Local hoopers take advantage of summer ball

If you have a favorite sport, one you can’t get enough of, local high school basketball teams have your back. 

Love of the sport is what drives those who love roundball action, playing and watching, to seek relief from official down times in any given season.  And summer basketball is alive and well in these parts, in an unofficial kind of way. 

But hey, the NBA finals were still being contested as of this past Sunday morning. More and more these days, players are hitting the hardwoods throughout the year, keeping the sound of ball on hardwood floors echoing throughout the buildings. 

“I just like to keep a ball in their hand, getting them out and playing the game,” said St. Regis High head coach Jesse Allan prior to a casually arranged game with the guys in Thompson Falls.  “It is good to see them playing. It's also good for the young guys to get some more time playing the game".

With the bulk of their 2023-24 roster returning this coming season, teams with young players benefit from more time together on the court. And while the Tigers will be without the services of now graduated senior John Pruitt, the extra time on the floor can be beneficial in defending the District 14C league championship they won this past season. 

Superior basketball coach Jeff Schultz, who like Allan is also the school’s head football coach, agrees with that assessment.  

“These are not official practices, just coaches and ADs calling around to see if anyone else would like to play our team,” he said. Both St. Regis boys and Superior’s girls are expected to be contenders in the newly formed 13C conference that will combine the 14C with the 13C beginning this coming season. 

“We’ve seen some good things, these kids play really hard,” Schultz said. “I wish we could shoot better," he said, but that comes with time and effort. 

At a recent hastily arranged gathering of players looking for opponents at St. Regis’ gym, Schultz’s Lady Bobcats showed solid improvement over last year’s squad, which got off to a rocky start then started winning some games as the regular season came to an end. 

St. Regis’ girls, who like the boys return most of last year’s team, displayed some shooting ability in the games they played versus Superior and Plains last week.  Guard Shayla Dalka dropped in several long-range threes to help her team split games with the impromptu teams who made it to St. Regis, including a solid team from Fort Benton. 

St. Regis’ boys are also showing some signs of being a threat to win another District title including a big win over Thompson Falls a couple weeks ago. 

Teams typically play two 20-minute halves in boys' games, with the clock running most of the time.  Girls' games are often two 10-minute halves with regular clock stops for out of bounds and other actions. 

In addition to pick up games, many gyms have “open” hours for working out and playing two on two or individual games.  And several of them have skills camps they attend during the summer vacation months. 

For parents who pile up the road miles during the regular season, summer activities often offer no relief from travel times. 

And many student athletes play more than one sport in a school year, with the growing trend being playing two sports during the same season.   

Thompson Falls has had several double sport athletes over the past few years, such as Max Hannum, who graduated this year and at one point during his senior season was playing and practicing basketball and wrestling, two activities that require good conditioning.   

And Ellie Baxter, who graduated last year, was at one point golfing, running cross country, playing basketball and volleyball in two sports season her senior year. 

“These are good ways to keep in shape and keep the game in your mind,” said T Falls AD and head boys basketball coach Jake Mikelson.  “It almost always involves one coach or AD calling around to see who has some guys who want to play.  Nothing formal, just guys who want to get together and play basketball”. 

Mickelson’s Blue Hawks host a K-8 basketball camp this week in T Falls and have a boys’ game versus Kellogg this Thursday (June 20). 

    St. Regis guard Shayla Dalka drives toward the basket during a summer game this past week in St. Regis. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    St. Regis basketball coach Jesse Allan goes over game strategy during a win last week over T Falls during summer basketball action. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Defense under the basket was on display during the summer league game last week between St. Regis and Thompson Falls, in T Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Thompson Falls head basketball coach Jake Mickelson directs traffic with players on the court during summer basketball play in T Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)