Juneau-Douglas boys basketball team starts season
- Klas Stolpe
- 2 days ago
- 11 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Crimson Bears have all the pieces to solve state puzzle
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Tall, fast, strong and smart…can post or shoot the three…great defender, good facilitator on offense. One or all of these trademarks fit a player on this season's Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears boys varsity basketball team.
“We have some guys that got a lot of experience last year, and we are looking to build on that,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “They put in a lot of work this offseason in the weight room and with conditioning and extra shooting sessions — all the things that they could do, they are doing it to maximize their opportunities.”
The Crimson Bears graduated Ahmir Parker, Pedrin Saceda-Hurt, Ben Sikes, Damian Efergan and Gavin Gerrin. But all seven of their varsity returners logged minutes in every game from last season and five started against various opponents as JDHS just missed out on qualifying for the state tournament.
“There has been excitement in practice,” Casperson said. “The enjoyment, the support, everybody is pretty vocal. The coaches have commented that the communication that we have this early in the season is a lot more than what we had even at the end of last season…The players are really just supporting each other through different hustle plays. They are playing hard for each other in practice and are picking each other up.”
Chief among those returners are senior guard Joren Gasga (last season’s leading scorer), senior guard Brandon Casperson (fourth-leading scorer — numbers two and three graduated), senior forward Elias Dybdahl (fifth-leading scorer) and senior guards Kurt Kuppert and Tyler Frisby — sixth and seventh, respectively, on last season’s score sheet.
Gasga had the second-highest two-point field goal percentage, the highest three-point percentage and was last season’s leading scorer. He is one of the better-known scorers around the state. According to coach Casperson, “He shoots a pretty high percentage and can score very well at multiple levels…At the rim, mid range and from deep, he can definitely do all that…He also doesn’t get enough credit for his passing, so when teams focus on him other guys will benefit.”
Starting point guard B. Casperson had the highest free throw percentage last season, led the team in assists, was the second-highest rebounder and is the returning steals leader. Said coach Casperson, “He has been playing pretty significant minutes since his sophomore year…We expect to see him build on that point guard role. I imagine he will facilitate a lot of what we do, but he will also have new opportunities to score in the way we are approaching things. It will be good if we can get him going downhill and attacking the rim and then spotting up when other guys are doing the same kind of thing.”
Dybdahl had the highest two-point field goal percentage, was the leading rebounder and had 24 blocked shots — the rest of the team had 23 combined — coming off the bench. Like his older brother O.J., Elias is a year ahead in school, yet has shown he can battle against older opponents. He will show as being one of the state’s best interior players.
Said coach Casperson, “He has been working very hard and has changed his body. He has grown a bit and just always has a real positive attitude and the guys love being around him...He is pretty impressive, tough defensively, he’s longer than people expect and he has really good timing…He is up around the rim, if there is a breakaway or clear basket situation, it wouldn’t surprise anybody that has been around our practices to see him throw something down.”
Kuppert is a good shooter who has worked to expand other areas of his game, including defensively, so he can be on the floor longer. According to Casperson, “He is a kid who asks, ‘What can I do, what do I need to work on?' And then he will go and put it into action. He is going to surprise some people.”
Frisby is one of the defensive specialists for JDHS. Said Casperson, “Tyler is just a little ball of muscle that is willing to get out there and dog people out defensively and really make them work. And he is aggressive to the hoop. He's got quick feet and spin moves and gets off of contact pretty easily. So he's gonna be kind of like a little X factor for us…kind of a defensive stalwart for us.”
Junior forward Logan Carriker and junior guard Hunter Carte also return.
Carriker will cause trouble for opponents inside as he is now 6’5" and 215 pounds, but will be comfortable shooting on the perimeter as well. Said Casperson, “He put a ton of time in and improved a lot. He has good feet in the paint and uses a lot of pump fakes to make up for his vertical…He gets people out of position and does a good job of finishing with contact. He is going to be fun for us this year. A lot of teams have two or three lockdown defenders, but he gives us another…He is a big, strong kid.”
Carte was building varsity experience for the future last season and now that future is here. Said Casperson, “He plays hard, is very vocal, a solid shooter from the perimeter, very positive…We see his role coming off the bench and helping spell guys and doing good stuff.”
Seniors Ryland Carlson, Christian Rielly and Noah Ault join the varsity, along with junior Erik Thompson, and sophomores Micah Nelson and Zachary Polasky.
Carlson and Rielly are noted for their similar work ethic and playing styles. Said Casperson, “They are both tough on the glass and rebound a lot bigger than their size. They have good timing, good instincts and track the ball very well…They also are comfortable being physical on defense and don't mind guarding bigger players, which will be helpful for us…They are sneaky and explosive to the basket so they can attack and get to the rim pretty well… They will add an extra dimension coming off the bench most likely, but might start in certain spots depending on what we need, but I imagine there'll be a big lift for us coming in.”
Ault is football tough on the court and respectably nice off it — a hard worker who wants to learn everything and will lend some defensive toughness to the roster. Said Casperson, “I see him out there in critical situations and being the guy who will dive on the floor all the time, so he is a nice addition to our program. He is a stocky kid and not afraid to chest up on a guy if he needs to.”
Thompson will be a "Dennis Rodman-like player," according to Casperson, meaning he will rebound, defend, scrap, hustle and dive four times on the floor for a ball before anyone else dives once.
Said Casperson, “He is always tracking the ball, whether it’s offense or defense, if somebody gets in his way they are going to feel his body…He has spent time in the weight room, and I think fans will appreciate his effort and energy…He is also a great guy who supports his teammates and wants to see them do well.”
Nelson is tough and wiry, makes good decisions on both sides of the ball, plays wiser than his years and is not intimidated against older competition. Said Casperson, “He is one of those kids that put a lot of time and effort in and made the jump to varsity…He will probably see a majority of minutes in JV, but we will use him in some varsity spots at times and not be hesitant about it.”
Polasky has what you cannot teach — size. The tallest Crimson Bears’ player has many of the characteristics of his older brother, James (now playing at St. Olaf College). Said Casperson, “Zach is going to make us look pretty impressive during the warmup lines and games, and we are preparing for a real strong and solid future for him. I see him getting in and affecting the outcome of games with his size and his rebounding, and he is going to get some buckets in there around the basket. He can shoot a little bit, too, not that we need a 6'7" kid hanging around the 3-point line that often, but if he ends up out there, it's definitely not a scenario where I am upset if he shoots a three…He is just a sponge, a coach's dream, the kind of kid that shows up to everything, and works hard and takes the feedback and tries to implement it right away in drill work. So if he keeps working at this rate, there's a bright future ahead of him for sure.”
Casperson said his starting lineup at this weekend’s Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada, were to have been Gasga, Casperson, Dybdahl, Carriker and Kuppert, but everyone on the roster will see playing time at that tournament. Kuppert injured his ankle in practice and will not travel to Las Vegas, but will be healing for the George Houston Capital City Classic, Dec. 27-30 at JDHS. That tourney lineup features the Kake Thunderbirds, Monroe Catholic Rams and Petersburg Vikings.
“I have not necessarily slated somebody for that last starting spot,” Casperson said. “Among our coaches we decided it might be a game-time decision or if we need a little offensive firepower or defensive stalwarts.”
At some point in the season the Crimson Bears could put a college-sized lineup on the court with 6’7" Polasky, 6’6" Dybdahl, 6’5" Carrier and a pair of 6-footers with another two behemoths or some smaller feisty speedsters ready to come in.
“Well, fans can certainly expect a taller team than last year,” Casperson said. “I think it will be exciting to watch. We have installed a new offense that should create some better spacing and be able to use our personnel a little bit better… The kids are going to play really hard. They should be a little bit stronger this year and that might turn into some defensive pressure which can turn into some offense for us, especially when you consider there is a shot clock involved now.”
The Alaska School Activities Association approved the use of a 30-second shot clock between 4A opponents or consenting teams playing 4A opponents this season.
“The issue I think is going to be getting people willing to come in and run the clock,” Casperson said. “I know the officials’ association is light on members right now so we need to get people out there that know the game and stuff like that. We would really love some of our high school alumni that had played to maybe consider getting involved that way…I wouldn’t say it is no pressure, but it might be less pressure than being out on the court with a whistle."
"I don’t think the shot clock is going to impact a lot of scenarios until the end of the game. If someone has a lead and they're trying to stall, it limits how long they can stall and forces the opportunity for the other team to get the ball back. I have never really been a big believer in stalling, but we certainly did it at times. If we had a lead, we could burn some clock, make the other team foul, we would. Now moving forward, teams won't necessarily have to foul. They have to play tough defense and force a contested shot and then rebound. So I think it could translate into some better basketball scenarios at the end of the game.”
Casperson noted that JDHS ran a four-out one-in offense last season that involved different screen-and-roll options and this year are toying with what fans may know as the Chicago Bulls "triangle offense," which should allow new opportunities to get to the rim, something the Crimson Bears want to utilize against Southeast Conference opponent Ketchikan.
“We know how hard Ketchikan is going to work and they have a lot of pride and they have done well and will be trying to defend their region championship and follow up their second-place state finish last year,” Casperson said. “I think some of that probably motivated our guys a little bit, too. Ketchikan has done well over the years and they are well coached, so it has been a good rivalry in that sense because it pushes the kids, it motivates them to work harder and now they are looking around the state…At our travel team camp this summer (June), a lot of our varsity guys went and the wins were hard to come by, but we definitely got better as the week went on and I think that also kind of showed our guys that if we keep working we could have a chance to do something really special.”
Last season, the Crimson Bears went 10-17 overall, but five of those losses were to 4A rival Kayhi (20-9 overall, 5-1 SEC), who played into the state championship game before falling to East Anchorage. Three other losses for JDHS were to power teams from Utah, Oregon and Washington. Kayhi graduated three impact players (Jonathan Scoblic, Gage Massin and Marcus Stockhausen) and returned five players who accumulated quality minutes (Jozaiah and Edward Dela Cruz, Henry Vail, Zyrus Manabat and Rylan Hanchey).
“What I like most about this '25-26 version of Kayhi basketball is the chemistry between the players,” Ketchikan coach Erik Stockhausen said. “They like being around each other and they are all great kids…We should be able to shoot the ball well and play unselfishly. Our new faces definitely give us hope for an inside presence that we can utilize to expand our style of play to an issue out style…I expect JDHS to play great defense, use its fantastic size and very good guard play to be a very tough opponent.”
The JDHS boys varsity roster (height, position, number):
Seniors - Noah Ault (5’9 guard #1), Kurt Kuppert (5’10 guard #3), Brandon Casperson (6’0 guard #5), Christian Rielly (6’0 forward #10), Ryland Carlson (6’0 forward #11), Joren Gasga (5’10 guard #12), Elias Dybdahl (6’6 forward #20), Tyler Frisby (5’11 guard #21).
Juniors - Hunter Carte (5’11 guard #15), Logan Carriker (6’5 forward #24), Erik Thompson (6’1 forward #30).
Managers - Skylar Oliva, Ryann Oliva.
Assistant coaches - John Sleppy, Kaleb Tompkins, David Timothy, Kevin Casperson, Charles Westmoreland, Mike Carriker.
Ketchikan boys varsity roster:
Seniors - Edward Dela Cruz (5’9 G #3), Rueben Parrott (6’1 G #5), Jozaiah Dela Cruz (5’9 G # 11), Maika Olap (6’2 F #34); Juniors - Zyrus Manabat (5’9 G #12), Bruce Johnstone (6’3 F #13), Tyrone Alahan (5’9 G #14), Isaiah Miller (5’11 G #22), Tristen Lemerond (5'11 G #32), Henry Vail (6’3 F #33); Sophomores - Rylan Hanchey (5’9 G #21), Anthony Talauega (6’2 F #44); Freshman - Cedric Febrero (6'0 G #15). Assistant coaches - Darryl Simons, Kristian Pihl, Almost Hudson, Craig Bisson. Managers Noah Skan and Xavier Dalton.
JDHS JV:
Senior - Veron Brewer (5’10 F #20); Juniors - Surin Pyare (5’11 F #10), Alejandro Lamas (5’11 F #23); Freshmen - Isaiah Bean-Dewitt (5’10 G #2), Vinny Nizich (5’11 G #11), Adler Janes (5’10 G #12), Maximus Sangster (6’0 F #13), John Croasmun (6’0 F #21).
JDHS C-Team:
Senior - Tyler Williams (5’10 F); Juniors - Isaiah Gallate’s-Fale (6’4 C #23), Adriel Cervantes (5’8 F), Dylan Estigoy (5’9 G); Sophomores - Jordan Geary (5’9 G #1), Brenner Harralston (5’9 F #43); Freshmen - Bill Westmoreland (5’10 G #3), Carter Orsborn (6’1 C #33), Ayden Bergmann (5’7 G), AJ Johannes-Steinke (5’7 G), Eli Renegado (5’7 F).
After this weekend’s tournament in Las Vegas, the Crimson Bears host the GHCCC Dec. 27-30. KTN travels to the Service Cougars Tip-Off this weekend and will host the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic, Dec. 27-30, in which Kayhi opens against Craig, Anacortes (Washington) plays Soldotna, Sitka plays Sheldon (Oregon), and Dimond plays Toledo (Washington).
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
