Hang time; Valley athletes rise to the occasion

ANCHORAGE — The best hoopers in the state played the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Games at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex on the University of Alaska Anchorage Campus on Saturday. Both lineups were loaded with All-Star talent from all corners of the Last Frontier, but Valley athletes rose to the occasion, literally.

Late in the fourth quarter, West Anchorage guard Diques Esaw poked the ball away from Ketchikan’s Marcus Lee. Colony High School standout Sullivan Menard grabbed the loose ball and raced toward the rim, taking off just inside the free throw line and soaring for the slam. Prior to the boys contest while Menard watched the girls’ all-star game, he predicted exactly what would happen.

“I’m definitely going to be hanging on the rim. I don’t care if I get a technical this game,” Menard said.

Menard scored seven points to go along with three rebounds, an assist and a steal in the 3A/4A boys’ all-star game. Menard, Wasilla High School’s Daniel Headdings and Palmer High School’s Abriana Busbey represented the Valley talent that has risen above the competition in Alaskan hoops. Wasilla guard Olivia Davies, who committed to Division I University of Hawaii, chose not to play to rest a sore leg. Headdings committed to play for the University of New Mexico and Menard accepted a preferred walk-on offer from DePaul University, also Division 1 programs.

“Sullivan’s going to be a huge benefit to anyone and he loves to do it. He’s very athletic and he’s going to get after it, another just great kid and you’ll run him off screen after screen after screen and just hope to create and open look,” said Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen.

The Gold beat the Blue 81-68 in the 3A/4A girls’ game. The Gold’s stacked squad featured speedy guards Kianna McWhite of Bartlett and Sierra Tate from West Valley, and sharp shooter Bethany Carstens from Nikiski. McWhite achieved a double double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Carstens also led the Gold with 17 points. At halftime of the girls’ game, Carstens shot was heating up. She won the girls’ three-point contest, and then beat boys’ winner Jace Kornstad, also a Nikiski product, for the title of the state’s best long-range shooter. Dimond star Alissa Pili, who will play at Division I USC next year, was named MVP after recording 22 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Blue team. Busbey chipped in seven points for the Blue.

Wasilla girls’ head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax was honored after the boys’ game to her service to basketball in the state of Alaska. She was named to the AABC Hall of Fame, and recognized for her stellar playing career at North Pole High and Monroe Catholic. Hebert tossed the opening tip for the boys’ game and even stuck around to play some trap defense before she walked off the court smiling. Davies credited Hebert-Truax with teaching her to be a leader.

“It’s helped me see a different side of things and understand different aspects of the game that I wouldn’t have seen,” Davies said.

Davies said that she will miss playing with all of her friends on the court. But she is also enjoying her senior season in track and field. Davies enjoyed the opportunity to be a fan of the game and watch her friends play, pointing out her Valley counterpart Busbey.

“She’s a really good shooter. Like right now, she’s at the top of the key wide open waiting for her shot,” Davies said.

Busbey would drain a three-pointer just a few possessions later from that same spot. Nearby West Anchorage head coach Stanley Engel said that Davies is the smartest basketball player in the state. Davies hopes to earn playing time right away for the Rainbow Warriors as a strong attack guard with the ability to make plays.

“Being able to facilitate my teammates as well, like drawing people and then dishing is my bread and butter,” Davies said.

Menard wasn’t the only fortune teller in the crowd watching the girls play. East Anchorage product Andrew Graves, a 6-foot-11 standout, had sore fingers from practicing his dunks all week for the dunk contest. Graves bested Bartlett’s Rian King of Bartlett in the finals, which he predicted. Menard competed and launched a dunk similar to what he threw down in the game, but he didn’t attack the rim until after time had expired. The real dunk contest took place during the shootaround, where players weren’t constrained by time and one by one flew through the air with creativity to the rim. Graves had never seen Menard play in person before Saturday and didn’t know what to expect, but accurately predicted just about everything else.

“I know Diques is going to do something crazy,” Graves said.

With a flair for the dramatic on the drive, Graves’ teammate on the Blue, Esaw, came through on that prediction multiple times, driving and spinning through traffic to lay the ball gently off the glass.

“Orlando’s going to be shooting, definitely,” Graves said.

Orlando Lozano from Anchorage Christian School poured in 16 points, making four of his seven shots from beyond the arc. The Gold took a second-half charge in the boys’ game to win 95-82. Graves led all scorers in the 3A/4A boys’ game with 19 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals for the blue team. Graves’ teammate Esaw scored 10 points, and Menard chipped in seven points, three rebounds, a steal, an assist, and a rim-rocking slam. Kaeleb Johnson of East Anchorage scored 18 points and hit five of his 11 shots from three for the Gold. Dimond’s Evan Hoosier grabbed a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, and Hall-Schriven scored 18 to go along with eight rebounds. Lee led all Gold team passers with six assists. Menard said that with all of the state’s most talented hoopers descending on one court, it was a great preparation for playing in college.

“We’re going to see who can play and It will definitely prepare us for the next level because it’s not like when you go to the next level it’s going to be easy. It’s not going to be any guys to pick on, like everyone can hoop and everyone can play so it’s a good opportunity for us,” Menard said.

Menard was happy to watch the girls game as a fan, including Carstens, who will share a new home city with Menard where she’s committed to play Division I women’s basketball for Chicago State. As Pili weaved through defenders and stopped on a dime to sink a shot, Menard took notice.

“Alissa Pili is probably the most impressive female athlete that you will ever see. Her size and her ability to move around the court, I want her to play on the guys team and see how she does. I think she’ll dominate still,” Menard said.

Menard said that he was proud he and Headdings could represent Valley basketball among the state’s best.

“Especially in the Valley, people tend to think that there’s not much talent up there but we have three D1[players] coming from us so it feels good. It feels nice to represent our town because it’s not very big compared to Anchorage,” Headdings said.

Headdings grabbed seven first-half rebounds. He plans to leave for college just after graduation to prepare for playing college basketball.

“I’m just going to work as hard as I can and try to find a role down there,” Headdings said.

Engebretsen said it was difficult watching Headdings play without being on the sideline, but that he expects Headdings to embrace the process and let his work ethic shine. Headdings called Engebretsen if not one of the best, the best basketball coaches in Alaska and credited his coaching with helping him to succeed on the court. Engebretsen said that he’s helped prepare Headdings by giving him the opportunity to play on nearly 25 college campuses for team camps to improve his game since moving the Valley in middle school.

“I credit a lot of his desire to keep the work going, to keep the fire in his belly to beyond just what’s ingrained in himself,” Engebretsen said. “He’s just doing everything with what gods blessed him with to go beyond.”

Engebretsen said that college coaches were impressed when Headdings was the first off the bench to cheer for his teammates, even when sidelined by a wrist injury.

“He also just has that it factor. The best thing about Daniel is beyond just him as a player, he’s also probably one of the greatest teammates that I’ve ever seen,” Engebretsen said. “He just cares about everyone around him so much that it’s actually carried him above and beyond what most kids are.”

Engebretsen said that Headdings works his tail off and is humble and grounded. Engebretsen works with his players to become better people, not just better basketball players. Menard mentioned Wasilla’s success as improving the level of play on Valley basketball courts with the boys’ team making two straight title game appearances in 2017 and 2018, taking home the crown last year. Menard and the Knights took third, with sophomore Patrick McMahon joining Menard on the all-state team.

“I just think it’s a testament to our coaching staffs and our schools and how they support us,” Menard said.

Engebretsen has a long relationship with Colony High School head coach Tom Berg and sees the same type of positives coming out of Berg’s program on the other side of the Valley.

“Sullivan and Daniel have a really good grounding in the sense that we also we put everything on the line to try to go win a basketball game, but when it’s all said and done that’s not the only thing that we are. We are not just basketball players, and so they really have a good sense of that and a good sense of character and what matters most, and that’s just becoming, turning themselves from young boys into great young men that will be terrific fathers and husbands later,” Engebretsen said.