Knight and day

Twenty years ago, Lesslie Knight was a key part of a Juneau-Douglas High School girls basketball squad that brought home a state championship.

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This season, she's guiding the team as they look to improve on last year's seventh-place finish at state.

Knight has taken the helm from longtime coach Jim Hamey after serving as an assistant coach last season. The Crimson Bears are, understandably, getting used to a new system; Hamey is a Juneau basketball institution who spent the better part of 30 years coaching at the high school.

But with the changes set, the team is looking to improve on the accomplishments of last season, when it finished with an 18-7 record and a Region V title - but went two-and-out at the state tournament.

"We're going to have a good season, regardless of who's coaching," junior guard Kendri Cesar said.

The team opens its season later this week with three games against Fairbanks-area schools. The Crimson Bears play Lathrop on Thursday, North Pole on Friday and West Valley on Saturday, before returning home to host the Capital City Classic on Dec. 27-30.

Knight was a player on the Juneau-Douglas girls' state championship team of 1983, and went on to play at Willamette University in Salem. After working in Seattle for several years, she returned to Juneau and started as an assistant coach for Juneau girls basketball under Bill Szepanski in 1992.

2002-03 Juneau-Douglas High School Girls Varsity Basketball Schedule

Dec. 19 at Lathrop

Dec. 20 at North Pole

Dec. 21 at West Valley

Dec. 27-30 CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC

Jan. 17-18 DIMOND

Jan. 22 at Chugiak

Jan. 23-25 at East Anchorage Tourney

Feb. 7-8 KETCHIKAN (homecoming)

Feb. 14-15 SITKA

Feb. 28-March 1 at Ketchikan

March 7-8 at Sitka

March 13-15 Region V at Ketchikan

March 20-22 State at Anchorage

(Home games in capitals)

Knight stayed on through several head coaching changes, including for three years after Hamey took over the girls program for the 1994-95 season, before leaving the program. She returned as an assistant last season, and was interim head coach for three games early in the year when Hamey was out of town having back surgery.

"Basketball has been a huge part of my life," she said. "I was really fortunate to get the experience I did last year. I was sorry Jim was out with surgery, but it was an incredible opportunity to work with the varsity."

Knight said she is looking forward to melding her own ideas with lessons learned from Hamey and the other coaches she has worked with.

"It'll be fun to do it similar, but different," she said.

The players said they've noticed some changes, but their commitment and intensity have not waned.

"We're so used to Hamey being here," junior Heather Dillon said. "The practices are different, but still challenging. We work hard, we hustle."

The Crimson Bears lost six seniors to graduation from last year's squad - Hilary Rehfeld, Anna Capacci, Jessica Hahnlen, Kacie Murphy and the Parr twins, Suzanne and Kari. But 16 Juneau players picked up at least some varsity experience last season, Knight said.

"In a way, we have 10 returning," she said. "The assumption is that we're in a rebuilding year, but we have a lot of experience."

Providing senior leadership this season are forwards Danielle Larson, who is 5-foot-9, and Amy Neussl, who's 5-11 and coming off winning a state title with the volleyball team. Neussl in particular will be a vital cog in Juneau's offense.

"We will rely heavily on Amy for her outside shooting; her 3-point shot is great," Knight said. "She spends time practicing her shots. Anytime she can get someone to rebound for her, she'll be shooting and shooting."

The Crimson Bears lack inside height, but Knight said several players - including Larson - have the ability to hold their own against much taller opponents. Knight said Larson is also quick to get down the court to the post, creating opportunities for her teammates.

A large junior class will play a big role for Juneau this season. Cesar, a 5-4 guard, will be Juneau's main ball-handler and brings "tenacious defense" to the court, Knight said, while her offense abilities have been expanding.

"She's driving to the basket and distributing the ball well," Knight said.

Juniors Dillon (5-10), Letasha McKoy (5-10) and Alida Bus (5-9) all bring perimeter shooting skills and will be asked to help on the inside game. Julie Heard (5-8), another volleyball player, brings great court awareness, Knight said.

Juniors Nicole Lupro (5-7) and Regina Moala (5-5); sophomores Ashley Larson (5-8), Mary Rehfeld (5-9), Bianca Carpeneti (5-11), Jordan Johnston (5-9) and Kate Potter (5-11) and freshman Sophia Smith (5-9) round out the varsity roster.

Moala and Smith are transfers to Juneau - Smith from Fairbanks and Moala from California. Bus said it's been nice to add some new faces to the mix.

"We haven't had very many fresh people on the team," she said. "They're fitting into our chemistry very well."

That team chemistry - and the players' basketball skills - were strengthened in an active offseason. Most of the team participated in summer trips to play in California, which exposed the Crimson Bears to a high level of play and helped bond the team.

"It really gave us a chance to learn (and) get used to each others' playing style," Cesar said.

Players also participated in open gyms and training programs through the fall.

"We had really good turnout for our open gyms, for our preseason conditioning," Knight said.

While the Crimson Bears don't have a single break-out star, their equality has a tendency to lift everyone's skills, Bus said.

"We challenge each other, and that's important to a team's success," she said.

Juneau is hoping to translate that success into repeating as region champs and making a mark at state in March.

"We hope to take Southeast again and do better at state, and just to play the best we can," Danielle Larson said.

"Our team is really close," Lupro said. "We're going to have a lot of fun and play hard."

Andrew Krueger can be reached at akrueger@juneauempire.com.