SK coach not even sure what
he has yet, but
it was enough
in season opener.
South Kitsap boys basketball coach John Callaghan knew he had some important players to replace entering the season.
The Wolves’ leading scorer last season, Nick Johnson, graduated.
Their biggest interior presence, Collin Monagle, had shoulder surgery during the offseason and won’t play this year.
And another starter from a year ago — and perhaps the school’s best player — point guard Tionne Curry, is academically ineligible and won’t return until this week at the earliest.
That means some transitioning, which South experienced in its 54-29 season opener Saturday in nonleague play at Bremerton.
The Wolves turned the ball over 19 times and converted just 20 of 59 (33.9 percent) of their field goals.
“We have plenty of room for improvement,” Callaghan said, whose team finished 11-10 last season.
That doesn’t mean the coach was dissatisfied with his team. Bremerton converted 12 of 72 (16.7 percent) of its field goals and were just 2 of 28 on 3-pointers.
“We’re nothing flashy right now, but we play good defense for the most part,” Callaghan said. “It’s something to build on.”
Without Curry, Isaiah Davis started at the point. He only attempted one shot, while sharing the position with senior Ivan Rybachuk, who started at shooting guard.
“He’s a big part of our team,” said Callaghan, referring to Curry. “But I thought Isaiah did a good job for a sophomore. Ivan did really well and was under control.”
The Knights took a 4-0 lead to start the game, but South recovered to go ahead 7-6 and never trailed again. Senior forward Austin Siegel, who converted 8 of 9 free throws, paced the Wolves with 12 points.
“He’s steady,” Callaghan said of Siegel. “We expect that from him. A little senior leadership. Austin was pretty solid.”
Classmate Mike Longmire, a 6-foot-1 guard, had nine of his 11 points in the first half as South took a 31-16 advantage into the third quarter.
“I kind of spotted out,” Longmire said, laughing. “Maybe I need to do a little more conditioning.”
Actually, Longmire noted that he added 20 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-1 frame during the offseason and Callaghan is excited to see him this season.
“Mike’s going to have a good year,” he said. “Not too many guards can guard him down in the post.”
Bremerton finished with a 7-13 record last season and was 7-9 in the Class 3A Olympic League, but Callaghan was impressed with the Knights’ athleticism, which he said contributed to some of the turnovers.
He also said the game will prepare the Wolves for some of the more talented teams in the Narrows League.
“Their guys are tough,” Callaghan said. “They’re quick and athletic. They’re going to have a good year.”
Bremerton coach Casey Lindberg agreed with that sentiment. Even if the Knights had converted just 30 percent of their field goals, the game would’ve been close.
“If you would’ve told me we would’ve scored 29 points beforehand, I would’ve told said you were crazy,” he said. “If we even made half of the shots we missed, that’s a totally different ballgame.”
South Kitsap 54,
at Bremerton 29
South Kitsap 16 15 9 14 — 54
Bremerton 8 8 6 7 — 29
South Kitsap — Greg Pickard 2, Isaiah Davis 0, Ivan Rybachuk 4, Austin Siegel 12, Tre Haslom 6, Joey Osinski 6, Leon La Deaux 9, Brannon Bell 0, Mike Longmire 11, Riki Blas 0, Ricky King 4, Michael Lacey 0.
Bremerton — Josh Koets 8, Jarell Flora 7, Terrrick McGhee 2, Charles Wilson 0, Rashawn Kendrick 7, Terrance McGhee 3, Jordan Driskell 0, J’Tonn Dale 2, Andre Coleman 0, Michael Powell 0, Kevin Smith 0.
