Colony boys' bring a young team to the court

Dec. 29, 2006

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

The 2006-07 season will likely be one in which learning is at a premium for the Colony boys basketball team.

&#8220It's going to take us a while to get everything worked out,” head coach Jeff Bowker said prior to Colony's season-opening loss to West Anchorage.

&#8220We have a lot of young kids, and only two seniors,” he said.

Only three of Colony's players saw significant minutes with the varsity last season - senior forward Ryan Coffman, junior guard Doug Gray and junior forward Grant Niver.

Colony will likely rely on shooting, defense and hustle, and a lack of size could hamper the Knights against taller competition. Niver and Josh Moseley are the tallest Colony regulars on the roster, both listed at 6-foot-3.

&#8220We don't really have any big kids,” Bowker said.

Sophomore forward Chris Scott should also contribute in the front court.

&#8220He's going to have to help us this year,” Bowker said.

Junior guards Jaron Murphy, Antone Zagars and Cody Huggins will be relied upon to do much of the ballhandling duties for the Knights, who Bowker said will try to play a pressure-filled, up-tempo style.

&#8220We will try to make tempo a part of things,” he said.

Competition in the Northern Lights Conference likely will be stiff, he said, with Wasilla, Palmer and Soldotna all likely to have tough teams that are heavy on key returning players.

&#8220Wasilla is loaded, Palmer has been good and SoHi should be terrific as well,” he said. &#8220It's going to be a battle night in and night out.”

For his undersized squad to compete, Bowker said limiting turnovers and blocking out on rebounds will be key. Against West, the Knights had trouble hanging onto the ball and gave up numerous second-chance opportunities on the boards.

&#8220We're definitely going to be working on rebounding,” he said.

Contact reporter Matt Tunseth at matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.