Last April, the Juneau-Douglas High School boys redrew the prep basketball map by winning their first state championship in 19 years. This year, the star that marks Alaska’s state capital might as well be a target.
“People might use us as their litmus test,” head coach Robert Casperson said. “We’re going to have to be ready every single night to maybe be the hunted, not so much the hunter.”
Fortunately for JDHS, the target on their back is a moving one: with possibly the state’s best combo of bigs now an offensive focal point, and an experienced, athletic senior taking the reins in the backcourt, opponents will have to contend with a whole new Crimson Bears team.
Who they lost:
JDHS lost four of their starting five and their sixth man to graduation. Team leading scorer Kaleb Tompkins, guard Treyson Ramos, shooting guard Guy Bean, center Hunter Hickok and forward Molo Maka all graduated.
Those five accounted for 64 percent of JDHS’ points last year and a majority of their steals and assists.
What to expect on the court:
JDHS has a lot of holes to fill this year, but they’ve got the talent to compensate.
“About the only thing we returned a high percentage of was our rebounding,” Casperson said. “That just creates new opportunities for the guys who are here.”
The focal point of the JDHS offense this year will be on the post play of 6’5” junior Erik Kelly and 6’7” senior Bryce Swofford.
Swofford led the team in rebounding last year, and the Crimson Bears will continue to look to him to clean up the glass, but this year, with opposing bigs also busy dealing with Kelly, Swofford will handle increased touches in the post.
“I think I’ll be a little more of an offensive threat. Kaleb was our leading scorer, but I think with my experience this year, I’ll be able to get more opportunities,” Swofford said.
As the only holdover from last year’s starting squad, the team will also rely on the senior’s leadership on the court, a role he says he is not necessarily used to.
“There’s no one to look up,” Swofford said. “So I have to do a bit more teaching. … I’m not too talkative but it depends on the situation. When it comes to basketball I’ll talk and speak up a little bit.”
Anyone who saw then sophomore Kelly coming off the bench last year knew JDHS had something on their hands. He made that abundantly clear in a crucial win over Ketchikan when he streaked down the court for a one-handed alley-oop dunk in transition.
Last year as JDHS’ 7th or even 8th man, Kelly accounted for nearly as many rebounds off the bench (150) as leading scorer Tompkins (146), while playing in six less games (24).
He’ll step into a full-time role this year alongside Swofford as JDHS’ presence in the paint.
“As far as I am concerned, we have a couple of the more talented big guys in the state,” Casperson said. “They’re going to need opportunities to score, and were going to do things to put them in opportunities to score, then let Bryce and Erik finish in those situations.”
Shored-up with talent and size in the front court, JDHS’ biggest challenge will be in replacing the backcourt. Last year, the Crimson Bears relied on the ball handling and scoring ability of Tompkins, Ramos and Bean.
This year, they’ll rely on seniors Ulyx Bohulano and Jordan Milligan, and a handful of juniors to take up the slack.
Bohulano is a similar athlete to Ramos: fast, explosive and aggressive with the ball and a dogged defender. Ramos generated the most assists on the team last year, so Bohulano has big shoes to fill.
“It’s a lot of pressure, actually,” he said. “People are still learning, maybe we’ll get to the point where we’re great together but we’ll have to see in games.”
Not only will Bohulano expected to distribute the ball and score, he needs to lead the team in defensive energy, Casperson said.
“I see his role being a little bit different for Ulyx at the point guard spot,” he said. “I think he’s going to have more opportunities to score, but we’re also going to rely on him to defend like crazy. That’s a big hole for us, that defensive pressure and intensity at the point guard position, he’s going to have to fill that.”
Six-foot-four junior Kolby Hoover will find a role in the rotation once he recovers from a broken tibia sustained in June. The recovery has gone well — the forward even gained 20 pounds offseason in the weight room — but Casperson said they’re, “keeping the reins pulled back on him until they’re sure he’s 100 percent.”
“It’s getting there, I’m probably still around a month out, but it’s going well,” Hoover said of the recovery.
Hoover has varsity experience, even scoring the game winner in their opening-round win over Bartlett at the state tournament last year. He’ll be a much bigger part of the team this year, according to Casperson, who says Hoover creates matchup problems with his size.
“He can handle the ball, so he’ll play some point guard at times. We’ll be able to have some different lineups with him in the rotation,” Casperson said. “ I do see him creating some matchup problems in the sense that he’s got size to go inside with his length. He’s going to be a real nice addition to the team when he’s cleared to play.”
Senior Jordan Milligan will see a lot of varsity minutes this year along with junior Sebastian Bradley. Milligan brings shooting and strength inside while the Crimson Bears will look to Bradley as a backup guard.
The schedule:
JDHS plays 22 games this year, 13 home and nine away. They play conference opponents Ketchikan and Thunder Mountain four times each, twice at home and twice away. Those conference games will determine seeding for the Region V tournament.
The Capital City Classic should be great again this year, especially the state championship rematch against Dimond on Jan. 30.
The 2016 state championship win was the fourth-lowest scoring in history, and though both teams will be coming after each other in the statement game, expect the early-season contest to be much more open than last year’s title match.
JDHS plays all of their away games during a two week road stint starting mid-January, which should provide a good measure of their chances to repeat.
The nine mid-season games are JDHS’ only chance to showcase their team for a statewide audience. If they can’t win the Southeast Region, which will be competitive this year, they’ll have to build a reputation during that stretch to earn an at-large bid to the postseason.
(Date, time, opponent)
Dec. 27, 7 p.m., Haines (Capital City Classic)
Dec. 28, 7 p.m., Valor Christian (Capital City Classic)
Dec. 30, 7 p.m., Dimond (Capital City Classic)
Jan. 4, 7 p.m., West Valley
Jan. 5, 7 p.m., West Valley
Jan. 12, 4:40 p.m., away Ben Eielson (Fairbanks, Joe T. Classic)
Jan. 13, 4:40 p.m., away Soldotna (Fairbanks, Joe T. Classic)
Jan. 14, 8 p.m., at Lathrop (Fairbanks, Joe T. Classic)
Jan. 18, at Chugiak
Jan. 19, away Soldotna (Palmer Elks Showdown)
Jan. 20, away Houston (Palmer Elks Showdown)
Jan. 21, at Palmer (Palmer Elks Showdown)
Jan. 27, 7:15 p.m., at Ketchikan
Jan. 28, 7:15 p.m., at Ketchikan
Feb. 3, 7 p.m., TMHS (homecoming)
Feb. 4, 7 p.m., TMHS (homecoming)
Feb. 10, 7 p.m., Lathrop
Feb. 11, 7 p.m., Lathrop
Feb. 17, 8 p.m., Ketchikan
Feb. 18, 8 p.m., Ketchikan (senior night)
Mar. 3, 8 p.m., TMHS
Mar. 4, 8 p.m., TMHS
Mar. 7-11, Region V tournament at JDHS
Mar. 23-25, ASAA State Tournament at Anchorage
The roster:
(number, name, height, weight, class)
#15 Hunter Beelitz, 6’3”, 160, 2017
#20 Ulyx Bohulano, 5’8”, 155, 2017
#22 Marshall Shapland-Murray, 5’11”, 175, 2017
#23 Jordan Milligan, 6’0”, 175, 2017
#21 Bryce Swofford, 6’7”, 210, 2017
#44 Luis Lozada, 5’11”, 211, 2017
#24 Erik Kelly, 6’5”, 200, 2018
#11 Kolby Hoover, 6’4”, 175, 2018
#2 Sebastian Bradley, 5’10”, 145, 2018
#12 Kasey Watts, 6’0”, 190, 2018
#33 Tristin Eidsness, 5’7”, 130, 2018
#31 Luke Mallinger, 5’10”, 160, 2018
#30 Krishant Samtani, 5’10”, 155, 2019
#13 John Hamrick, 5’8”, 145, 2019
Head Coach – Robert Casperson
Assistant Coach – John Sleppy
Assistant Coach – Ben Kriegmont
Assistant Coach – Brice Searles
Manager – Caitlynn Rich
Manager – Alison Ford
Manager – David Timothy
• Contact Sports and Outdoors reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
Juneau-Douglas’s senior Bryce Swofford drives to the hoop during practice held Dec. 15 at the JDHS Gym.
