LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which  distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming.  (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Braves to Lean on Defense, Develop Roles

By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
    In a season marked by turnover, Mt. Edgecumbe High boys basketball coach Archie Young might not be dealing with the biggest team turnover in Region V for a change.


    About half of Mt. Edgecumbe’s varsity roster has been in the program before, which is substantially more than Young has seen in the last few seasons.
    “Last year I had one returner, the year before I had three returners. Having four or five or six kids back who can help explain things during drills has made a huge difference,” Young said. “There have been times already where Skye (Shipton) has been telling one of our new kids about how to play defense in a certain spot. It’s been nice.”
    Mt. Edgecumbe’s cross-town opponent Sitka, on the other hand, graduated nearly every member of its varsity squad and across the archipelago, Petersburg has seen its share of turnover including losing a player to Sitka. Young said the shuffling means it’s going to be a tight conference season.
    “I think it’s going to be a lot closer than it has been the last few years. I think everybody is going to be beating each other up all season, is what I’m expecting.”
    Young’s strategy with his new players remains the same: get them as acclimated to the system as possible before winter break and hope to peak near March.
    In the meantime the Braves will get lots of court time to sort through the early season struggles. It will be a grind to start the season but Young said it’s one he’s thankful for.
    “I feel like we’re going to be all right once we get together and start playing together. I like the fact that we’re starting our season with four games in four days. I like that. It’ll be a good test for us come Friday and Saturday as to who we are mentally. If we have any kind of fortitude at all, we’ll know after the first weekend.”
    Mt. Edgecumbe opens next Wednesday when it hosts Nikiski, which will be in Sitka for the Holland America Tournament. The following morning the Braves will hop on an early flight to Anchorage to play in the Grace Christian tournament with games Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
    “We’re not even really getting 24 hours between games. So come Friday and Saturday I’m really anxious to see who these guys are,” Young said.
    Mt. Edgecumbe plays in three separate tournaments this season with trips to Kodiak and Bethel set for January. Mt. Edgecumbe also has a heavy February run with 11 games in the shortest month of the year. That stretch includes a period of six games in eight nights.
    “There’s not a lot of practice time so there’s going to be some long days for us,” Young said, adding that the challenge will better prepare Mt. Edgecumbe to peak during the regional tournament stretch.
    “As far as the way regionals lays out, we should be ready when that time comes. We have three tournaments of three games in three days and that stretch of six games in eight days so we should be ready for regionals.”
    The Region V tournament is in Ketchikan this season. Sitka High is the reigning champion and Mt. Edgecumbe won in 2013. Regular season records will determine who gets the top seed and a first round bye. The Braves don’t get into conference competition until Jan. 20 when they play at Sitka High School. They’ll see Petersburg for the first time on Feb. 6.
    Over the course of the season, Young said, it’ll be important for players to learn where they fit in the overall puzzle and he’s hoping their schedule will help flesh that out.
    “(We need to) defend and rebound and learn roles – I should say relish roles. Certain people have to be certain things for us. Not everyone gets to score on a team. There’s a few guys that we need to really relish being defenders and rebounders and who get their points by running lanes and grabbing offensive boards. If we become unselfish from that standpoint then that will be really good for us.”
    Before the Braves can get to all that, Young said, they still need to get through the same challenges of the early season: learning the game and learning about each other. To be successful early on, Young said, team defense is going to be a priority as offensive efficiency takes time and repetitions to develop. And, he added, if the team can learn to lean on defense now it will help when they need defense in March.
    “Hopefully, always defense. Everybody will tell you that defense keeps you in your games,” he said. “Our games with Sitka were close when we defended well, when we didn’t they weren’t close.”

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.

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