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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2019)
A9 WEDNESDAY November 27, 2019 LADY EAGLES READY TO TAKE FLIGHT By Steve Tool Wallowa Valley Chieftain irls are fl ocking to the Joseph Charter School girls high school basket- ball squad. Coach Lance Homan said he has 19 play- ers out this year, even more than last year’s squad. “We’ll have a busload between us and the boys,” Homan said with a laugh. Homan has taken the ladies to state each of the three previous years he’s coached. With the way this squad looks, another trip is in the works. Four regular varsity players returned from last year’s squad as well as two that played both junior varsity and varsity. The team lost four seniors. One plus is the addition of six fresh- men. The numbers help the squad in various ways. “It’s good to have numbers for sure, just practice-wise,” he said. “We can get the young kids more games and more experience. It’s going well. League Competition will be much the same as last year, according to Homan. “North Powder will be good as always and Wallowa will be good,” he said. “I think Nixyaawii will be good as well. Those are the top three, I think.” Homan said that the team’s guards, including returning superstar, Sabrina Albee, are the team’s strength. “We’re little, but we return two fi rst-teamers (all-league) from last year,” Homan said. “Sabrina was sec- ond in the voting for all-state and Mad- elyn (Nelson) was also up in the vot- ing along with Camille (Crenshaw); we have three starters returning, so that will be nice.” He added that Rylee Wilcox is a returning and talented senior. Will any of the freshmen start? It’s too early to tell. Homan said the tran- sition from junior high to high school is diffi cult, particularly the leap in the speed of the game. “I won’t say no, but I don’t know,” Homan said. G Ellen Morris Bishop Joseph lady Eagles basketball coach, Lance Homan (center), lines out the practice regimen for some of his 19 players. Only three practices into the sea- son, Homan said that it’s diffi cult to pick out a starting lineup, although the returning three starters are probably a lock at this point. Homan had the squad play a little summer basketball, about 20 games, between the west-side, the coast, and some tournament play. He also exper- imented with different lineups at the time. “I’m not exactly sure what that will look like yet,” he said. “Summer’s nice because there’s no pressure.” He added it was still too early to tell if there are any under-the-radar players with the possibility of becoming surprise stars this year. Homan likes the way the team looks ‘WE’LL FIND OUT WHAT THE CHEMISTRY’S GOING TO BE LIKE, WHO’S GOING TO STEP UP FOR THE AVAILABLE SPOTS BUT IT’S GOING GOOD AND I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT WE’LL DO FOR SURE.’ Coach Lance Homan so far although he said in the fi rst week it can be frustrating trying to piece everything together and as a coach, he’s always hoping for more. “I’m extremely happy,” he said. “I’ve got great girls; we’ll fi nd out what the chemistry’s going to be like, who’s going to step up for the avail- able spots but it’s going good and I’m looking forward to what we’ll do for sure.” As to what kind of team the fans can expect to see. Homan sees similar- ities between this squad and the squad of last year. “What I see is a very athletic team,” he said. “I think their defense will shine, which will create a lot of offense. I’m hoping. It’ll be very simi- lar to last year in that we’ll try to press and get easy baskets that way. A very athletic and quick team is what they’ll see.” With a full crew of players, Eagle men ready for liftoff During dribbling practice, it’s easy to see who kept up their chops and who will put in extra practice if they expect playing time on the fl oor. During playing drills, the vast majority of the Eagles put in 100 percent effort with little lack- ing in the way of intensity. If they keep up this pace, the team will go places. As much as Fulfer is a stickler for conditioning and fundamen- tals, skullwork also ranks high on the list. His teams spend time in the classroom going over game fi lms and discussing ways to improve the squad performance. Two of the squad’s six fresh- men have the possibility of starting at the moment. The coach won’t name names, but he is pleased with their performance thus far. “They’ve put in the work, but they’ll have to earn it through (coach) Layton,” Fulfer said. “I told them they’ll have to bust their tail on his end, and in games, they’ll have to go hard, because I have 11 returning varsity play- ers.” He added that several sopho- mores also look promising and are not out of the running for starting positions. Joseph is in a tough league, By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Joseph Charter School basket- ball coach, Olan Fulfer, is a stick- ler for conditioning. Nearly every player on his 19-man squad sports a healthy sheen of sweat 10 minutes into practice. The squad has a more-than-full roster this year: 19 players have signed up including a half-dozen freshmen. “We’ll have even more, next year,” Fulfer said, matter-of-factly. “We have a lot of eighth-graders coming up, and we’re only losing three seniors.” A few practices into the season, Fulfer and assistant and junior var- sity coach, Jacob Layton, already like what they see. “Great attitudes and they’re all working hard and that’s what we’re looking for,” Fulfer said. Stars have yet to shine this early in practice. Fulfer said that the squad is concentrating on fundamentals, mental drills and conditioning. The team practices fi ve times a week, two hours at a stretch. Much of the squad spent the off-season in Olym- pic-style weight-lifting classes to keep up their strength. Ellen Morris Bishop Joseph Eagles men’s basketball coach, Olan Fulfer (center), hands out directives to his squad as Chase Murray (L) and Chase Homan (R) pay diligent attention. $ $ $ www.main-street-motors.com $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 541-426-2100 $ $ 311 West Main St. • Enterprise $ $ OF $ $ $ $ with competition including always deadly North Powder and state champions, Nixyaawii. Elgin and Imbler also received mention as teams tough to beat. Returning starters such as Mason Fere’ and Chase Murray return and stalwarts like Carson Littlepage, Hadley Miller and Jus- ton Rogers are also on the squad. Littlepage is currently sidelined with a football injury but Fulfer expects a speedy and full recovery. “I think you’re going to see a ton of improvement from every single player from last year,” Fulfer said. “Most of the players from the var- sity rotation have put in the work to play, and I’ve been impressed with that.” Senior losses included Tyler Homan, Trey Wandschneider, Kade Kilgore and TJ Grote. Coach Fulfer said that fans coming out to see the Eagles can expect to see hard-working play- ers with great attitudes and compo- sure. He expects them to be the top sportsmanship team in the state as well as contenders for the title. “I think we’re going to be fun to watch,” Fulfer said. “We’re going to be an enjoyable team. We’re going to work hard.” $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ See $ our $ ad on page A15 $ $ $ Old Fashioned Values Sales & Service $ $ $ $ $
