Family reunion

WASILLA — When the three-day Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic came to an end Wednesday evening, Ryan Engebretsen wasn’t able to lead his Wasilla Warriors to the center of the Wasilla High School gymnasium to accept the championship trophy of the inaugural tournament.

But in his mind, the next best thing happened.

Engebretsen’s older brother Phil earned the trophy.

The Enumclaw Hornets coached by Phil Engebretsen, a former Colony head coach, used a 46-33 win over the Warriors on Wednesday during the final day of the Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic to win the boys’ division of the inaugural tourney.

“I had a blast coaching against my brother, watching two good teams go to war,” Ryan Engebretsen said. “I’m really thankful they came up. If I wasn’t going to win, he’s the only other guy I’d have win it.”

The contest marked the first time the Engebretsens have met as head coaches on opposite teams during a regular-season varsity high school game. The brothers, who both grew up as high school sports standouts in Homer, both saw their coaching careers take off as members of the Colony boys basketball staff.

Phil, one of only three head coaches in the history of the Colony boys program, led the Knights to multiple region titles and was twice named the region’s coach of the year. During his time at Colony, Ryan gave coaching a try as an assistant on his brother’s staff. The time on the Colony bench led to the current coaching opportunities of both.

In 2003, Phil left the Colony program and the Mat-Su Valley and headed to Enumclaw, Wash., to be closer to his wife Necia’s family. Since he was named the head coach of the Enumclaw boys program that fall, he has helped the Hornets become a top program in Washington.

This season, the Hornets are the ranked first in Washington’s 3A class.

Ryan, meanwhile, used his time as an assistant at Colony to help land a head coaching position at Wasilla High School.

Last season, Engebretsen led the Warriors to a Northern Lights Conference title.

The family reunion was a highlight, but Ryan Engebretsen hopes it will also help build a foundation for the first-year tournament.

As soon as he was handed the reigns of the Wasilla program, Ryan Engebretsen started his work to bring a holiday tournament to Wasilla High School.

His idea was to give the Wasilla boys and girls basketball teams the opportunity to play top competition, without having to send the squads to Outside tournaments each winter break.

He wanted to involve the community and fill a void for local basketball fans. With the support of school booster clubs and longtime supporters such as Wasilla team doctor and athletic trainer Dan “Doc” Larson, whom the tourney is named for, Ryan Engebretsen was able to see his vision become a reality.

The first edition of the Roundball Classic included a stellar field.

The girls’ field included three defending conference champions and the 4A state champs. The fourth team, host Wasilla, was second in the Northern Lights Conference and third in state.

Two of the four boys teams — Wasilla and Juneau-Douglas — won conference titles last season, and Enumclaw is a power in Washington.

“There’s a lot to build on,” Ryan Engebretsen said following the tourney.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.