Bluehawks bring outside experience to the court

THOMPSON FALLS – As the winter sports season begins in full swing, the Bluehawks boys basketball team prepares for their first tournament.

The team is young but Head Coach Chadd Laws said the kids have a lot of basketball experience outside of the regular season.

Although some of them may not be experienced at the varsity level, Coach Laws said the guys have certainly played their share of ball.

This season the Bluehawks have two returning players – Tanner Laws and Trais Hoisington. Both sophomores, Laws and Hoisington are expected to be a strong force this year.

T. Laws is a returning all-conference player with honorable mentions and at 6’5” Hoisington has height that is tough to find.

Coach Laws also said Dylan Vaught should have a good season. Vaught is a 6’1” forward.

As the team hits practice hard, they are working on offensive continuity, their transition game, communication and defensive pressure.

The boys are gearing up for their first chance to play competitively this season, which will be at the Sanders County Tip-Off Tournament on December 13 and 14.

The team will go up against Hot Springs first.

Coach Laws said both Savage Heat ballers Jimmy Holland and Tanner Hoff would be strong competition. Depending on whether the Bluehawks win or lose, they will compete against one of the other two county teams – both of which also have strong players.

Coach Laws said Noxon’s Oliver Grupenhoff would pose a threat, while Plains will also offer up some strong players with James Rulison, Kyle Revier, Aaron Baker and Trent Brouillette.

Once the Tip-Off Tournament comes to an end, the team will go on to play Loyola on the 21st and Florence on the 22nd – both big games.

“Florence went to state and got third place at state for the fourth year in a row and I would say Loyola will probably be the preseason favorite for that district,” said Coach Laws.

Even with some big competition ahead of them, Coach Laws isn’t breaking a sweat.

“I think we’re fine,” said Coach Laws. “We played some pretty big tournaments this summer.”

The tournaments helped gear the kids up for the winter season.

“Outside of the fact that we are kind of young, I feel like we have a lot of valuable experience out of the season,” said Coach Laws.

He said the best thing about his team is the dynamic – the team is already tight knit and Coach Laws said they care about one another.

“The team is really not focused on how many each player scores, it’s more focused on the team,” explained Coach Laws.

He said there are a handful of kids that could put up double figures on any given night.

“I feel like we are going to be a good team this year. We have a lot of good inside play, some great shooters and our ball handling is very strong,” said Coach Laws.

Last year Thompson Falls got third in their district and fell right behind Bigfork and Troy.

This year the team would like to continue past that point, however as of now they are going to take it one game at a time.

“We aren’t looking past the first game in front of us and that’s Hot Springs,” said Coach Laws.