Wasilla team manager named honorary starter on senior night

WASILLA — The Wasilla High basketball programs celebrated their annual senior night Tuesday.

For the most part, the ceremony was standard. Senior boys and girls on the basketball teams and in the pep band were recognized with their families in a crowded gymnasium at WHS. Flowers and gifts were presented, photographs were taken and a few words were said about each senior.

But the night took a unique, and memorable, turn just prior to Wasilla’s varsity boys game against rival Colony.

On any given game night, Wasilla senior Kaley Devine, one of three team managers in the boys’ basketball program can be found right behind the bench in the first row of bleachers. But Tuesday night, when the gymnasium lights dimmed and the spotlight shifted toward the Wasilla bench for the announcement of the starting lineups, Devine was in a different spot.

She was one of five Warriors seated, ready to be introduced as an honorary member of the Wasilla starting lineup. Devine had a front-row seat for the introduction of the first four starters, and watched as each slapped the hands of teammates, bumped fists with the officials and shook the hand of the opposing coach.

And then it was Devine’s turn.

In maybe an unprecedented moment, at least at Wasilla High, a team manager was announced as an honorary starter. Public address announcer Paul Cossette called Devine’s name, and the senior, donning a white Wasilla basketball uniform with the No. 50, rose to her feet. She slapped hands with her teammates, bumped fists with the officials and gave Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen a hug before joining the four other starters at midcourt.

All came as the cheers from the crowd approached a thunderous tone.

“Cossette, I didn’t know he was going to announce all of that. It was pretty cool,” Devine said, still wearing the No. 50 jersey, as she took a break from posing for pictures with friends after Wasilla’s 76-66 overtime victory over Colony. “It was a good feeling.”

Devine is a member of a family with deep basketball roots in the community. Her dad, Mike, is an assistant within the Warrior boys basketball program. She’s also one of eight Devine siblings who grew up on the basketball court. Her older brother, Connor, a 2012 graduate of WHS and former Warriors standout, plays basketball at Division I South Dakota State. Her older sister Alysha, a 2013 graduate of Wasilla High and another former WHS star, plays at UAA, one of the top-ranked Division II women’s basketball teams in the country. A younger brother, Reilly, a sophomore, is currently a starter for the Warrior boys’ varsity teams. Three younger brothers and a younger sister are expected to be future Warriors.

Basketball’s kind of a big deal in the Devine household.

Kaley Devine is a former player. She grew up participating, but opted to step away from playing competitively following her freshman year at Wasilla. After a break, another door opened within the sport.

“The first year was really hard for me. I had to stay away from basketball a little bit. As soon as I got over that, I was like, I need to be around basketball again,” Devine said. “I love the game. But I need to do other things. But I like supporting my siblings and managing.”

The desire to make her way back to the game made it easy for Devine to accept Engebretsen’s invitation to become a manager with the boys’ program.

“That family has really just been a rock in this program for a long time. When she hung up basketball a few years back, she wanted to be around. She didn’t want to leave the game completely. We’re so close to that family, I said come be a part of the boys’ side. We’ll take you in,” Engebretsen said.

Like his other two managers, Engebretsen said Devine has become an invaluable piece of the program.

“All three managers are at every practice. They do all the dirty work behind the scenes,” Engebretsen said.

As the Warriors celebrated senior night, Engebretsen said he wanted to do something different for this senior.

“I wanted to give her something special, a unique opportunity that no other kid gets an opportunity to do. It’s hard to reward them,” Engebretsen said of his managers. “You can find little things here and there. I could give her everything under the sun behind the scenes. I could give her a gift card. The program could get her flowers. But that meant so much to a basketball family. Biggest thing, that’s a basketball family through and through. As much as it meant to her, it was a big thing for her mom and dad. I bet they were on cloud nine.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.