Moving on up
Crimson Bears hope to better last year's state runner-up finish
The Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team came oh so close to winning its 12th state championship last year, only to finish the season as the state runner-up.
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As the Crimson Bears prepare to open their 2002-03 season this weekend, they're looking to move up a spot at the Class 4A state tournament. Even though Juneau lost six players to graduation, the Crimson Bears still have a strong core group of returners that should have Juneau battling with preseason state favorites Wasilla and defending champion Bartlett.
"I'm excited about what we have this year," senior 6-foot-1 guard Sterling Henderson said. "We've been talking about what we think we can do. We've got a different mix this year."
"We've got a good mix of seniors and young people," added senior 6-1 point guard Joe Ayers, who has signed an NCAA National Letter-of-Intent to play baseball at Stanford University in the fall. "A lot of how we do will depend on how the young people progress. By the end of the season, we expect the young people to be fighting for minutes."
Juneau's boys will tip off their season during the Capital City Classic this Friday, Saturday and Monday. Juneau plays at 8 p.m. Friday against Prince Rupert (British Columbia), at 8 p.m. Saturday against Alameda (Calif.) and at 8 p.m. Monday against L.V. Rogers (Nelson, British Columbia).
The Crimson Bears lost six players from last year's team - including second-team all-state selections Junior Cumlat and Ryan Monagle, plus honorable mention all-state pick Curtis Lane. Also graduating from last year's team were Craig Kitka, Jake Miller and Ray Zimmer.
"We lost six seniors from last year and we've got six seniors again this year," said Juneau coach George Houston, who starts his 11th year and has a 210-48 record as head coach. "Four of the seniors who have been in the program for four years. We lost some leadership from last year. We lost the shooting of Curtis, the defensive play of Junior and the steady rebounding of Monagle, and those will be hard to replace."
But the cupboard isn't completely empty for Juneau, which was so deep last year it was able to give 12 players regular minutes.
Sometimes, it seemed like the Crimson Bears (23-3 overall last year) were able to use their bench like a hockey team, changing lines on the fly to keep fresh bodies in the game. Juneau used 16 players at times last season, and they all scored points.
The Crimson Bears have six seniors on this year's roster - including Ayers, Henderson and 6-4 forward Bryan Hamey, who have been on the varsity team since they were freshmen. Senior 6-5 center-forward Byron Wild, an honorable mention all-state pick last year, has been on the varsity since he was a sophomore.
Senior 5-10 guard Nik Hura is starting his second season at Juneau after a transfer from Haines. Senior 6-5 center-forward Kolt Garvey is in his first year with the Crimson Bears after moving from Craig, which finished second in the Class 3A state tournament last season.
Juneau's three senior guards - Ayers, Henderson and Hura - have all been hampered by minor injuries the last week or two of practice. Ayers has a groin pull, Henderson has shin splints and Hura is nursing a sore knee. That means the three players have ridden the stationary bike and done shooting drills in recent practices while the younger guards ran the team.
"I think this is a big opportunity for our younger guys," Houston said. "They're there to get experience and to make the older players work harder."
"Being a senior helps out," said Hura, who joined Hamey on a summer travel team made up of top players from around the state. "I'm a lot more relaxed and being a senior makes it seem like I know what I'm doing. I learned a lot last year sitting on the bench."
While the senior guards have been hobbled, Wild and Hamey will be looked on to lead the team. All three guards say they plan to play this weekend, but Wild and Hamey top returning scorers and rebounders from a team that was very balanced last year.
"I'm excited," Wild said. "Last year's team was really tight, and it's been kind of different this year as we figure out what everyone can do. But each practice we're getting better. At the beginning of the season we'll probably be seven or eight (players) deep, but we'll get deeper over the season."
Adding depth to Juneau's roster are three junior forwards - 6-2 Alex Heumann, 6-3 David Jones and 6-4 post Adam Nelson - who all saw action last year. Also seeing action on the varsity last year were sophomore 6-1 guard Thomas Derbesy and sophomore 6-0 guard Kyle Huntsman.
New to the varsity this season are sophomore 5-8 guard Larry Cooper, and the freshman trio of 5-9 guard Lucas Miller, 5-6 guard David Saldivar III and 6-3 forward Josh Monagle. Miller and Monagle are the younger brothers of two of last year's seniors.
"We're not as deep as last year, but we've got some players," Hamey said.
"I don't know if we're as deep as last year, partly because of the injuries and because we've got so many younger players," Houston said. "I'm hoping the younger kids step up and we can develop our depth as we go along."
Charles Bingham can be reached at cbingham@juneauempire.com.