After a l-o-n-g wait, basketball is back at GHHS and Peninsula. Here’s what to expect

As one of the last sports to get a full season before the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic happened, basketball has taken the longest to get back to play.

All the winter sports like basketball, wrestling and the like are all taking place in the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association’s ‘Season Three’. Basically, they are about 14 months later from when they ended in 2020.

Both Gig Harbor and Peninsula High Schools are returning to the court and both teams are looking to find redemption after early exits in districts. However, they have to do so now competing against teams in the 4A South Puget Sound League.

Here is what to expect in their upcoming seasons:

GIG HARBOR

The Tides enter the 4A SPSL as the reigning 3A South Sound Conference champions. And although they won’t have a chance to reclaim their title, they will continue to play at their high level under coach Billy Landram.

This season will be a different one for sure as the Tides are navigating how to exist playing basketball in the spring, rather than in the fall. There are a number of precautions that they have to follow, including players spaced out six feet apart on the benches and wearing masks on the sidelines.

“Everybody; coaches, players, everyone is wearing masks 100% of the time right now,” Landram said. “It feels good [to get back onto the court], especially for the kids that have been cooped up at home. It’s been rough for these kids that play a lot of basketball. The seniors that have been with us for three or four years, trying to let them play and have some memories will be good if we can get this thing going.”

One benefit that is on their side is the high number of players returning from the previous season. There are seniors like Zach Toglia and Nathan Brekke, juniors like Asher Raquiza and Ryan Pickles, and even sophomores like Christian Parrish all coming back for another year.

“We got a lot of the kids from last year back, a majority of them,” Landram said. “[Parrish] got injured in football so he’s not quite back yet, but we are hoping to have him back later in the year. Some kids that have popped up that will probably make an impact that are younger or didn’t play are [sophomore] Luke Browne, Pickles, [sophomore] Will Landram and [junior] Parker Born.”

Even though they retain a lot of the same talent from last year, the Tides are lining up as a very different team in 2021. They may have experience playing in big games, but they still work on fundamental stuff like ball control and being physical grabbing rebounds.

However, that doesn’t bog down the confidence that this team has. Sure, being in a new league with unknown factors can be tough, but the Tides are a good team with good basketball IQ.

They can read the other teams, most of the players are competing all year round so they don’t worry about conditioning, and already have a decent bond with each other. They are excited for the new competition and are ready to prove themselves against the 4A SPSL.

“The kids we have, they want to play, they’re going to get after it. If they weren’t going to do that, they wouldn’t play,” Landram said. “Those type of players like [Brekke], Braeden Lundberg and JD Frazier, they are always doing that. So when they come to compete, they’re giving it their all, there is no half doing it.”

The Tides’ will already have a few games under their belts at publication, but their next opponent will be Curtis at 7 p.m. Friday, May 14 at Curtis High School.

PENINSULA

Whereas the Tides have experienced players coming back for the new season, the Seahawks only have one player coming back that has any varsity experience.

However, that doesn’t stop coach Matt Robles from seeing his team’s underdog potential and room to grow.

“We’re young, we got one returning varsity guy and that’s never really happened before. So we are going to have a brand new set of faces out there,” he said. “We have one returner, one senior and then a bunch a juniors, sophomores and maybe a couple freshmen in the mix.”

A couple of players that are stepping up into leadership roles are juniors Austin Milchalke and Marcus Douglas. In the early days of practice, both of these players have set the tone for their teammates by being vocal and bringing the new guys into the fold.

Also returning is fellow junior, and the only Seahawk that has varsity experience, Caleb Wanaka. For him, it’s a smooth transition from being selected all-league in baseball, to bringing the experience his team will need on the court.

. It will be up to Wanaka to be the de facto leader and build on the understanding he has on what high level play should be.

“He’s come in and it’s like he hasn’t missed a beat,” Robles said. “Everything weird in the past 14-16 months, it’s all just a way of life right now and we’re getting used to it. This whole thing has been odd, but the boys have done such a great job embracing it and they’re so excited. I’m proud of how they’ve responded to everything and embracing that new normal we’re in right now.”

Last season, the Seahawks struggled until they found their footing about two-thirds through the season and made a late push for the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost 55-50 to Timberline to exit the playoffs.

Because there has been a large amount of turnover on the roster, Robles doesn’t see last season having any impact on this year’s squad. However, it can be looked at as a stepping stone year for the program.

With about 12 players on his roster, eight of them have made their way to playing varsity from the C-team and junior varsity.

“They understand that that unknown to them is something is something that they have to learn quickly,” he said. “I think that they are exited for the challenge. We have a brand new team except for one guy and they have a chip on their shoulder. This is going to be a great year, everything is going to be new. Along the way, we will take our lumps and figure out how to play at the varsity level.”

The Seahawks won’t have as many games played as the Tides, but they share the same next opponent in the Vikings. That contest will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 20 at Curtis High School.

This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 5:30 AM.