Falcons ready to take off

This year’s Thunder Mountain High School boys basketball team should look a lot like last year’s team.

That’s because many members of last year’s sweet-shooting, sophomore-heavy squad are back, but a year older and ready to lead.

“This junior class has shown a lot of great leadership,” said TMHS coach John Blasco, who said the now-upperclassmen are challenging teammates to attend preseason workouts, coordinating team workouts and generally pushing each other to improve.

That junior class includes Thomas Baxter, who earned second team all-state honors last year and was named team MVP; Samuel Lockhart, who set TMHS’ single-game and single-season 3-point records last year; James Polasky, a co-recipient last year of the team’s most-improved award (Lockhart was the other co-winner); and Lance Nierra and TJ Guevarra, who Blasco said will handle point guard duties for the Falcons; among others.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire TJ Guevarra dribbles and looks to pass while defended by Jace Ribao during practice at TMHS.

While Blasco said it’s heartening to return so many players, it doesn’t necessarily give TMHS a leg up on their Region V competition, as Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and Ketchikan High School are also bringing back some standout players.

“All three of us are returning the majority of our teams from last year,” Blasco said, adding that it figures to be one of the toughest conferences in the state.

Last year, when the Falcons finished with a 13-12 overall record (4-6 in conference), the region was fiercely competitive with the regular season ending in a three-way tie based on in-conference record, requiring point differential to determine the Region V 4A Tournament’s seeding. The Falcons were the first team eliminated in the tournament, but went 3-1 in the regular season against regions-winning JDHS.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire MJ Tupou gathers the ball before scoring during a drill at Thunder Mountain High School. The Falcons’ roster includes three seniors this year.

This year, the regional tournament will be hosted by TMHS, the first time that’s happened since the high school opened for the 2008-09 school year.

“Thirteen years in, and we get to host it,” Blasco said with a laugh.

Looking to this year, Blasco said he expects TMHS to play well on offense and will be looking for improvement on defense.

“We return a good offense,” Blasco said. “We’ve got to get tougher defensively because we don’t have a lot of size.”

The Falcons will get their first opportunity to show what they can do on Dec. 21 when Petersburg High School will come to town. Two days later, TMHS will host its alumni game.

Blasco said his team is glad to be back on the court.

“The guys are feeling good,” Blasco said. “They’re enjoying it.”

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire Joren Gasga rises for a layup during a recent practice at Thunder Mountain High School. The Falcons will start their season Dec. 21 with a visit from Petersburg.

Roster

24: MJ Tupou, senior

21: Caden Mercer, senior

34: Sam Sika, senior

33: Thomas Baxter, junior

14: Samuel Lockhart, junior

1: Lance Nierra, junior

10: James Polasky, junior

5: TJ Guevarra, junior

23: Harbor Thomas, junior

2: Kasen Ludeman, junior

3: Krishna Sanguni, junior