Season preview: New roster, new charisma for Blasco’s Falcons

At a weeknight practice in the second full week of the season, senior Josh McAndrews and other guards race up the court with noticeable speed.

Seniors and sophomores alike laugh and smile while testing their might against each other.

It’s the second full week of practice for the Thunder Mountain High School boys basketball team. And for a team that’s lost practically its entire starting lineup to graduation, no one is showing signs of worry.

With the graduation of high-scoring Chase Saviers, the second all-time leading scorer in Falcons’ history, and seven other seniors, Blasco estimates 75 percent of last season’s scoring has also left. Time will tell who helps fill that void for the Falcons, who play in their first games of the season next week.

For now, the team just seems happy to be playing together.

“We have nobody here that’s negative,” junior forward Puna Toutaiolepo said. “We all stay positive and help each other out.”

For a small and inexperienced group, that kind of attitude could go a long way on a team that is traveling a long way to find competition in the early part of the season. After the Doc Larson Roundball Classic in Wasilla, the Falcons play the very next weekend in the Clark Cochrane Christmas Classic in Ketchikan.

Then comes the highly-anticipated conference matchup with Juneau-Douglas High School during the first week of January.

JDHS, and to a certain extent, Ketchikan, will attempt to prey on the Falcons’ size (or lack thereof) this year. The team’s only player taller than 6 feet 1 inches is senior Luke Clark, who was sidelined for most of last season with a knee injury. At 6-foot-5, Clark matches up nicely against JDHS’ Kolby Hoover, a 6-foot-4 guard, and Erik Kelly, a 6-foot-5 forward. However, he can only guard one of them at a time.

This dilemma has not been lost on ninth-year head coach John Blasco.

“They’ve got the inside advantage, the heighth advantage, the rebounding advantage, so we’ll have to figure out a game plan that can mitigate those (advantages) and turn it somewhat in our favor,” Blasco said.

Sophomores Brady Carandang and Gabe Storie dressed for varsity last season but rarely made it into the game. The same thing could be said for seniors Roy Tupou and Owen Mendoza.

Fellow sophomores Bryson Echiverri, Kamron Falls and Braden Jenkins are all new to the varsity squad, which Blasco has currently capped at 12 (instead of 14).

McAndrews has liked what he’s seen so far out of the sophomores, who will need to be in scoring mode when they are on the floor.

“I’m trying to be a mentor to them because I already know the next few years they are going to be good,” McAndrews said. “They have a lot of talent.”

Fast Facts

Last season record: 14-11

Last appearance at state tournament: 2014

Number of football players on team: 7

Varsity roster

Roy Tupou, senior

Owen Mendoza, senior

Josh McAndrews, senior

Luke Clark, senior

Bobby Cox, senior

Vaipuna Toutaiolepo, junior

Hansel Hinckle, junior

Bryson Echiverri, sophomore

Gabe Storie, sophomore

Kamron Falls, sophomore

Braden Jenkins, sophomore

Brady Carandang, sophomore

Coach Bio

John Blasco (9th year)

Assistant coaches: Joe Tompkins, Rob Ridgeway

Occupation: Alaskan Brewing Co. Business Project Manager

Playing experience: Juneau-Douglas High School (1996-2000)

Greatest coaching influences: George Houston (JDHS), Larry Doty (Linfield College), Terry Johnson (Kirkland H.S.), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke)

2017-18 Schedule

12/21-12/23 Doc Larson Roundball Classic (Wasilla)

12/28-12/30 Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic (Ketchikan)

1/5 JDHS*, 7 p.m.

1/6 JDHS*, 7 p.m.

1/10 at West Valley

1/11-1/13 Joe T. Classic (Fairbanks)

1/18 Bethel

1/25 Sitka

1/26 Mt. Edgecumbe

1/27 Mt. Edgecumbe

2/2 at JDHS*

2/3 at JDHS*

2/9 at Ketchikan*

2/10 at Ketchikan*

2/16 Mt. Edgecumbe, 8 p.m.

2/17 Mt. Edgecumbe, 6 p.m.

2/23 Ketchikan*, 8 p.m.

2/24 Ketchikan*, 6 p.m.

3/6-3/9 Region V 2A/3A/4A Basketball Championships (Ketchikan)

3/22-3/24 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska State Basketball Championships (Anchorage)

*Conference game

Home games bolded

---

• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.

---