Wolverine basketball season is underway and the boys team is aiming high this season with seven returning senior players and a core group who have already made it to the state level and playoffs twice in the past. Hoping for a league title and to earn one of two coveted spots at the 2B/1A District Tournament, the team is hoping to balance the experience of its returning players with its newer team members.

“We have a core group that has made it to the state level or our playoffs two different times,” said Head Coach Rod Turnbull. “So we hope to use that experience to motivate us also. Our goals are to compete for a league title and earn one of two spots our of our district tournament to the regional state playoff.”

Turnbull has been with Friday Harbor High School for 18 years and has been coaching for more than 30 years in total. This season, along with his assistant coaches ******, Turnbull said he is impressed with his players’ commitment and coachability.

“So far we are really pleased with the attitude and the response of our players to our coaching,” he said.

With the season having just begun, the team is still working on coming together as a cohesive unit in order to play to its highest ability. Combining the younger, newer team members with the returning, more experienced players may take a little time but Turnbull is confident once they really come together the team will be a force to be reckoned with.

“While we return some key players, we will be interjecting some new folks and it will take some time for our team to figure some of this out,” said Turnbull. “As long as we remain true to our process and keep working, I think we can be a pretty tough team to play against when our league hits full stride.”

The team’s seven graduating seniors are Remy August, Ty Anderson, Jaden Jones, Ethan Germain, Kenny Hallock, Gavin Mason and Teegan August. Kyson Jackson and Satchel Pieples are the team’s two junior players this year. The youngest team members are sophomores Cameron Wilson and Dylan Roberson.

“We have seven seniors on our team this year so we will be looking to them for leadership and knowledge,” Turnbull said.

The first game of the year was on Tuesday, Dec.r 3 against Blaine at home. Unfortunately, the Wolverine’s were slightly outmatched and the game ended in a 79–42 loss.

“It was a tough one for us, as Blaine was a lot more advanced compared to us, with the speed of the game,” said Turnbull. “They were able to execute their style more than we were able to. It was good for us to see through, and we will be able to learn from the game.”

This past weekend, on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6 and 7, the Wolverines hosted the annual Friday Harbor Tip-Off Classic, playing **** games against *****