bae Widmier, Mik Potrzuski, Devan Romine.

3A girls All-Conference: Craig – Melissa Castle, Maggie Dinon; Petersburg – Carolyn Kvernvik, Emily Luczak; Sitka – Sariah Ady, Katina Wathen, Hunter Huddleston; Haines – Hannah Wing; Wrangell – Loni Buness; Metlakatla – Theresa Willington-McGilton; Mt. Edgecumbe – Brandi Hale.

Sunday March 04, 2012
JDHS boys and girls win 3A/4A Crossover Championships - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears boys and girls took any bragging rights for top Southeast basketball team away from 3A champion Sitka on Saturday.

The JDHS girls topped 3A region champ Sitka 50-44. Leading 12-8 after one period of play and 23-19 at the break the Crimson Bears showed resolve by regaining a lead they lost at the end of the third quarter when they trailed 34-33. Gabi Fenumiai was unstoppable against Sitka’s Sariah Ady inside. Fenumiai scored a game-high 26 points and wing Esra Siddeek added 18, Marissa Brakes six, Kaitlin Fagerstrom and Kayla Balovich two apiece. Ady led the Wolves with 14 points, Sid Riggs nine, Megan Reid eight, Hunter Huddleston five, Kelsie Kubitch and Katina Wathen four apiece.

The JDHS boys kept an aggressive Sitka Wolves team from getting Southeast bragging rights with a 42-36 win. Sitka took a 13-11 first quarter lead, JDHS regained the quarter break advantage at 23-22 and the third quarter spread with 36-34 and then defensively put the clamps on the Wolves, allowing just two buckets in the final eight minutes of play.

Lance Ibesate had a game-high 12 points and eight assists, Tony Yadao added seven points, Austin Shoemaker and Alec Calloway six, Evan Gross five, Phillip Fenumiai three, Jeffrey Pusich and Darien Stanger two apiece. Sitka was led by Devan Romine’s 10 points, Mik Patrzuski had nine, Bae Widmier and Shad Puletau five apiece, John Dela Cruz four, and Hunter Lee three.

Saturday March 03, 2012
Thunder strikes Kayhi gym but Crimson Bears reign - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     JDHS weathers Falcons storm in 71-53 region title game win

“They are a good young team,” Juneau-Douglas High School senior guard Lance Ibesate said after his Crimson Bears had escaped a second Region V tournament game against Thunder Mountain on Friday night in Ketchikan. “They are not the ‘other’ team in Juneau anymore. There’s that little bit of rivalry but it’s all fun and games. Both of us are hard working teams and they bring that out in us. We want to come with the same intensity when we play up north.”

Friday’s 4A Region V 71-53 JDHS Championship game win on Friday, the Crimson Bears’ seventh title in a row, was all about intensity.

JDHS dropped the ball inside to Evan Gross in the first period to take advantage of his height. While Gross gave JDHS the first point of the game it was the Falcons Sam and Ben Jahn who played a bit more aggressive in the key.

“The exciting part about Region V basketball is about how tough a team can be for four straight days,” TMHS coach John Blasco said. “Our guys have matured mentally and physically over the season and then to watch them play three or four strong games in a row is really a complement to them.”

Sam tipped in the Falcons first basket and lead and Ben attacked the rim for two more. Sam added another basket on a turn around jumper and Matt Seymour followed that with a drive and foul for an old fashioned three-point play.

The Crimson Bears closed out the quarter with Phillip Fenumiai driving and Ryan Kelly knocking down a jumper from beyond the arch to pull within four at 10-6.

On paper the JDHS team looked to have the advantage. The senior laden Crimson Bears were experienced in title games and the underclassmen-led Falcons were not. The Crimson Bears had two days of rest after Thunder Mountain took them to overtime in the tournament’s first game on Wednesday night. The Falcons had a chance to win the game but Keith Ainsworth’s shot, under a time constraint and heavy JDHS pressure, went in and out of the rim. The Falcons lost that game 57-48 while only hitting two free throws in the extra period.

The Falcons then had to dispatch of the home-courted Ketchikan Kings, for the second time in the tournament (they opened with a 46-38 win over Kayhi), and their third game in three days, and they dominated the Kings 48-39.

“We just wanted to go out strong and take advantage of every offensive possession and not waste any possessions with the ball,” Ibesate said. “We wanted to pressure their guards every second. We knew they would be tired. This feels good.”

While Ibesate went scoreless in the first period he scored nine of his game-high 19 points in the second period and was a handful both offensively and defensively for the Falcons’ guards.

Even more incredible was the play of Alec Calloway who had a “Michael Jordan” type game according to Coach Casperson.

“He didn’t have Michael’s 36 points but he had the flu,” Casperson said, referring to a game in which former NBA star Jordan was ill and did well. “The medical staff at the gym checked him out and kept an eye on him in the game. I was so impressed with his toughness. He just wants to play; he loves his teammates and wants to be in the game. When his teammates saw how hard he played that got them going too.”

Calloway started the second period with a huge rebound, scored on the other end of the court, got another rebound and scored again. Then he subbed out and promptly headed to a waste basket near the bench to throw up. It was a pattern he continued through the game, but an effort that gave the Crimson Bears a 21-10 scoring advantage in the second period and a 27-20 halftime lead.

“Alec knows he is a big part of this team,” Senior Tony Yadao said. “He showed us his heart tonight and we are really proud of him.”

Yadao also had heart, scoring 14 points in the game, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and getting six steals.

The Falcons were never out of the game. Even with tired legs they cut into a 13-point Crimson Bears lead with back-to-back triples from Josh Tupou and Ty Grussendorf.

After a Yadao jumper made it 37-28 JDHS, Sam Jahn again rolled out a left handed hook, which nestled into the net as the ref’s whistle blew. Jahn made the free-throw to draw TMHS within six.

Just when the Falcons seemed to have momentum Ibesate and Yadao blistered the length of the court and dropped three straight passes to Gary Speck who tickled the twine. Matt Seymour stopped the barrage briefly by knocking down three straight free throws and again pulling the Falcons to within 10 points at 46-34 ending the third period.

Keith Ainsworth and Seymour took the Falcons under their wings in the final period but the fresh legs of Ibesate and Yadao stretched the court and the lead for the Crimson Bears. Yadao would nail 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“It was a good crowd,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “Our cheerleaders did a good job, Thunder Mountain’s cheerleaders did a good job. It was everything you want from a regional game in that kind of atmosphere. It was fun. Coach Blasco did a great job with his kids this year. They got out there and they competed. I think the fatigue was a factor tonight.”

Ibesate led the Crimson Bears with 19 points, Yadao added 14, Calloway 11, Gross and Speck six apiece, Austin Shoemaker five, Kelly and Fenumiai four apiece, and Jesse Miller two.

Seymour led the Falcons with 14 points, S. Jahn added 12, B. Jahn seven, Ainsworth six, Vili Tupou four, Mike Uddipa, Ty Grussendorf and Josh Tupou three each, and Trent Uddipa one.

JDHS went 12-20 at the charity stripe, TMHS hit 17-26.

“There are a lot of emotions right now,” Tony Yadao said. “We feel really good about what we accomplished. We worked hard all year to get to this point right now. We have really good chemistry on the team and play together well. Defense has been our main focus in practice. If our defense is on then our offense will just follow. Did you see how hard Austin (Shoemaker) and Phil (Fenumiai) played? That is what gets us going.”

The win gave the Crimson Bears a perfect mark in Southeast conference play, although they did drop a game to 3A Mt. Edgecumbe last month.

The best case scenario should have been that the Falcons didn’t tire in the final quarter and took the championship as they are deserving of representing Southeast at the state championships. The Crimson Bears are also very deserving, as was evident in their schedule and wins across the state.

JDHS added to their southeast win total with a 42-36 victory over Sitka in the 3A/4A Crossover Championship on Saturday night.

The Crimson Bears led 23-22 at the half and 36-32 after three quarters in a game that, historically, is for bragging rights in the panhandle.

The Alaska School Activities Association will be announcing brackets, match-ups and game times for all classifications in their March Madness Alaska Selection Show today at 6 p.m. At that time the WPI (winning percentage index) will reveal two at-large teams into each the 4A Boys and Girls State Tournament.

Automatic state berths go to the Southeast Conference winner, the Mid Alaska winner, the Cook Inlet winner and runner up and the Northern Lights winner and runner up. Two additional teams from among the schools in the conferences will be added to the tournament and ranked with the qualifiers using the WPI system.

The WPI measures strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not measure margin of victory or game location, only whether a team wins or loses. It is similar to the NCAA’s RPI (ratings percentage index) used in the NCAA tournament selection and seeding. The basic WPI formula is 50% team winning percentage and 50% opponents’ winning percentage. Only games against other Alaskan schools are counted.

The Thunder Mountain Falcons strength of schedule was not as strong as needed to secure one of the two At-Large invitations to the state championships. They, as well as Ketchikan, needed to win the Region V tournament to go to state or at least get a win against Juneau-Douglas.

As of Feb. 29, before the various region tournaments state-wide began, the WPI rankings and won/loss records against Alaska teams were Wasilla 15-0, Dimond 20-0, Service 18-3, Juneau 16-3, Bartlett 13-3, Kenai 5-4, Colony 11-8, Palmer 11-7, West Anch. 8-9, Kodiak 7-10, Soldotna 7-7, Lathrop 7-7, Ketchikan 7-12, Houston 6-4, Eagle River 6-12, Homer 3-6, East Anch. 4-13, Chugiak 4-16, West Valley 3-11, South Anch. 2-14, Thunder Mountain 2-11, North Pole 2-9, and Skyview 1-9.

While the Falcons may have moved up a notch by beating Ketchikan, Juneau-Douglas’ wins against TMHS in the tourney may have actually moved them down in the rankings. Therefore, the Crimson Bears may get a tough draw in the first round as seeding for the state tournament is 1-8 and JDHS’ WPI may have slipped to fifth, lower than one of the At-Large selections to be announced today.

Thursday March 01, 2012
JDHS Boys Escape with 57-48 Overtime Win Against Thunder Mountain - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Lance Ibesate called for a clear out and drove into a left handed lay up for the first two points of the Crimson Bears Region V opening game against Thunder Mountain at Ketchikan on Wednesday. A sign that the senior was all business. Ibesate pushed the ball up court on the next possession and Alec Calloway buried a three pointer for a five to nothing lead. The Falcons went to a running attack and Matt Seymour was fouled on a three point attempt, making two of three from the line. Keith Ainsworth buried a deep three to tie the score and the game would be a barn burner. JDHS’ Phil Fenumiai hit a triple and Ainsworth drove again for a score and the game was tied at eights. The Falcons took the lead at 9-8 on a Ben Jahn freethrow. Calloway gave the lead back to the Crimson Bears but Jahn was fouled again inside and scored to push TMHS back in front 12-10. Ibesate gave the Crimson Bears a 13-12 lead after one quarter. After a Falcons tie, Fenumiai drove the lane for two and JDHS led, only to have Ainsworth tip in a shot on TMHS’ next possession to knot the score at 17. The teams exchanged buckets into the break with the Falcons getting the last shot at the basket as Villi Tupou hit a triple for a 23-22 advantage. The back and forth continued through the third period with Ainsworth missing a triple at the buzzer and JDHS taking a 32-30 lead into the final stanza. Grussendorf drilled a three for the lead but Austin Shoemaker tied the score and Yadao gave JDHS the lead again. Seymour tied the scoe at 42-42 with two minutes remaining on another three-ball. Ben Jahn then scored inside for a 44-42 Falcons lead but Ibesate sank two freethrows to tie the score with 1:25 remaining. Jahn drew an offensive foul on a screen, missed a freethrow and was fouled again. Jahn hit both for a 46-44 lead but Ibesate drove the length and Shoemaker tipped in a bucket to knot the game at 46 with 30 seconds remaining. A last second shot missed for the Falcons play went to overtime. Seymour hit one of two freethrows for a 47-46 lead. The Falcons zone caused a turnover and TMHS missed a shot. Yadao missed a jumper but Shoemaker rebounded and fed Yadao who spun and scored. Yadao hit the shot and was fouled by Seymour. Yadao missed the freethrow but got his own rebound and was fouled again. With the Crimson Bears leading 48-47 Yadao hit two charity strippers for a 50-47 lead. The Crimson Bears pressed and forced a no look pass out of bounds and possession went to JDHS. With 37 seconds remaining Ibesate was fouled and hit one of two for a 51-47 advantage. On the second shot miss the Falcons knocked the ball out of bounds and had to foul Fenumiai immediately. Fenumiai made one of two freebies for a 52-47 lead. The Falcons rebounded and Ben Jahn was fouled, making one of two. Calloway rebounded the miss and was fouled and the senior knocked down one freethrow, missed the second and Fenumiai put in the rebound for a seven point lead at 55-48 and sealed the win. Shoemaker added two more freethrows for the 57-48 final.

Tuesday February 28, 2012
Region V Tourney Begins Tonight: JDHS Starts play Wednesday - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     For 14 of the 20 high school basketball teams in the Southeast Region V 3/4A tournament in Ketchikan, this will be the final games of their season. Just six will move on to the state venue in Anchorage.

The Falcons’ boys play Ketchikan at 7 p.m. tonight and the Falcons’ girls play the Lady Kings at 8:45 p.m. The Crimson Bears will play the winners of those respective games with the girls hooping at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and the boys following at 8:15 p.m. A complete schedule is on page B2.

Anything can happen at tournament time. For that very reason the region tournament went back to a double elimination format, much like the set up used by the smaller 2A schools. Not only does the two-loss requirement make for more fan enjoyment, more school participation and more tired referees but it also assures that the best team represents the conference at the next level. In the past, an upset of the number one seed meant that the team with the best record over three months suddenly found itself making reservations for spring break instead of state fast breaks.

For the boys, Juneau-Douglas has to be the favorite, as their record in conference and around the state is hefty.

They also have the majority of the beef inside with Evan Gross, Gary Speck and Taylor Swofford, plus two seasoned state-tournament guards in Lance Ibesate and Tony Yadao. They also possess a potent core of rebounding, slashing and shooting players in Alec Calloway, Austin Shoemaker, Phillip Fenumiai and Darien Stanger. Then they have Jesse Miller, Jeffrey Pusich and Ryan Kelly. They have bodies and are the deepest team in the tournament.

If the Crimson Bears spread the floor and let Ibesate and Yadao create, and the rest of the squad is patient and lets the offense come to them, good things will happen. When the Crimson Bears press and run they are dangerous, as long as they do it under control. Sometimes speed can be a train wreck if there is no conductor on board.

Thunder Mountain has speed and two of the most athletic scoring players in the league in Keith Ainsworth and Matt Seymour.

Plus the Falcons get a lot of football bravado from Camden Thomas, Villi and Josh Tupou, and Sam and Ben Jahn. They get nice bench minutes from Ty Grussendorf and Coltin Lanz and coach John Blasco is comfortable putting any of his kids on the court.

That confidence shows in how they play. They are fearless. They also play a little out of control at times, but once again, speed is contagious.

Ketchikan is at home. They are in their own beds and their own school and their own town. They will be comfortable there and the fan base in the First City is usually anti-anything Juneau.

The Kings boast the best shooting guard in the region in Kyle Day who averages over 25 points per game. They also have a solid big man in Travis Taylor and lots of speed. They are possibly the most patient team in the tournament and, did I mention, they are playing at home.

JDHS beat the Kings 69-55 and 75-60 in December at Kayhi, then beat them in Juneau 65-38 and 60-43. JDHS also beat TM 52-35 and 50-44 last weekend in both schools senior nights but if the Falcons had hit their free throws they would have won on Saturday. The Falcons boys lost to the Kings at Ketchikan on Feb. 17-18 by the scores of 54-53 and 52-47; they split here losing 51-46 and winning 59-53.

The Crimson Bears lone conference loss, 54-47, was at Ketchikan in Gabi Fenumiai’s first game back from injury. The Crimson Bears played soft on defense that night, relying on Fenumiai to pick up the slack and the conditioning and team chemistry wasn’t there. The following night both Fenumiai and Taylor were pivotal to their teams in the JDHS 77-72 triple overtime win.

“We definitely need to stay focused,” JDHS coach Dee Boster said. “We need to execute our plays and make sure we are very patient on offense. Additionally we need to insure that we have really good help defense because we will need to keep Jayley (Kayhi’s Jayley Taylor) and Jonelle (TMHS’s Jonelle Staveland) from driving and dishing off. They have been the main scorers against us. They create their scoring opportunities. They get a lot of their points from the free-throw line when we foul them. We are not looking past either team.”

JDHS won the series at Juneau 37-34 and 44-33. Meaning a few free throws or turnovers either way could prove to be the difference between these two teams. If Marissa Brakes, Sierra Tagaban, Kaitlin Fagerstrom, Kymberlee Kelly and TJae Garcia can be careful with the ball good things will happen. Especially with Ari Gross back on track, Nicole George and Kayla Balovich inside and Fenumiai simply unstoppable. Plus, they have, arguably the best player in southeast in Esra Siddeek.

The JDHS girls beat TMHS 55-43 and 66-30 last weekend.

The Thunder Mountain girls have dropped all four contests against JDHS and Kayhi but, in truth, they have not put one complete game together. They are capable of playing either team close for three quarters.

“After playing Ketchikan five times now we know they are a tough team and they work the ball around well,” TMHS coach Tanya Nizich said. “We need to focus on getting it inside more and attacking the basket.”

The Falcons lost to KHS at the Thunderdome 54-37 and 57-47 and at the region tourney site 52-38, after surrendering a fourth quarter lead, and 58-54 the following night.

Turnovers have been the TMHS downfall to date. They are slowly cutting back in that respect but the atmosphere of a region tournament can be unnerving. Coach Tanya Nizich will have to keep a tight rein on the court.

The Falcons are getting a lot of aggression out of Shale Kibby, Kinsey Marshall, Jonelle Staveland and Ashley Young.

“Defensively we need to watch our fouls,” Nizich said. “Fouls can put us into some trouble right off the bat. Ketchikan pulls it out and moves it around a little bit longer each possession, making the defense work for longer periods of time. Juneau kind of runs and guns, they are looking for a quick shot. Two teams with very different styles.”

Shayla Reeves, Emily Winters, Eyerus Tingley, Sarah Morris and Michaela Demmert are just a notch back but are capable of pushing the Falcons over the hump.

TMHS has Kayhi’s number and it is just a question of whether or not they are patient enough and careful enough on the offensive end tonight. If the Falcons get a win tonight, it could steamroll into a northern trip to state.

On the 3A brackets Sitka looks to take home two region titles, and possibly two second seeds to state with Mt. Edgecumbe following. The Sitka girls are 21-3 overall with losses to 4A powers Dimond and Juneau-Douglas and top 3A ranked Barrow. The losses were all on the road. The Mt. Edgecumbe girls have, talent wise, the second best team but play erratically. The Craig Lady Panthers cold possibly pull an upset over the Lady Braves in the second round but would probably win again in the state-play-in game on Saturday. Haines may win a game or two and possibly Metlakatla. Petersburg’s Lady Vikings have managed just one win this season.

For 3A boys, Sitka again is the class, although they have dropped one conference game to Mt. Edgecumbe. The Wolves do have the most talent but, as past years have shown, they tend to get emotional to the officiating. Haines and Mt. Edgecumbe are both solid but Archie Young runs a tight Braves ship and they should be packing their bags for up north. The traditionally strong Petersburg Vikings and Wrangell Wolves are in a down season with only two wins among them, both by the Norwegians.

Tournament games will be streamed live at Kayhibasketball.com

Monday February 27, 2012
Bears Head to Region V Tournament in Ketchikan
     The Crimson Bears (17-5, 8-0) travel to the First City for Regionals this week. Tournament brackets, schedules, and live web-streaming can be found at:

kayhibasketball.com

As the number 1 seed in the tournament, our first game is scheduled for 8:15 pm Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday night's Ketchikan (#2) v. Thunder Mountain (#3) game.

Sunday February 26, 2012
Crimson Bears and Falcons bid goodbye to seniors while thrilling fans - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     JD boys win 52-35 and 50-44

With just 10 seconds left in his high school home court career, Juneau-Douglas senior Jesse Miller got the chance he had been waiting for since basketball was one of his seasonal sports.

With the Crimson Bears ahead of cross-town rival Thunder Mountain 50-35, and a packed crowd looking on, Miller broke down court on a Falcons missed shot that teammate Ryan Kelly corralled. The Falcons defenders ran at Kelly who unleashed an unlikely pass through their towering arms.

The ball floated softly into Millers hands and became a rapid dribble, a timed two-footed leap, and a soft drop down over the rim.

“I have been working on it for a long time,” Miller said. “I just thought this is senior night, my final and last chance to get a dunk on my home floor. It was kind of a bet between me and my dad to see if I could get one. Finally I got it. It definitely wasn’t something I dreamed about as a freshman, but coming into my junior year I started to think I needed to work on getting up in the air. Now, well, it is just crazy.”

Miller’s “dunk” was just one piece of a weekend of lasting memories for the four varsity teams.

Friday’s first game pitted the Crimson Bears girls hosting the Falcons girls and Thunder Mountain’s Jonelle Staveland went crazy from the field, scoring 12 of the Falcons 14 first-half points to keep them in a 23-14 barnburner.

JDHS’ Esra Siddeek matched her shot for shot and tallied 12 of her game-high 19 points in the first half as well.

For the first time all season the two teams battled evenly every quarter, with the Crimson Bears going up 32-22 after three periods.

With seniors Nicole George and Sierra Tagaban for JDHS and Shale Kibby and Kinsey Marshall for TMHS on the floor the fourth quarter became an epic scoring fest.

George’s rebounding allowed Brakes to notch seven of her 10 game points in the period and Tagaban’s defense slowed the hot-shooting Staveland to some degree. For the Falcons, Kibby and Marshall made it a point to set hard picks that Staveland used to notch another seven points and allowed Ashley Young to concentrate on crashing the boards and scoring all nine of her points in the quarter.

JDHS scored 23 points in the fourth period and TMHS 21.

Siddeek led Juneau with 19 points, Gabi Fenumiai 13, Marissa Brakes 10, TJae Garcia six, Kayla Balovich, Amberli Fitka and George two each, and Tagaban one. Fenumiai grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, Kaitlin Fagerstrom and George six apiece, Balovich and Brakes four each, Tagaban three, and Kymberlee Kelly two. Brakes gave out nine assists.

Staveland led the Falcons with 19 points, Young added nine, Kibby seven, Eyerus Tingley four, Shayla Reeves two, and Micheala Demmert and Emily Winters one apiece. Staveland and Young pulled down six rebound apiece, Kibby and Tingley three each. JDHS hit16-35 from the charity stripe, TMHS went 14-22.

If the girls game was a barn burner than the boys followed on Friday night with a barn raiser as the visiting Falcons got behind the deep shooting of Keith Ainsworth, Matt Seymour and Ty Grussendorf to open a 16-10 first period lead. The JDHS seniors scored the point total in the first half for the Crimson Bears. Taylor Swofford ripped a board and put in a sky hook off the backboard, Austin Shoemaker drilled a deep three, Alec Calloway followed in a shot, Miller was his pesky put back self, Lance Ibesate and Tony Yadao played their flawless drive and take the foul game and Evan Gross battled inside.

The upset minded Falcons relied on Seymour from the field and senior Camden Thomas and junior Travis Johnson on the boards inside to keep the game notched at the half 22-22.

JDHS senior Ryan Kelly and junior Phillip Fenumiai gave the Crimson Bears a spark in the third period and took a 35-27 advantage into the fourth period. JDHS outscored the Falcons 12-8 starting the final stanza and after a TMHS timeout the Crimson Bears scored the games final five points.

Yadao and Fenumiai led the JDHS with 10 points apiece, Ibesate added eight, Shoemaker seven, Kelly and Miller four apiece, Gross three, and Darien Stanger, Calloway and Swofford two each.

Seymour led the Falcons with a game-high 11 points, Ainsworth eight, Sam Jahn and Vili Tupou five apiece, and Grussendorf and Josh Tupou three apiece.

JDHS hit 11-14 at the charity stripe, TMHS went 4-14.

The Falcons nearly got revenge on their own senior recognition Saturday at the Thunderdome.

Trailing 22-15 at the half the Falcons stormed back to drop a tightly contested 50-44 game to the Crimson Bears.

Final stats were not available by press time.

The Falcons’ girls fell on their senior night 66-30.

Trailing 10-9 starting the second period Kibby hit a shot to give the Falcons their first lead of the game and Tingley followed with a three pointer. The Crimson Bears regained the lead on baskets by Fenumiai, Kelly and Siddeek and never relinquished the lead again, taking a 34-23 advantage at the half.

“This was the best game we played all season,” JDHS coach Dee Boster said. “Everybody contributed in many ways. One of our goals was to make Jonelle (Staveland) work to get her shots, which we did very well. She is a good shooter. Kymberlee (Kelly) really stepped up tonight and played like a veteran.”

The Crimson Bears went on a 19-2 run to open the third period and the Falcons watched defensive standouts Reeves and Young foul out in the fourth quarter.

Siddeek led all scorers with 18 points, Fenumiai added 14 for JDHS, Kelly eight, Balovich seven, Gross five, Tagaban and Brakes four, Fogg, Roldan, and Fitka two each.

Staveland led the Falcons with 13 points, Kibby added six, Reeves four, Morris, Tingley and Young two each, and Demmert one.

JDHS hit 9-23 at the charity stripe, TMHS went 1-6.

Friday February 24, 2012
Crosstown showdown for Crimson Bears and Falcons - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Senior recognition night for Juneau-Douglas on Friday at JD Senior recognition for Thunder Mountain on Saturday at TM

The best of both worlds collide this weekend as the varsity basketball programs at Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain High Schools meet in a home-and-home regular season ending hoops gala.

The contests will not affect the standings heading into the Region V Championships next weekend at Ketchikan but will be of greater importance in that they will be the final test run before a shot at reaching the state tournament in March.

Possibly of even more importance is the honors that will be bestowed the senior athletes on their final game on their home courts.

The Crimson Bears will honor their seniors involved in the basketball season on Friday at JD gymnasium and the Falcons will honor theirs on Saturday at the Thunderdome.

The night will be a long evening of athletic entertainment and performance.

If the community isn’t already aware of the efforts of the TMHS boys participation in Gov. Sean Parnell’s Choose Respect and Alaska Men Choose Respect campaigns they will be after Saturday evening. A pledge drive will be conducted and JDHS coach Robert Casperson and his Crimson Bears will be signing on. Fans should also look for TMHS soccer coaches Ryan Walters and Sam Greely and members of AWARE and other volunteers who will be offering encouragement and information. Don’t be surprised to see the Mansion Duo of Sean and Sandy spinning a ball on their fingers as well.

Boys Basketball:

JDHS - Lance Ibesate, Tony Yadao, Austin Shoemaker, Alec Calloway, Taylor Swofford, Evan Gross, Jesse Miller, Ryan Kelly, Darien Stanger, Monico Yadao,

TMHS – Camden Thomas, Allen Shaw, Coltin Lanz, manager Janessa Sabei and manager Sarah Neira.

Girls Basketball:

JDHS - Nicole George, Sierra Tagaban.

TMHS - Shale Kibby and Kinsey Marshall.

Basketball Cheer And Stunt Team:

JDHS - Krista Bontrager – Manager, Caitlyn Bossio – Manager, Richielle Corpuz, Lindsey Endicott, Jerick Ibias, Haley Klementson, Chelsea Kilgore, Angela Pintang, Dylan Skrzynski, Rina Soriano.

TMHS – Chaleb Calandra, Alexa Duran, James Gilchrest, and Dawn Shane.

Dance Team:

JDHS - Angela Endicott, Danica Paguio, Vanessa Camba.

TMHS - Megan Clough and Jeslie Villaverde.

Pep Band:

JDHS - Fiona Brown, Colton Welch, Alan Young, Ian Andrews, Zeb Bodine, Jacob Taug, Alex Matheson, Deborah Cordero, Kelsey Savikko, Matthew Staley.

TMHS - Nathalie Aguirre, Krysty Carter, MaKenzie DeRego, Taylor Edwards, Teresa Rose, Wilson Suzuki.

Friday February 17, 2012
Mt. Edgecumbe topples Crimson Bears 47-42 - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Mt. Edgecumbe’s Kacy Green sank three free throws in the final 13 seconds to stun the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears in their own gym on Thursday night 47-42.

“They are very good at what they do and they disrupted anything we tried to get into,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “They controlled the tempo and had a well executed game plan. We did not execute nearly as well with the things we had prepared for. My hat is off to them. They did a really nice job.”

The Braves, a 3A power, used a patient passing attack to counter the Crimson Bears tenacious defense.

“Most of our guys are becoming more aggressive,” Braves coach Archie Young said. “They are getting more comfortable with being aggressive and we tell them that aggressive teams win ball games.”

JDHS’ Evan Gross powered in the first bucket of the game but five seconds later Green drove the lane and hit a basket while drawing a foul on the Crimson Bears’ Lance Ibesate. Green hit the free throw to put the Braves up 3-2, it would be their only lead until Dominique Hall buried a jumper with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter for a 29-28 advantage.

JDHS’ Alec Calloway scored inside five seconds later to regain the lead, followed another shot and dished to Phillip Fenumiai for another deuce as the two teams exchanged baskets with the Crimson Bears leading 35-33 starting the final period.

Mt. Edgecumbe’s Hall gave the Braves buried a three at the 5:06 mark to go up two, but seconds later Tony Yadao gave the home team his own triple from deep for the lead again.

Tied at 41, the Braves Jaylin Prince hit a three to take the lead for good. With 1:07 remaining, JDHS’ Ryan Kelly stole the ball and was fouled, sinking a free throw to get the Crimson Bears moving. Yadao stole the next possession and JDHS got three shots at tying the score but failed to convert and Mt. Edgecumbe put the ball in Green’s hands in the final seconds.

The usually terrifying Crimson Bears full court press was not affective against the patient passing Braves and JDHS fell back to zone or man throughout the night.

“We didn’t get much out of it in the first half so we didn’t use it a whole lot,” Casperson said. “When it came down to the end, it end it was too little to late in terms of our effort and our execution of our pressure.”

JDHS led 13-7 at the end of the first quarter and 26-22 at the half. Dominique Hall hit seven of his team-high 17 points in the second period to keep the Braves on course and buried three from beyond the arch in the contest.

Austin Shoemaker hit two deep shots in the second quarter as well for six of his eight team points to keep JDHS on the move.

Calloway led the Crimson Bears with 10 points, Shoemaker had eight, Gross four, Yadao, Jackson Lehnhart, Fenumiai, and Darien Stanger three each, Ibesate, Kelly, Jeffrey Pusich and Gary Speck two each.

Hall led the Braves with 17 points, Jaylin Prince added 13, Green 11, Cody Sherman four and Leo Ford two. JDHS hit 2-5 at the charity stripe, Mt. Edgecumbe went 14-21.

The Mt. Edgecumbe team was on its way to play Haines on Friday and Saturday.

“Juneau is a very good team,” Young said. “Anytime we can play a good team and have success it really helps our mindset. It is a great learning experience for our kids. We tell them to go into every game with that mindset. We like to play three games in a row, it is the best preparation for the region tournament.”

The Braves have now beaten JDHS twice in a row, accomplishing the first win in last season’s Region V Crossover Championship game.

Sunday February 12, 2012
Crimson Bears boys are 'Kings' of the hardwood - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     JDHS tops Ketchikan 65-38 and 60-43

The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears boy’s basketball team has bought into the team theme. That age-old adage that team is first, last, and all-powerful.

“We are all starting to get into the team concept this year,” JDHS captain Tony Yadao said. “I think we all realize that none of us has to do it all on our own. Together it is easier to get team shots and good percentage shots. The senior leadership is definitely a big part, all ten of us actually, all play a big part in that, we can all be leaders in that way.”

On Friday night the Ketchikan Kings watched as the Crimson Bears got scoring from 10 different players in a 65-38 JDHS win that wasn’t as close as the lopsided score suggested.

“We came out pretty focused,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “I thought that was the best we moved the ball and looked for each other. We worked to get guys open. We looked in the open court and made the pass when it was appropriate. That was fun for me to watch, I have been waiting to see that come out of our guys. I know it is in there, I see it in practice and in the individual work they do. It is nice for them to have the chance to display it and a nice crowd here tonight to see it.”

Tony Yadao buried the first jumper of the evening at 7:50 of the first period, taking just eight seconds to retrieve the tip, dribble inside the arch and calmly lift into a straight swish.

Austin Shoemaker kept the ball alive on the next possession, getting two rebounds on his own shot, only to have teammate Alec Calloway tip in what would have been a third rebound. Calloway would end the night with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Shoemaker would score a team-high 16 points.

What is incredible is that those two players probably touched the ball the least when on the floor. Effort has become the Crimson Bears priority.

Yadao would bury another jumper, Lance Ibesate a deep three and Gary Speck scored and was fouled to cap off the 14-6 first period lead.

Ketchikan’s Kyle Day got open looks in the second quarter when the Crimson Bears went to a trapping defense. A pair of three’s from deep outside the arch for the Kings sharpshooter and the JDHS defense went back to straight man.

“He is a good shooter and they work hard to get him open,” Casperson said. “He comes off screens. It was a concern in the first half.”

Yet Day’s points didn’t come until after the Crimson Bears had gotten blocks from Gross, a Phillip Fenumiai steal and score, and a tip by Yadao. Calloway tipped in two more shots and Ibesate double pumped and dished a pass to Speck who scored at the buzzer for a 33-16 advantage. The Crimson Bears had closed out the half with a 19-point second period.

“The guys are working hard and they believe in their teammates,” Casperson said. “Somebody else can step in and they are encouraged by their teammates. They get in and work just as hard defensively as the last guy.”

Defensively, the Crimson Bears never let Ketchikan put in a run of more than three points in the second half, winding their lead to 47-27 after three quarters and scoring 18 points in the final stanza. Ibesate added nine points for JDHS, Yadao eight, Speck seven, Fenumiai five, Ryan Kelly, Jesse Miller, Darien Stanger, and Taylor Swofford two each. Ketchikan’s Day had a game-high 21 points, Travis Taylor added 11, Omar Mendoza five and Brien Auger one. JDHS hit 4-10 at the free throw line, Ketchikan went 3-10.

On Saturday Ketchikan struck first but the Crimson Bears went on an 8-0 run that forced a Kings time out. A Kyle Day reverse layup and free throw gave the Kings momentum and a 15-13 first quarter lead in a back-forth-court race.

JDHS went on another 8-0 spurt in the opening minute of the second period and Yadao applied defensive pressure on Days explosive offense to carry the Crimson Bears into the break up 30-21. JDHS couldn’t put the Kings away in the second half. Up by 20 points in the third period the Kings battled back to 46-33 starting the final stanza. Day then hit a three and three free throws to close the Kings within seven points, 48-41 in the fourth, but Yadao and Ibesate spread the floor. The duo scored 10 points in the stanza and dished passes inside to Speck and Calloway to seal the game 60-43.

Yadao scored a game-high 24 points, Ibesate added 14, Shoemaker eight, Fenumiai, Calloway, and Speck four each, and Gross two.

Ketchikan’s Day had 21 points, Taylor added eight, Dulay five, Lervick four, Seludo three, and Auger two. JDHS hit 22-29 from the line, the Kings went 10-17.

“I was really proud of the way we responded,” Casperson said. “Ketchikan is a tough team and battled back to cut our lead in half, and our guys responded. We break our huddles with “together,” and it seems that is starting to mean more to them now. They are encouraging each other more and we our working to get ‘our’ shots not trying to get ‘me’ a shot.”

The Crimson Bears face Mt. Edgecumbe on Thursday. The Braves beat JDHS in the Region V tournament last season.

Sunday February 05, 2012
Rough road trip for Crimson Bears boys hoopsters - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The Wasilla Warriors, the third-ranked team in the state, bested the Juneau-Douglas High School boys cagers for the second night in a row on Friday, 57-37. The Crimson Bears reversed their fortunes with a 51-40 win over the fifth-ranked Palmer Moose on Saturday.

Again the Warriors’ Division 1 prospect Connor Devine swatted a dozen shots as the Crimson Bears drought from outside made them more susceptible to bringing the rock to the rim.

“We had lots of good looks,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “It was one of those nights, and one of those series, where things just wouldn’t fall through for us.”

After trailing by just three at the half, 21-18, the Crimson Bears were outscored 36-19 in the second half.

Using dribble penetration and pulling up for jumpers in the lane, the Crimson Bears found a lid on the basket. They also found Devine in the paint. The Wasilla mainstay scored 13 points but had another game high in rebounds and blocked shots.

“We could certainly beat their guards off the dribble and curling around screens,” Casperson said. “We got good looks but just didn’t knock them down.”

The Crimson Bears used a full court defense to stay even in the first half. The Warriors pressured on the perimeter and used Devine’s presence in the paint to take more chances defensively. JDHS experimented with a five guard line up, going with Lance Ibesate, Tony Yadao, Austin Shoemaker, Alec Calloway and Phillip Fenumiai. Calloway got the challenge of defending Devine and, according to coaches, the first ever block out foul for clearing space on the Warriors center.

“I was proud of him for that,” Casperson said. “It was a good block out.”

Austin Shoemaker led the Crimson Bears with 11 points, Lance Ibesate added eight, Alex Calloway six, Tony Yadao and Aquino Brinson three apiece, Jackson Lehnhart, Gary Speck, and Bruce Jones two each.

JDHS hit 3-8 at the charity stripe, Wasilla went 14-18. Devine and Braydon Kuiper had 13 apiece for the Warriors, and Dane Kuiper added 11.

“We never quit,” Casperson said. “Our guys kept battling and working. We just missed a lot of shots. We have to tip our hat to them, we just got beat.”

On Saturday the Crimson Bears outscored Palmer 18-6 in the fourth quarter to beat the Moose 51-44.

“It was nice to see we could win on the road,” Casperson said. “It was a great way to end the road trip.”

The Moose had quarter leads of 7-6, 18-16, and 34-33 before the Crimson Bears picked up their defensive pressure.

Yadao was credited by coaches for defending the Moose’s Connor Looney, who had scored 40 points in his last game.

The Crimson Bears overall team defensive pressure in the fourth quarter wore the home court off the Moose and many of Palmer’s shots were short, according to coaches.

Ibesate and Yadao led with 12 points apiece, Calloway nine, Fenumiai six each, Ryan Kelly and Jeffrey Pusich four apiece and Gary Speck and Austin Shoemaker two each.

JDHS hit 10-11 at the charity stripe while Palmer went 7-16. James Neisbit led the Moose with 11 points.

The Crimson Bears began the road trip with a 67-60 loss to the Service Cougars and a 64-44 loss on Thursday to the Warriors.

“We are learning,” Casperson said. “That which does not kill us will make us stronger.”

Friday February 03, 2012
Bears drop game to Warriors - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The Crimson Bears’ boys basketball team ran into a tall and talented Wasilla Warriors team on Thursday and were beaten 64-44.

“It wasn’t a 20-point game,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “We trailed by eight going into the fourth quarter. We will make some adjustments and come back tomorrow. That is the beauty of playing an opponent twice in a row.”

Wasilla got a triple-double from Connor Devine. Devine scored 19 points, 19 rebounds and 11 blocks. Lance Ibesate led JDHS with 16 points, Tony Yadao had nine, Phillip Fenumiai six, Jackson Lehnhart three, Ryan Kelly, Evan Gross, Jeffrey Pusich, Alec Calloway, and Austin Shoemaker two each. JDHS hit 9-13 from the line, Wasilla went 8-13.

Thursday February 02, 2012
JDHS boys fall to Service 67-60 - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Juneau-Douglas High School played a basketball game at Service on Wednesday night, unfortunately for the Crimson Bears their opponents were in a free-throw shooting contest.

The Cougars were awarded a fat 38 trips to the charity stripe where they sank 24. The Crimson Bears went to the line 19 times and made 12. Service picked up their fourth foul of the second half with just a minute remaining in the game. In the first half the Cougars committed 15.

JDHS lost the hoops contest 67-60 after leading at the half 36-30.

“I told our guys that you just have to play through it,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “We had our chances to win the game. We missed some layups down the stretch and had some looks at jumpers. They put some pressure on us and we did not execute our press break.”

Phillip Fenumiai led the Crimson Bears with 17 points, Lance Ibesate, Austin Shoemaker and Alec Calloway had 10 each, Tony Yadao seven, Aquino Brinson and Gary Speck two each, Jeffrey Pusich and Evan Gross one each.

Service led 15-13 after one quarter.

JDHS plays at Wasilla tonight and tomorrow, and finishes with a Saturday game at Palmer.

“The whole point of this trip is too identify where we are at,” Casperson said. “And to get better from here on out. This would be a wasted experience if we didn’t learn from it. Win lose or draw. If we make corrections night-to-night to get better, that is exactly what I am looking for.”

Sunday January 29, 2012
Crimson Bears' boys sweep Kodiak - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Crimson Bears are undefeated against Alaska teams

The Juneau-Douglas High School boy’s basketball team improved their season record to 12-1 over the weekend with a series sweep of visiting Kodiak. The wins mean the Crimson Bears have yet to lose to an Alaska team this season.

“That is a pretty nice compliment to our guys,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “We have had some quality wins this year.”

The Crimson Bears speed was put to the test against Kodiak in a down-to-the-wire 59-56 thriller on Friday and a 61-50 win on Saturday.

It appeared the JDHS guard play would be too much for an undersized Kodiak squad on Friday night as Evan Gross scored inside just 10 seconds into the game on a Lance Ibesate assist.

Tony Yadao then tipped a pass in the Crimson Bears press and Alec Calloway tipped in a missed shot for two more.

Kodiak adjusted their press offense by giving guards Jemuel Medina and Josh Obas the dribbling green light and they broke the defensive barrier to feed Austin Frick for two quick scores.

The game became a back and forth affair with JDHS’ Ryan Kelly scoring to end the first period with a 9-8 advantage. Neither team could push the lead past three points and the game was tied 29-29 at the half.

Yadao Calloway collected six of his team-high 19 points in the third period as JDHS held a 45-42 advantage going into the final stanza.

Kodiak’s Tony Will scored all eight of his points in the final period to keep the Bears in the game but bench play from Austin Shoemaker and Gary Speck gave the Crimson Bears a boarding advantage down the stretch.

Ibesate added 11 points for the Crimson Bears, Speck eight, Shoemaker seven, Yadao six, Kelly, Jackson Lehnhart, Phillip Fenumiai and Gross two apiece. Calloway also pulled down nine rebounds.

Kodiak got a game-high 22 points from Jesse Swearingin, Medina added nine, Josh Obas and Elijah Hiner six apiece, Frick four and Josh Bezona one.

Kodiak hit 12-13 form the charity stripe while the Crimson Bears were 11-26 and missed two technical free throws in the final seconds.

After making defensive adjustments throughout the course of Saturday’s game the Crimson Bears stuck with a full court press that took Kodiak out of rhythm.

At one point in the first half JDHS was down by seven and press resulted in a run of three straight scores to close the gap.

“We ended up picking up the tempo a little bit and shot better from the free throw line,” Casperson said. “We had too. They are one of the better high school free-throw shooting teams I have ever seen. They like to beat you off the dribble in the half court, we took that away with our press.”

Kodiak hit 14-16 at the charity stripe on the night while JDHS went 19-26.

With the score tied at 12-12 starting the second period Kodiak outscored the Crimson Bears 12-3 heading into the half.

That was when the Crimson Bears went away from zones and implemented the straight full court pressure. JDHS outscored Kodiak 16-7 in the third period and 30-21 in the final stanza. Crucial to the runs were the board work of Calloway, Shoemaker and Gross. Gross added eight blocked shots to his seven rebounds.

“What Evan doesn’t do offensively for us, he more than makes up for on the defensive end,” Casperson said. “He is the anchor for our defense on that back line. We came out with intensity. We had guys that came off the bench too that really gave us a lift. Gary Speck played huge for us.”

Ibesate led the Crimson Bears with 17 points, Yadao added eight, Shoemaker seven, Aquino Brinson, Fenumiai, and Speck six apiece, Calloway five, Kelly two and Jesse Miller one.

Kodiak was led by Swearingin with 20, Medina added eight Frick and Obas six, Will and Hiner four, and Garcia two.

The Crimson Bears travel north to play at Service on Wednesday, Wasilla Thursday and Friday, and at Palmer on Saturday. JDHS’ lone loss this season has been to Christian Life from Texas.

Friday January 27, 2012
JD boys welcome Kodiak - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Hooptime teams to play at JDHS halftime

The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears will have some running around to do over the weekend. The Kodiak Bears feature some tough backcourt matchups, even though JDHS beat Kodiak by 20 earlier in the season at the Alaska Airlines Classic.

A feature of Friday’s game will be a halftime exhibition match by Hooptime third and fourth graders.

Many of the JDHS and TMHS roster are former youth Hooptime players, such as: Tony Yadao, Lance Ibesate, Darien Stanger, Ryan Kelly, Jesse Miller, Ty Grussendorf, and Matt Seymour to name a few.

“Hooptime is a program I believe in,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “Their players and coaches have an open invite to come to watch our practices any time.”

JDHS plays Kodiak at 7 p.m.

Sunday January 22, 2012
Crimson Bears' Calloway cools Chugiak comeback - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     JDHS sweeps series 48-45 and 55-39

Juneau-Douglas High School senior Alec Calloway scored eight of his game-high 17 points in the final three minutes of Friday night’s 48-45 Crimson Bears win over visiting Chugiak, shutting down a late rally that saw the Mustangs fight back from a 26-9 halftime deficit.

“He is very active,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “And we need that to spread. We need more guys to buy into that, it is just pure hustle plays and they make a big difference down the stretch. Our effort was there for the most part but our execution wasn’t the best. If we weren’t getting layups we struggled to score and fortunately Calloway hit some jumpers in the fourth quarter and he got active without the ball.”

Calloway put in a rebound follow minutes into the first quarter to compliment the guard duo of Lance Ibesate and Tony Yadao and JDHS was off to the races.

While the Mustangs only trailed 11-7 starting the second period, the Crimson Bears had yet to pick up their defensive pressure.

Baskets by Ryan Kelly and Jeffrey Pusich opening the second stanza set the Crimson Bears into a press mentality and Chugiak was held to just two points for the remainder of the half.

Casperson cleared the bench in the third period and Taylor Swofford snatched the biggest rebound of the night, picking a missed Mustang shot off the rim and threw an outlet pass to a streaking Ibesate. Swofford then blocked a shot and challenged a second attempt as the aggressive Chugiak team starting firing farther out side the lane.

Chugiak’s Ryan Harris hit four of his five trey’s in the third period as the Mustangs closed to within seven at 35-28.

“We can’t just let a team’s shooter see the basket for free like that,” Casperson commented.

After a Kelly free throw to open the fourth quarter, Chugiak’s Marquiz Spearman tipped in a shot to bring the Mustangs within six, 36-30.

Twice Chugiak pulled to within one point as the Crimson Bears pulled the ball out in a spread, but missed a shot. Leading by one 40-39, Calloway began his late game heroics with three short jumpers and a blocked shot, and Ibesate kissed in a fast break lay up.

Chugiak’s Skyler Fullmer hit a trey at the buzzer to end the scoring in a losing effort.

Ibesate added 12 points for the Crimson Bears, Yadao seven, Kelly and Jackson Lehnhart three each, Pusich, Darien Stanger, and Evan Gross two apiece.

Harris led Chugiak with 15 points, Steven Puterbaugh and Fullmer eight apiece, Matt Oldenkamp five, Spearman four, Kenny Peques three, and Wade Snell two.

JDHS hit 10-15 at the charity stripe, Chugiak went 7-13.

Yadao led the Crimson Bears with 20 points on Saturday night, burying three straight baskets in the first period and three straight triples in the second as JDHS opened a 31-16 halftime advantage.

JDHS scored in double figures in each period while the Mustangs tallied 17 points in the final stanza after the game’s outcome was set.

The Crimson Bears were up 45-22 starting the final period.

Ibesate, Lehnhart and Austin Shoemaker added six points each, Pusich and Calloway four, Aquino Brinson and Phillip Fenumiai three apiece, Gary Speck two and Gross one.

Skyler Fullmer led the Mustangs with nine points, Puterbaugh and Harris six apiece, Spearman five, Roger Jorgensen four, Snell three, Plumb and Oldenkamp two each, and P. Fullmer one.

JDHS went 17-28 from the line, Chugiak hit just 12-32.

The JDHS JV lost to Hydaburg’s varsity 49-46 on Friday.

Brinson led with 19 points, Nathan Klein eight, Bruce Jones seven, Monico Yadao, Adam Empson and Kevin Guimmayen four each. Francis McKinley led Hydaburg with 20, Anthony Edenshaw added 17, Donald Edenshaw nine, Andrew Kashaverof two and Tyrel Edenshaw one.

Friday January 20, 2012
JDHS cagers get to ride the Mustangs next - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears boys’ basketball team will host the Chugiak Mustangs tonight and Saturday.

“We are looking forward to Chugiak’s arrival,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “It has been a long time since they have been to the Capital City, if ever, and we appreciate that we have this opportunity to play an Anchorage school at home. I am hopeful that we will be able to include more Anchorage schools on our schedule next season, too. Playing in Juneau is a unique opportunity for anyone.”

The Juneau basketball fan base alone, both at JDHS and TMHS, makes the trip worth it for the Anchorage schools. Northern schools traditionally don’t play in front of 800-plus fans that enjoy and appreciate quality basketball, except when the state tournament is at the Sullivan Arena.

“It is a luxury that we cannot take for granted,” Casperson stated.

The Crimson Bears are coming off an impressive tournament at the Alaska Airlines Classic, hosted by West Anchorage, where in two wins and one loss they played their best basketball against the toughest competition to date.

JDHS gave up a season high 74 points to Texas’ Christian Life Center in the tourney opening loss, then turned around and limited North Carolina’s Mt. Zion to 55 in a win and forcing Kodiak into 25 turnovers and allowing just 35 points in another victory.

Chugiak recently lost to Palmer by 20 points and beat West Valley by one before playing Thunder Mountain on Thursday. The Mustangs feature a 6-foot-7 post and some quickness.

“I believe that Chugiak will provide a strong test for us coming off a successful weekend at the Alaska Airlines Classic,” Casperson said. “Our team is making strides in the right direction. We have had a laser-like focus on defense in practice this season and it is starting to pay off. We need to keep moving forward in this direction and continue to improve this weekend.”

Unfortunately, the most recent media poll shows that voters had their head’s in the sand and dropped the Crimson Bears from the top 5.

The Juneau JV will play the Hydaburg boys’ varsity at 5 p.m. today before the Crimson Bears battle the Mustangs at 7 p.m.

On Saturday the Juneau boy’s C team will take on the JDHS girls varsity at 5 p.m., again as a preliminary to the boys varsity and Chugiak at 7 p.m.

The JDHS boys’ basketball team and JDHS administrative staff have invited representatives from Cancer Connection, including Ruth Johnson and Alex Viteri, who will be donating their time, to make themselves available in the lobby to raise the awareness of men's prostate and testicular cancer.

While women’s issues are important it has been shown that men are often not as proactive as women when it comes to their health. As with many types of cancer, early detection is essential in the successful treatment and possible cure in these diseases.

Men are encouraged to stop by the tables in the JDHS lobby and obtain information, brochures and ask questions. Men often intend to have their health checked but often don’t so women are asked to help encourage sons, husbands, fathers or grandfathers to become aware of the risks and benefits of early testing and detection for prostate and testicular cancer.

Sunday January 15, 2012
JDHS boys fare well on national stage - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Crimson Bears open eyes and have eyes opened by competition

The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears boy’s basketball team saw just how far they needed to improve during the 2012 Alaska Airlines Classic over the weekend.

The answer: A lot and not much.

JDHS took fourth place at the prestigious gathering of high school hoopsters, opening tourney play with a 74-48 loss to Christian Life Academy from Humble, Texas on Thursday, then beat North Carolina power Mt. Zion 66-55 on Friday; and trashing Kodiak 61-35 on Saturday.

“It was a good win for us for sure,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said of the Crimson Bears defeat of the Warriors from Durham. “Not to take anything away from the teams we have played up to this point but Mt. Zion is the best team we have played and won. Texas is the best team we have played.”

Mt. Zion fields a varsity team and a national prep team. The prep team attracts players such as current pro Tracy McGrady, the varsity team was at Anchorage.

Against Christian Life on opening day, the Crimson Bears struggled in the final three minutes of the first period but only trailed 22-10 starting the second period and aside from the first two minutes of that period, JDHS played the Texas power even.

“I am proud of our kids,” Casperson said. “They accepted the challenge and went after them.”

Tied at 10 midway through the first period the team from Humble, Texas switched from a man to a zone press and their size and length resulted in some errant JDHS passes. When they did break the press the Crimson Bears missed some layups. The result was a 36-18 halftime disadvantage. JDHS was outscored only 16-11 in the third period and 22-19 in the final stanza.

Tony Yadao led JDHS with 17 points, Austin Shoemaker and Phillip Fenumiai seven apiece, Lance Ibesate, Alec Calloway and Evan Gross four each, Jeffrey Pusich three, and Jackson Lehnhart two. Jonathan Doss scored 20, Josh Johnson added 18 and Myles Robinson 11 for Christian Life. JDHS hit 3-5 at the charity stripe, CLA went 4-10.

“Our guys played through the final nine seconds,” Casperson said. “They just wanted to keep going. I like our competitive nature.”

Mt. Zion had more athletes top to bottom in Friday’s action.

“But our athletes are pretty good,” Casperson said. “They stick their nose in there and get after it.”

The two teams were tied 11-11 starting the second period and the Crimson Bears led at the half 28-24. The teams were even at 42 starting the final stanza.

The Crimson Bears went with five guards midway through the fourth to spread the floor and create one-on-one drives to the rim. Alec Calloway was also on the court and the five went 13-14 from the free throw line in the period.

“Between Lance, Tony, Austin and Phillip, those four guards did most of the ball handling down the stretch,” Casperson said. The Crimson Bears went with a zone to stop the dunking of Mt. Zion’s Michel-Ofik Nzege, a prep team member.

“Our guys weren’t fazed,” Casperson said. “They consider a dunk just two points. We inbounded the ball and went the other way, fast. I feel very fortunate to have as many options as I do on this team.”

Fenumiai led with 20 points, Yadao 13, Ibesate 12, Calloway and Shoemaker nine apiece, Darien Stanger two, and Gross one. Nzege led the Warriors with 21. JDHS hit 15-19 at the line, Mt. Zion 9-19.

Against Kodiak the Crimson Bears led 15-10 after one period and pressed into a 31-16 halftime advantage. After an even third period JDHS outscored the Bears 12-4 in the fourth.

Calloway led JDHS with 16 points, Fenumiai had 14, Ibesate 13, Yadao seven, Stanger three, Ryan Kelly, Lehnhart, Pusich and Gross two each. Austin Frick led Kodiak with nine points. JDHS hit 6-10 at the line, KHS 8-15.

Tourney scores day 1: Christian Life (TX.)74 JDHS 48, Bartlett 79, Mt. Zion (N.C.) 67, West 84 Delta 35, East Hall (Georgia) 87 Kodiak 65. Day 2: Bartlett 82 CL 73, East Hall 79 West 78, JDHS 66 Mt. Zion 55, Kodiak 69 Delta 47. Day 3: 7th place game Mt. Zion 72 Delta 37, 4th JDHS 61 Kodiak 35, 3rd CL 87 West 63, Championship East Hall 87 Bartlett 74.

“The tournament was a great test for us,” Casperson said. “To see where we are at and identify areas of strength and weakness. There is always something to work on. This has been incredible. It was everything we hoped for and more.”

The Crimson Bears were also able to watch a UAA men’s basketball practice and then watch the Seawolves play Western Washington University. UAA features southeast’s own Kyle Fossman from Haines while Western has Petersburg’s Cameron Severson.

Up next for JDHS is a visit form Chugiak on Jan. 20-21 and Kodiak on Jan. 27-28.

Wednesday January 11, 2012
Crimson Bears opponent flees, another fills in - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears boys are ranked first in the Southeast Conference and fourth in the state. Their next opponent was ranked 14th. In the nation, as in, the United States of America, as in, anywhere someone can put up a hoop and toss the rock through it.

“It would have been a fun time,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said of the Crimson Bears’ original first round match up in the 8th annual Alaska Airlines Classic 2012 Basketball Tournament at West Anchorage High School. “We were looking forward to it. We still are. The field is phenomenal.”

On Thursday the Crimson Bears were scheduled to play Arlington County Day from Jacksonville, Florida, the 14th best high school basketball team in Obama’s world according to major sports ranking organizations such as Five Star Basketball, ESPN, and Max Preps, among others. Their ranking has been noted as far down as 37th in the nation.

The ACD Apaches feature two players 6-foot-8 and inch their way down to the smallest at 6-foot-2. They have six Division I scholarship athletes ready to receive a free education due to their ability to play the game of basketball better than most junior college athletes and many top college prospects.

Unfortunately, according to tournament director C. David Williamson, the West High School athletic director, ACD pulled out of the tournament on Monday.

Williamson said they received an email message from head coach Rex Morgan stating, “due to unforeseen circumstances” his team would be unable to participate.

Williamson said they spent hours trying to contact ACD. They finally reached the school’s principal who said he was unaware of the basketball teams plans and stated, “They operate their affairs separately, and independently, from the rest of the schools activities.”

The ACD athletic director is also the coach. The assistant principal refused to interrupt the team’s practice to inquire about the canceled trip to Alaska.

“Of course we are disappointed about them pulling out,” Casperson said. “We will play anybody anytime.”

In fact, the replacement team for the tournament just happens to be the defending champions from last year. They just happen to be ranked in the top 10 of the second biggest state. They just happen to have a top 50 national caliber roster.

“We made one phone call,” Williamson said. “And Christian Life from Texas were delighted to return to the tournament. I have to give kudos to them, and major kudos to the very fine people at Alaska Airlines who worked closely with the administration at West to make all of the ticket changes in an expedient manner. We are indebted to them.”

The Crimson Bears now face the Cougars from Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas. They feature 6-foot-9 power forward Joe Burton. Burton has been getting mail from prospective colleges seeking his skills. Burton is just a sophomore. The team returns six players who traveled to Alaska last year. One is 6-foot-10 center Mike Lewis, another is 6-foot-2 deadeye Josh Gray, and another is 5-foot-9 captain P J Hardwick. All have major colleges ringing their doorbells.

Anybody anytime.

“We obviously have to pay attention to any opponents abilities and tendencies,” Casperson said. “But this is just a great opportunity to see some high-caliber competition and see how we stack up. See what we need to work on and move forward.”

If the Crimson Bears get past Cougars, there is the small task of a possible meeting with another team that used that same motto when contacting Williamson, the Mt. Zion Christian Academy Warriors from Durham, North Carolina.

Or JDHS may move on to play the East Hall Vikings from Gainesville, Georgia, or the defending Alaska state champion Bartlett Golden Bears or state runner-up West Thunderbirds, the tournament host.

Mt. Zion is noted for NBA alumni Tracy McGrady, Brandon Rush, Marquis Daniels and Amare’e Stoudemire and feature 6-foot-11 Tobe Okafor this season. Year in and year out they play one of the most difficult schedules in the nation.

East Hall is noted for winning the past three Georgia state titles in their division, one of the most competitive in the state, and travel to multiple prestigious tournaments each year. They have multiple players being recruited by division one colleges in both basketball and football. Two of last seasons graduates are playing at Georgia and Georgia Tech.

Bartlett and West reload each season with some of the Anchorage area’s best talent and have strong senior guards this season. Kodiak and Delta Junction are also at the tourney. It is expected that West’s entire student body, over 2,000 students, will be watching their first game against Delta.

“I think it is going to be a good experience for the team,” JDHS senior Alec Calloway said. “And for everyone individually. I am excited to get on the court with some of these teams. We just want to show that we can play against teams we have never seen before and play hard and come out with W’s. We just get in the right mindset to play, get ready to play, and think we are going to win the game from the very beginning.”

The tournament teams will also be treated to an Alaska Heritage class at West, visit museums and get to experience the outdoors, temperature and weather permitting.

East Hall coach Joe Dix stated that 11 of his players have never flown before and only one member of the coaching staff has. The trip is over 3,400 miles, a bit longer than previous years where the longest trip for game time was just a 50-minute flight away. An additional 40 fans are traveling with the team because it is “The trip of a lifetime.”

“It will be more than just a basketball tournament,” Dix said on Tuesday. “And the kids are excited to go. It is a once in a lifetime experience. Most of the players have never been far from this rural area. I think one of my coaches took a cruise to Alaska once. We are looking forward to the cultural experience and how it will help us develop as a basketball team.”

Dix stated they don’t see much snow.

“We have a dusting and everything shuts down,” Dix said. “You guys still wear shorts. We have talked daily about the trip with the kids and we still know we will not be prepared for the weather. We are hoping we have the right gear for that climate. We don’t want to be indoors the whole time, but man, the weather channel is scary right now showing all that snow in Cordova. We are reassuring the kids that Anchorage is 150 miles away from there. The talk of the town here is about our team going up to Alaska.”

The appeal of a match up between Alaska preps and ‘down south’ preps has dated back to when East High School’s 6-foot-3 guard Trajan Langdon led his Thunderbirds to a near upset of the nation’s top team at the time, Oak Hill Academy, from Mouth of Wilson Virginia, and their 6-foot-four superstar Jeff McInnis.

Langdon went on to play at Duke University, McInnis to the University of North Carolina. Langdon went on to play professionally for the Cleveland Cavaliers then on to win championships or honors with Italian League club Benetton Treviso, Turkish League club Efes Pilsen, and Russian League clubs Dynamo Moscow and CSKA Moscow; McInnis went on to play for the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Bobcats, in Greece and in the CBA.

Even JDHS coach Casperson played in a tourney field with Science Hill from Johnson City, TN, and St. Raymond’s from Bronx, NY.

“It is a one in a lifetime opportunity,” Casperson said. “Our guys may never experience this again. We just hope to play as hard as we can and execute the things we have been working on in practice at a high enough level to come away with a few wins. I can’t imagine our group of guys will back down from anybody. From what I have seen in practice so far, I would expect this team to play as hard if they were up 20 as if they were down 20. That is just how our practices have gone. They just enjoy playing and getting after it.”

Said Williamson, “We started the tradition with Juneau a few years ago and are very pleased to continue it as part of the tournament. I have a gut feeling that Juneau is going to do very well this year with a strong chance to contend for the title. I wish the Bears the best of luck.”

Play begins Thursday as West opens against Delta at 12:45 p.m., Juneau plays Christian Life at 2:30, Bartlett faces Mt. Zion at 6 p.m., and Kodiak plays East Hall at 7:30 p.m.

The JDHS girls play West Valley tonight at JDHS gym, while the TMHS boys and girls await the Thunder Dome tourney to begin at TMHS Thursday.