Basketball preview: Moose boys, girls sport young squads

PALMER — The Palmer High boys and girls basketball programs have a lot in common right now.

Both programs graduated key seniors. Both varsity teams lost players eligible to return. And the head coach of both squads expect to battle through some growing pains this year.

But those coaches also see the potential to be a factor when teams hit the court of the conference tournaments in March.

The big difference right now is the Palmer boys already have a handful of games under their belt, while the girls are still waiting to take the court officially for the first time this year.

The Palmer boys are off to a 1-3 start. The Moose opened with a loss to Eagle River early this month, and went 1-2 during the Powerade/Al Howard Classic at Soldotna High School. Palmer head coach Brandon Blake said he’s seen positive things from his squad. But he also sees the need for plenty of work, from a squad that is expected to feature at least three underclassmen in the starting lineup.

“The message is a marathon, not a sprint,” Blake said recently. “We really love this young group of kids.”

Blake said he sees a great deal of potential from his young team. But Palmer will have to work to overcome the loss of a pair of veteran leaders. Senior captain Adam Christiansen will miss the season due to injury, Blake said. The Moose also lost Brady Southwick.

With the losses of Christiansen and Southwick, Palmer returns only two players who saw notable minutes on the varsity court last season — juniors Chase Ferris and Jared Yanez.

Blake said he expects Ferris, also a football standout, to lead the Moose on the court.

“He’s going to be key for us,” Blake said of Ferris. (During the Soldotna tournament) he had very big games, as far as rebounds, steals, blocks. he does all the things that don’t often show up on the box score. He always (defends) the other team’s best offensive performer.”

Blake said Yanez will be key inside, and expected to be one of the leading rebounders for the Moose.

Freshman Clayton Soutwick, and sophomores Tye Ramoth and James Blake represent the youth in the starting lineup. All three have been among the leading scorers during the early stretch of the season. Southwick erupted for 32 points during a win over Homer. The freshman hit seven three-pointers in the win.

Palmer has one senior on the roster, Jesse Snickers, a newcomer to Palmer High. Blake said Snickers can play a variety of positions for the Moose.

Blake also noted junior Justin Roth, sophomore Nick Debauch and sophomore Liam Hughes-Duffy, who are all expected to play key roles coming off the bench.

The Palmer girls have been waiting for their first action, and will finally hit the court Thursday. The Moose open their season against Nome during the first day of the ACS/Lime Solar Invitational at Anchorage Christian School. The Moose were originally slated to compete in the East T-Bird Classic in Anchorage, but did not appear in the tournament. Palmer head coach Lyle Busbey said the Moose have been using the extra time to put together the new pieces to the Moose puzzle.

“We’re trying to figure out were everybody fits in,” Busbey said.

Like the Palmer boys, the Moose girls will be using young talent to fill some holes. Palmer lost two players who could have returned. Junior Leya DePriest transferred to Wasilla High and senior Molly Osiensky graduated early.

“Overall, we’re still pretty inexperienced,” Busbey said.

Palmer does have a group of players who saw a great deal of time on the varsity court as underclassmen. That group includes Kiana Till, Katie Bowman, Carly Venzke and Kaylee King.

“One thing we do have going for us, that we didn’t have last year, is some of our guards have some experience coming in,” Busbey said.

King returns as Palmer’s starting point guard. Venzke also started at guard as a sophomore. Till was a part-time starter for the Moose last year.

The Moose also have three seniors on the squad: Alicia Smylie, Katie McCall and Seneca Glenn.

Busbey said he has a number of players he expects to contribute, and the Moose will not rely on just one player.

“It will definitely be scoring by committee this year,” Busbey said.

Palmer is getting a later start to its season, but will be busy during January. The Moose play 10 games during the first 20 days of the month. The goal overall, Busbey said, is to continue to improve.

“We’re trying to play for the end of the season, the conference tournament,” Busbey said.

*** This is the first piece of a four-part series previewing the seasons of the local 3A and 4A prep basketball squads. See upcoming editions for feature stories about the Colony Knights, Houston Hawks and Wasilla Warriors.