At a practice Thursday in the Juneau-Douglas High School gym, men's basketball coach George Houston said his team was acting "a little squirrelly." Then, under his breath, he muttered, "We'll have to fix that," and sent the team running up and down the court.
A little squirreliness might be forgiven; the Juneau-Douglas men's basketball team hasn't played a game since Feb. 6 - a 61-50 defeat of Lathrop - and the two-time defending state champions are itching to get back on the hardwood.
This weekend, JD travels to play region rival Ketchikan tonight and Saturday.
"It does seem like a long time since we've played," Houston said while scribbling notes and watching the team go through warm-ups. "We'll find out (Friday) night and Saturday night if it's affected us."
At 16-2 and a No. 2 ranking in the Alaska Sportswriters Poll, the Crimson Bears appear to be on a steady course toward the state playoffs March 18-20 in Fairbanks. Houston, as his style, would never let his team look past an opponent, even one his team has dominated this season by scores of 73-42 and 83-49.
"One of our team goals is to go undefeated in region," Houston said, but he was wary of the anticipation swirling in Ketchikan.
"They're really gearing up for us,' he said. "Ketchikan is gonna pack that gym."
Houston said he downplays the ever-increasing crowds that come to get a glimpse of the Carlos Boozer Show.
"We don't really talk about it," Houston said. "We just try to be ready. We've kind of come to accept (the crowds) and it's not gonna be any different at Southeast or at state. If anything, it can get you pumped up and play hard."
The highly-coveted Boozer - with his 27.8 points per game and 70 percent shooting percentage - attracts a crowd where ever he plays.
At practice Thursday, the gracious 6-9 center casually dribbled a basketball between his legs as young fans watched and shagged balls as he shot 3-pointers.
On the road, those fans, young and old, number in the thousands. On the recent trip to Fairbanks, senior guard James Wilson said there were other basketball games going on in town, but everyone wanted to see Juneau-Douglas.
"That's an advantage and a disadvantage," Wilson said of the throngs of fans. "Some people get up for it and others don't."
One motivational ploy that Houston uses is to express to his seniors that this is the last chance to shine before graduation. Boozer, Wilson, forwards Chris Carpeneti and Mike VanderJack and guard Robert Ridgeway surely want to put an exclamation point at the end of their high school careers.
"I've been kind of thinking about that," Carpeneti said while taking a break from working on his post moves. "These will be my last regular season games. I want to try and do well, you know?"
"The end of the season if fast approaching," Houston said. "There's still the Southeast tournament and hopefully state. We told (the seniors) since the beginning of the season that it's gonna go by quick and to enjoy it, make the most of it."
