All-star games make for entertaining evening of basketball

PALMER — Massive dunks, deep threes and basketball’s own version of the power play. That and about 400 total points scored made for an entertaining evening of basketball at Palmer High School Saturday evening.

The Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches hosted its fourth annual Senior All-Star Games over the weekend, with games at Anchorage Christian on Friday and Palmer the following night. Forty-eight of the top senior basketball players in Alaska participated in the event, which featured 24 boys and 24 schools. Eight of the state’s top coaches were on hand to lead the teams.

As with any basketball all-star game, there was no shortage of scoring. Team Gold beat Team Blue 102-95 in the boys’ game Friday, and Team Blue edged Team Gold 86-84 on a buzzer-beater in Friday’s girls game.

The games Saturday were not as close. Team Gold beat Team Blue 121-99 in the boys game. Team Gold got past Team Blue 97-85 in the girls game Saturday. Each night was a three-point shooting fest. The all-star girls combined for 43 three-pointers in two nights. The boys hit 53 threes in two games.

Dunks were thrown down in both boys games. Klawock senior Tyrus Morgan proved he’s the real deal, and not just a solid 1A player. Thunder Mountain senior Ryan Lee showed power college players would be jealous of.

Players also got creative during the AABC slam dunk contest at halftime of the boys’ game Saturday. Morgan tried to catch a pass from a player sitting in a folding chair in the paint, and leap over that player to dunk the ball. He was unsuccessful, but you’ve got to applaud the effort.

Service senior Ihro Ragundin bounced a ball off his head, and Nome senior Cass Matheis caught the ball and slammed it home. Ragundin got even more creative in the later rounds of the contest. Ragundin took the ball and ran out of the gym to the upper level that looks down on the Palmer court. The plan was to bounce a pass from the second level to Matheis to dunk the ball home.

They weren’t successful. But again, you have to applaud the effort.

Ultimately, Lee won the contest, pretty much on sheer power.

But the highlight of the night, at least for me, came during the second half of the girls game. With Team Blue trailing by double digits, the squad went on basketball’s version of the power play.

After a time out, two of the team’s top shooters slid their way down toward the end of the bench. As Team Blue took the ball down the floor toward the basket right in front of their team bench, Galena’s Beth Buchanan, a Team Gold coach, trying to act innocent with a big smile on her face, quickly pulled one of her shooters off the bench into the corner as Team Blue set up for the shot. She called for the pass to the corner. The shooter, the sixth player on the floor, took a quick three, then just as quickly, she returned to her seat on the bench.

It was like bringing on the extra attacker in hockey.

This happened at least twice before you could hear a Team Gold player yell, “Hey!” from the paint.

It was easy to see Buchanan and her Team Blue players were having fun, even long after fans and opponents caught onto the playful ruse. Trying to maintain her composure and contain her smile, Buchanan steadily pulled a sixth player onto the floor into the corner, only to pull them back after the possession.

As fun as that was to watch, Buchanan and her players were able to out-do themselves late in the game. With minutes remaining, Wasilla senior Shayla Johnson (a three-point shooting machine, by the way) darted from the bench, into the crowd, weaving her way to the far side of the gym. Moments later, Buchanan followed.

Johnson quickly returned to the floor. But instead of wearing her Team Blue jersey, Johnson was sporting Team Gold No. 14. Johnson raced onto the floor, wearing her new Team Gold jersey, picked off a Team Gold pass and went to the Team Blue basket for the easy score.

Defenders just sort of stopped as Johnson’s teammates laughed as she had a free trip to the bucket.

Johnson stayed on the court, playing for Team Blue while wearing the Team Gold colors. Soon a second Team Blue player came on to the floor after switching jerseys. By the end of the game, there were about eight different players wearing the Team Gold jersey.

This all just made it fun. Fun for the players, fun for the coaches and fun for the fans.

When a collection of local coaches (including former Houston boys head coach Dave Porter, former Palmer and Wasilla boys head coach Jason Marvel and current longtime Wasilla girls head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax) came together in 2010 to form a coaches association, the purpose was to give coaches a unified voice and promote the sport and its players in Alaska.

AABC has made tremendous strides in short time. The association took ownership of the weekly basketball team polls and the annual all-state teams. The association website has become a reliable and accurate source for game scores. And the all-star game has become a staple on the high school basketball schedule.

Not only do I hope to see this event continue, but also grow to become a major sporting event in Alaska. There is so much good that can come from this.

College coaches have the opportunity to see nearly 50 of our state’s best under one roof. There were several scouts on hand Saturday. This brings players from all classes and parts of the state together. In the girls game, there were players from as far south as Ketchikan, as far north as Barrow and west as Dillingham. There were players from all four classes on the floor at the same time.

Fans got to see how Drew Carlos, Dillingham’s two-time 2A player of the year, fared against athletes from the largest schools in the state.

From the spectator’s standpoint, it was fun for the fans.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

AABC Team Gold boys 121, Team Blue 99

Saturday, Palmer High School

Team Blue 48-51—99

Team Gold 63-58—121

Team Blue (99) — Johnson 1 1-2 4, Ragundin 6 2-2 16, Naneng 3 2-6 8, Bynum 7 0-0 15, Simmers 3 1-2 7, Fullmer 2 0-0 5, Brackett 2 0-0 5, Seymour 2 0-0 4, Carlson 5 0-0 10, Kaleak 7 1-3 17, Osborne 1 0-0 2, Matheis 3 0-0 6; Totals: 42 7-15 99.

Team Gold (121) — Eide 3 0-0 8, Ramoth 2 0-0 5, Gomez 3 2-2 10, Hoffman 4 1-1 10, Wells 6 0-0 15, Jones 4 0-0 11, Fulp 3 2-2 10, Lopez 5 0-0 13, Carstens 2 0-0 4, Morgan 3 0-0 9, Robinson 6 1-2 15, Lee 7 0-0 14; Totals: 48 6-7 121.

3-point field goals: Team Blue 8 (2 tied with 2), Team Gold 19 (3 tied with 3); Total fouls: Team Blue 4, Team Gold 9.

AABC Team Gold girls 97, Team Blue 85

Saturday, Palmer High

Team Blue 33-52—85

Team Gold 40-57—97

Team Blue (85) — Tweed 2 0-0 6, Burley 3 0-0 10, Reiter 7 0-0 14, Johnson 6 0-0 16, Cannon 1 0-0 3, Thompson 5 0-0 13, Edwards 1 0-0 2, Dorvall 3 2-2 8, Wandersee 6 0-1 12; Totals: 34 2-7 85.

Team Gold (97) — Horn 4 2-3 11, Tennyson 0 1-2 1, Hutchins 1 1-2 3, Fraker 5 0-0 13, Nelson 2 0-0 4, Dickerson 5 1-2 15, Wells 4 0-0 8, Pyles 3 -1 6, Taylor 4 0-0 8, Carlos 5 3-3 13, Miguel 2 2-4 6, Cockerham 4 0-2 9; Totals: 39 10-19 97.

3-point field goals: Team Blue 15 (Johnson 4), Team Gold 9 (Dickerson 4); Total fouls: Team Blue 13, Team Gold 7.