TEAM PREVIEW: Glacier Peak Grizzlies
During the Saint Martin’s college high school team camp. I was able to get a first look at the Glacier Peak Grizzlies. Brian Hunter has done a wonderful job getting these young men geared up for the upcoming season. Finishing 48th in the state with an impressive record of 19-5 overall and 12-2 in the district is not too shabby. They will be losing some of their key players. They have six players heading into the next phase of their lives with six players coming back for their finals season. During Camp play, the grizzlies looked a lot more athletic than I envisioned. With their star point, guard Trey Lawrence running the shoe they were able to get into their sets easy. They have some knock down shooters and ironically, their best rebounders are their guards. I saw 5 guys crashing the boards along with some quick outlet passes. Their style was not reminiscent of what I saw last season. Tempo was huge during the camp and they kept their foot on the gas. With most of their losses last season were against very elite programs like, Gonzaga Prep, Jackson, Kennedy Catholic and Union. Most of those schools are going through a transitional phase as well with the class of 2017 having a majority of those talented big men and wings. Glacier Peak should move up quickly in the ranking this year.
I caught up with Coach and asked him how they were able to pull off such a convincing victory over a tough Black Hills squad during day 2 of camp.
“We wanted to come out strong right from the tip off. We know black hills is a heady squad and they like to play 94 feet and pressure. We have some good ball handlers and some aggressive guards so we wanted to give them a little taste of their own medicine. We wanted to set the tone early that the game from the defensive end on our side was going to be uncomfortable for them.”
Coach can you explain to me the chase down block Trey got in the second half? I feel like that spearheaded a monster run for the grizzlies. I think you scored 10 unanswered points after that.
“He’s been making plays like that for us since he first stepped in to Glacier Peak. He is a phenomenal player who plays both sides of the ball. Defensively he can lock down the opposing teams best players and in the same breath go at them off the dribble. He is a very unselfish player who makes everybody around regardless of their skill level better.”
The Grizzlies have three main returning players who will spearhead there attack. Here are a breakdown of each one and their strengths.
6’5 senior guard Trey Lawrence is the catalyst for this team. He is the emotional and vocal leader on the floor most coaches dream of having. He spearheads the attack on both ends. His length and athleticism causes issues for many of the guards in the 4A Wesco division. He currently plays with FOH 17u Red where he has had major interest from mid-major D1 schools and a heavy amount of D2 schools.
6’2 senior guard Bo Burns can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. Walking in to the gym, I noticed the depth perception was not very good. I figured shooters would struggle a little further out. Bo was unconscious from behind the arc. His game is purely shooting and defense. Of the ball on the defensive side, he is a nightmare. He has a long wingspan, which gives him an extra second of time to get to a skip pass for a steal. He has a quick high release, which makes it difficult to block his shot.
6’5 junior post Evan Mannes is a bruiser in the middle and one of grizzlies’ best rebounders. He does not shy away from contact. He will be one of their taller players this season and will need to be more aggressive in the paint on the offensive end. “I know coach is looking for me to get a double-double this season. Last season I focused on rebounding and defense and would occasionally hit an open shot. This season I’ve been working on my game and will be more aggressive.”