The Gold Medal Basketball Tournament starts Sunday, March 15, at Juneau-Douglas High School and features three Chilkat Valley teams.
The Klukwan Chilkats open the tournament 10 a.m. Sunday against Juneau’s Filco in the “C” bracket, followed by the 11:30 a.m. Haines Merchants’ “B” bracket game against Kake. There are eight teams in each of the two brackets.
The two-time defending champion Klukwan Masters face Angoon 9 p.m. Monday, March 16. The Masters, age 42 and up, and women’s brackets each have four teams.
The Merchants’ roster, posted recently on the Juneau Empire website, includes top performers from last month’s Dick Hotch Memorial Basketball Tournament, such as Richard Bachman, Bryan Combs, James Hart, and Harry Rietze, but the twin tower Egolf brothers are absent. Recent Haines High School graduates Kai Sato-Franks and Justin Swinton are on the roster, as well as the more experienced Dave Berry, Tyler Healy and Orion Falvey.
The Chilkats’ roster includes team stalwarts David Buss, Stuart DeWitt, Andrew Friske and Jesse McGraw, along with newer team members such as Michael Ganey, Ryan Harms and Reuben Loewen. The Chilkats are set to get a boost from the return of Jason Shull, making the trip from Washington.
Last year’s Masters tournament MVP, Jeff Sharnbroich, is on the roster for the Klukwan Masters, as are all-tournament honorees Joe Parnell and Chris Wassman, although at Gold Medal no one knows who’s actually playing until they step on the court.
Danny Thomas and Neil Erickson are included on the roster and would be making the jump up from the “C” bracket.
Gold Medal runs through the championship games on Saturday, March 21. Updates will be posted at http://www.goldmedalbasketball.org.
Residents looking for even more basketball in Juneau that weekend also can attend the Mike Jackson Memorial Shootout at Thunder Mountain High School from March 19-21. Four Haines youth teams will participate in the event.