They may lack bigs, but with senior point guard and perpetual motion machine Chase Saviers leading the way, don’t sleep on Thunder Mountain High School boys basketball.
Just 6-18 last year, the Falcons didn’t have the championship aspirations of their crosstown counterparts, but that didn’t stop them from disrupting the Region V picture. The Falcons capped 2016 with a 71-68, region-tournament win over the state’s No. 2-ranked Ketchikan Kings, proving their undersized roster can keep pace with Alaska’s best.
This year, they’re hoping to perfect their small ball game and outpace the competition. Seven seniors suit up in blue and white with set their eyes on the back of the rim and their hearts on a Region V championship.
Saviers thinks they have the team to do it.
“We just have to be quick, really good on defense, pestering as defenders,” he said before a Tuesday evening practice. “We have to knock down our jump shots. We’re a really good jump-shooting team, 3-point team, we just have to be hitting. I think it’s going to be really hard to stop.”
Who they lost:
The Falcons graduated four seniors this spring in Shane Mielke, RJ Manning, Moa Maka and Jeremiah Stephens. Manning and Stephens leave a hole in the backcourt which Saviers, Zebediah Storie and junior Josh McAndrews will fill.
Thunder Mountain loses one of their more talented shooters in “Silky” Mielke, but Saviers, forward Riley Olson and Noah Reishus-O’Brien should be able to take up the slack.
What to expect on the court:
The starting five for the Falcons will likely be Saviers, Olson, Reishus-O’Brien, McAndrews and junior forward Luke Clark. Their roster is not set in stone, Blasco said, with several other players expected to earn significant minutes.
Saviers will continue to lead the team in his tireless, unmistakable style. At 5’8”, the all-conference guard has built a reputation as a player who — when he’s on — can single-handedly keep his team in games. It will be worth the price of admission just to watch Saviers leave it all on the court in his final campaign.
“We expect to make some noise,” Saviers said. “Last year was a little disappointing. I thought we were going to be better than we were. The main goal this year is to make it to state. Hopefully we win state, but that’s a long shot. It’s the beginning of the season. These first few games are going to be a big test for us.”
With starting point guard RJ Manning now graduated, head coach John Blasco said he expects Saviers to transition from his usual shooting guard position to the team’s full time point guard, something he’s been training for over the summer. McAndrews will spell Saviers at point guard during the scant minutes Saviers spends on the bench, and likely takeover as the Falcons’ starting shooting guard.
Surrounded by a cohort of youth and high school teammates, some making their varsity debuts, Saviers expects the Falcons to play with a single mind this year.
“A lot of us have been playing together since sixth grade, from HoopTime on up. … We just have really good chemistry this year,” he said.
Olson, a standout wide receiver for the Falcons football team, is an athletic 3-point specialist with varsity experience. He brings a perimeter presence for Saviers to kick out to when he can’t find the backboard himself.
At 6’2”, 200 lbs, he’s also a capable defender for opponents’ bigs, something the Falcons will need in spades this year. Olson said the Falcons lack of height is a liability, but they’ve figured out how to compensate.
“We don’t have much height, so we’re all going to have to box out a lot,” Olson said. “We’re all pretty athletic, but our tallest person, Luke Clark, is only maybe 6’3” (he’s listed at 6’5”) so we’re going to have a lot of trouble in that category.”
With perhaps the softest touch on the team, Reishus-O’Brien brings a midrange finesse to the Falcons’ frontcourt, something he brought to bear in several team-leading performances last season.
“This year we’re going to be quicker, we’ll be able to shoot better,” Reishus-O’Brien said. “We went up to team camp in Anchorage and we got smarter as a team. We’re not very tall, but we’ve learned how to play better as a team.”
As the team’s tallest player, junior Luke Clark will have his hands full containing the likes of JDHS’ Erik Kelly (6’5”) and Bryce Swofford (6’7”). Clark earned some varsity experience last year; this year, the Falcons will depend on him to clean up rebounds and contest layups in the paint.
McAndrews, a junior, didn’t get much playing time last year in the Falcons crowded backcourt. With Manning and Stephens gone, he’ll be expected to step into the role of TMHS’ starting shooting guard.
Rounding out the team are a group of two-sport athletes — some new, some returning — the Falcons hope to sharpen into shooters and defenders.
Football standouts Garth Tupou (5’11”/230) and Vaipuna “Puna” Toutaiolepo (5’10”/220) will serve as the team’s “muscle,” according to head coach John Blasco. The team will need their physical presence to limit opponents on the glass.
Speedy baseball player Zebediah Storie returns to the team this year after having sat out his junior season to focus on baseball. With plenty of basketball experience, Storie will be a smart compliment to Saviers and McAndrews in the backcourt. Blasco expects him to be a capable backup.
A question mark on the team — but an offensive piece several seniors mentioned to look out for — is freshman Brady Carandang, a 5’10” shooter and only freshman on the varsity roster.
“He’s a smooth ballplayer, handles his body well and shoots well from the outside,” Blasco said. “I do see him getting some playing time this year.”
The schedule:
The Falcons play 23 games this season: 11 home, 12 away; eight conference and 15 non-conference. TMHS faces Region V opponents Ketchikan and Juneau-Douglas four times each, twice at home and twice away.
Those conference games, which will decide seeding for the Region V tournament (in Juneau this year), will be a dogfight.
Last year, the Falcons had the burden of competing with the state’s first and second ranked teams in Kayhi and JDHS. Blasco expects Ketchikan to be solid again, especially at the guard position. The Kings will definitely be hungry after falling to Juneau-Douglas in a heartbreaker at the state semifinals last year.
Though they graduated four of their starting five last spring, Juneau-Douglas poses big matchup problems for the Falcons. Bigs Erik Kelly and Bryce Swofford jump with their “elbows at the rim,” according to Blasco, which will pose a huge challenge for the Falcons’ frontcourt.
Blasco said it’s “too early to tell” how those games will play out, but he’s sure rebounding will be a huge factor.
“The primary thing will be controlling the rebounds, if the rebound margin is heavily in their favor, we’re going to be struggling,” Blasco said.
TMHS’ non-conference schedule features 10 games against 4A competition, and five games against 1, 2, and 3A opponents. The home openers against West Valley will serve as a good litmus test for the Falcons as the Wolf Pack, backed by guard Cornelius Mingo Jr., made the state tournament last year.
Colony, 14-10 last year, finished third in the Northern Lights conference.
Competition at the AK Prep Shootout at Dimond High School in Anchorage will be TMHS’ biggest opportunity to test their mettle against Anchorage competition.
Mt. Edgecumbe always brings a dogged press and underdog mentality that, last year, nearly gave JDHS their only loss to in state competition not named Ketchikan.
Expect every game the Falcons play in to be a shootout: If TMHS is going to compete statewide, they’ll need to win high-scoring games as their smaller roster will likely give up many second and third chances to taller teams.
Jan. 6, 8 p.m. West Valley
Jan. 7, 7 p.m. West Valley
Jan. 13 at AK Prep Shootout
Jan. 14 at AK Prep Shootout
Jan. 20, 8 p.m. Colony
Jan. 21, 7 p.m. Colony
Jan. 27, 8 p.m. Mt. Edgecumbe
Jan. 28, 8 p.m. Mt. Edgecumbe
Feb. 3 7 p.m. at JDHS
Feb. 4 7 p.m. at JDHS
Feb. 9 7 p.m. Lathrop
Feb. 10 8 p.m. Ketchikan
Feb. 11, 8 p.m. Ketchikan
Feb. 16 at Mt. Edgecumbe
Feb. 17 at Sitka
Feb. 18 at Sitka
Feb. 24 at Ketchikan
Feb. 25 at Ketchikan
Mar. 3, 8 p.m. JDHS
Mar. 4, 8 p.m. JDHS
Mar. 7-11 Region V tournament at JDHS
Mar. 23-25 ASAA State Tournament at Anchorage
Varsity roster:
#1 Brady Carandang 5’10, 160 lbs. 2020
#2 Zebadiah Storie 5’8” 135 lbs. 2017
#3 John Morris 6’1” 180 lbs. 2017
#5 Roy Tupou 5’6” 180 lbs. 2018
#11 Chase Saviers 5’8” 145 lbs. 2017
#13 Kaiden Ward 5’10” 145 lbs. 2017
#15 Noah Reishus-O’Brien 6’2” 155 lbs. 2017
#20 Josh McAndrews 5’11” 150 lbs. 2018
#21 Luke Clark 6’5” 165 lbs. 2018
#23 Riley Olsen 6’2” 200 lbs. 2017
#30 Garth Tupou 5’11” 230 lbs. 2017
#32 Cale Jenkins 6’1” 160 lbs. 2017
#33 Vaipuna Toutaiolepo 5’10” 220 lbs. 2017
Head coach – John Blasco
Assistant coach – Robert Ridgeway
Assistant coach – Joe Tompkins
Student Assistant – Joe Sleppy
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
Thunder Mountain prepares for the season during practice on Dec. 19.
