Three-year starters lead Moose

PALMER — When Palmer High School handed the reins of its boys basketball program to Jason Marvel, the former Wasilla head coach put the ball into the hands of sophomore point guard Christian Odom.

Odom, now a senior, is a member of a core group that immediately vaulted into the varsity lineup during Marvel’s first year with the program. Now, three years into the head coach’s tenure, Marvel and the Moose are ready to take the next step in their quest for a high finish in the Northern Lights Conference and a trip to the state tournament.

“We feel real good,” Marvel said recently. “We have some seasoned guys, three starters back, and a bunch of young guys.”

One of those seasoned veterans is Odom, who is in his third season as Palmer’s starting point guard.

“It’s nice to have a guy three years in a row being your starting point guard,” Marvel said.

Odom is one of two Palmer players named first-team All-NLC last year. The other, senior Sean Niekamp, returns as a top forward in the conference.

“Every coach I’ve talked to wishes they have Sean on their team,” Marvel said.

Niekamp is averaging a double-double during the first four games of his senior season, and nearly averaged a double-double as a junior.

“He works hard every play,” Marvel said. “Every play, he’s giving 100 percent.”

Guards Trey Fullmer and Hunter Dean, and forward Kevin Montgomery, round out the Palmer senior class. Fullmer and Dean are among the top shooters on the squad, and Marvel expects Montgomery to contribute key minutes inside.

With juniors Jackson Buresh and Jared Straight, sophomore Connor Looney and those seniors, Marvel said his team is legitimately eight players deep. The combination of that talent, Marvel said, can lead to a number of different combinations in the starting lineup.

“What’s nice, in the past, we haven’t necessarily been able to hold kids accountable for starting positions. Now we have guys fighting for starting spots,” Marvel said. “Game in and game out, we don’t know who’s going to start. Guys are consistently fighting for a spot.”

Marvel said younger talent, junior varsity players, will also have the chance to fight for a spot on the varsity roster throughout the season. Freshman James Nesbitt is a player who has made the jump and was a solid contributor during the Mount McKinley Bank Holiday Classic in Fairbanks last week. Palmer, which makes the trip across the Valley to play rival Wasilla tonight, is off to a 1-3 start. The Moose may only have one win in four attempts, but Marvel said he’s pleased with the chance to play solid competition early.

Palmer opened the season with a loss to defending 4A state champion West Anchorage. The Moose finished 1-2 during the three-day tourney hosted by Monroe Catholic. Palmer scored a win over North Pole, a team considered a top squad in the Mid-Alaska Conference. The Moose suffered an overtime loss to Service and another loss to host Monroe.

This season Palmer will be looking for its first berth to a state tournament since 2008.

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