New hoops senior all-star game set

Frontiersman

PALMER — A group of local high school basketball coaches came together last year to form the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches with an immediate priority in mind — the promotion of the sport and its athletes in the state of Alaska.

Along with a variety of other tasks, AABC hopes to accomplish just that with its first senior all-star game, which is slated for Saturday at 5 p.m. at Colony High School.

“I think it’s going to be terrific,” said Houston High boys basketball coach Dave Porter, the president of AABC. “I’ve been getting calls left and right about it.”

Alaska had an annual prep basketball all-star game in the past, but it’s been more than two decades since an event of its kind has been held. The state also had a coaches association before AABC. But like the game, there was a long period of time in which that type of association didn’t exist. When AABC became a reality, Porter said the coaches involved were eager to resurrect the all-star game as well.

“It was a special event a long time ago,” Porter said. “We wanted to bring it back.”

Saturday, a collection of 24 of the top senior boys and senior girls will hit the Colony High court for a pair of games. The girls all-star game is slated to start at 5 p.m., while the boys all-star contest is slated to start at 7 p.m.

Porter said the organization accepted player nominations and an anonymous committee selected the 24-player teams. Porter said the group does not want to reveal the identity of the coaches on the committee, but said each is a longtime and well-respected coach in Alaska.

The result netted a large chunk of the basketball talent in the 49th state, and includes players from all four class — 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.

Athletes from across Alaska are included on the list. In addition to those in major regions — Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and the Mat-Su Valley — there are players from areas such as Bethel, Ketchikan, Kotzebue, Barrow, Skagway, Craig and Point Hope.

“It’s a great representation,” Porter said.

The list of boys includes each of the state’s four players of the year — West Anchorage’s Devon Bookert (4A), Nome’s Christian Leckband (3A), Point Hope’s Adam Sage (2A) and Elim’s Oscar Takak (1A). Nine of the 24 players received first-team all-state honors and six others were named second-team.

On the girls’ side, there are three state players of the year — Dimond’s Keiahanna Engel (4A), Barrow’s Nicole Smith (3A) and Skagway’s Jesse Ellis (2A). There are also 10 first-team all-staters and three named second-team.

“It’s really a terrific group,” Porter said.

There are six Valley players on the lists. Palmer’s Christian Odom represents Mat-Su boys, while Wasilla’s Kelsey Cottle, Celeste Colegrove and Hilary Apangolook; and Colony’s Kaitlyn Klapperich and Tess Forstner are among the girls all-stars.

Porter said each of the groups of 24 will each be split into a pair of 12-player teams. Rather than separating the talent by region or class, coaches sorted the talent to make the teams as even as possible.

“We want these games to be close,” Porter said.

AABC has also put together a group of all-star coaches for the event. Porter said the association started by inviting the coach of the year for each class. If someone from that group could not attend, coaches of 2011 state championship teams were invited. If there still was a need, AABC opted to invite a local coach they thought deserved the opportunity.

Coaching on the girls side will be Juneau’s Lesslie Knight, Wasilla’s Jeannie Hebert-Truax, Hutchison’s Jenny Benson and Point Hope’s Romona Rock. Service’s Tyler Moor, Wasilla’s Ryan Engebretsen, Monroe’s Frank Ostanik and Point Hope’s Leonard Barger will coach the boys.

College scouts have been invited to the games, Porter said.

Dimond High School girls basketball coach Jim Young is hosting an exposure camp, which invites college basketball coaches to Alaska. Those coaches will also be attending the all-star game.

Porter said thanks to generations donations by Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Larson Chiropractic, Nike and YMCA, AABC was able to take the event to the next level by providing new uniforms for the event.

“We didn’t want to put on an average little show,” Porter said. “We wanted to make it where kids had something to take away.”

Porter said AABC hopes to continually develop the event in the future, potentially adding more all-star games and introducing the event to different venues. The association would also like to see more talent invited and assist players with their travel costs to the all-star games.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Alaska Association of

Basketball Coaches

Senior All-Star Game

Girls roster:

Sarah Tarver, Juneau-Douglas; Taylor Larson, Juneau-Douglas; Karli Brakes, Juneau-Douglas; Kaitlyn Klapperich, Colony; Tess Forstner, Colony; Jasmine Yarde, West Valley; Kelsey Cottle, Wasilla; Celeste Colegrove, Wasilla; Hilary Apangolook, Wasilla; Keiahanna Engel, Dimond; Jordan Ramirez, Dimond; Raquel Young, Kenai; Heidi Pichler, South Anchorage; Bobbi Britti, Bartlett; Alex Owen, Craig; Elizabeth Jones, Craig; Abby Jones, Haines, Christina Fields, Kotzebue; Heather Callahan, Kotzebue; Nicole Smith, Barrow; Melissa Gerke, Barrow; Ellen Esbenshade, Yakutat; Jesse Ellis, Skagway; Kaylie O’Daniel, Skagway; Cierra Robustellini, Pt. Lions. Alternates: Donna Nash, Point Hope; Josie Broderick, North Pole; Nani Ostrom, Juneau; Erin Doherty, Ketchikan.

Boys roster:

Kody Broderick, North Pole; Colby Mitchell, Chugiak; Devon Bookert, West Anchorage; Dominque Garrett-Queen, West Anchorage; Damon Sherman-Newsome, Bartlett; Jalil Abdul-Bisett, East Anchorage; JJ Nixon, Dimond; Christian Odom, Palmer; Chas Allen, Ketchikan; Wayne Holmberg, Galena; Dane Meyer, Cordova; Christian Brockert, Cordova; Andrew Buchanon, Seward; Keenan Prochazka, Seward; Brodie Smith, Bethel; Christian Leckband, Nome; Tim Sullivan, Nome; Tyler Adams, Barrow; Shayne Gilbertson, Monroe; Chris Voss, ACS; Adam Sage, Point Hope; Zack Lane, Point Hope; Brett Kirk, Noatak; Oscar Takak, Elim. Alternate: Luke Carson, WV.