Japheth Banko will be a senior for Carson High boys basketball this fall as the Senators look to take more steps in the right direction this winter. In 18 games played last season, Banko averaged 4.5 points per game, two rebounds and nearly two assists per contest.
Photo by Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage.
Carson High School boys basketball coach Ty Golden admits his first two seasons in charge of the program haven’t resulted in the on-court success he would have hoped for.
However, the third-year coach says the roster has bonded this offseason and the team’s internal desire to work hard in practice has given him reason for optimism.
“The reason why I am truly excited for this season is these boys are really, really united and they care about each other,” Golden said. “I am not going to shy away from the fact that the last couple of years haven’t gone how I would want, how the team would want or how the community would want. We want to be more competitive for sure, but these boys are more united and they are working harder than they ever have.”
VARSITY ROSTER
Coming back from last year’s team, that posted a 4-22 record, will be Landon Hoff, Japheth Banko and Isaac Chambers.
Hoff posted 6.6 points, three rebounds and over a steal a game as a junior.
Banko averaged 4.5 points per clip last season while also doing a little bit of everything else on the floor.
“I am excited to see them embrace a leadership role and through the first week of practice that has definitely been something that stood out,” Golden said of Hoff and Banko.
Chambers will be one of the featured guards in the backcourt this season for the Senators after averaging 3.2 points per game and 1.7 assists per contest as a sophomore.
“Isaac is another returner and elite handler for us and really competitive on the defensive end,” said Golden.
Jaren Thornburg will step into a varsity role this fall after leading the JV team in scoring a season ago.
Justine Sequena saw minutes in 10 varsity contests last year. His shooting will help give the Senators options in the half court.
Kale Thompson will be another piece that Golden expects to vie for contention for minutes this winter, too.
Golden said Julian Hazelton is another guard who can come off the bench and make an impact for the Senators’ offensively.
“We will see how the minutes fall once we have to tighten the rotation, but right now it’s really competitive,” said Golden.
Max Connors, Ethan Cook, Nicholas Heald, Mateo Rosas and Kylan Jackson are a few other names that could see action this season.
Carson won’t do a ton different schematically, but the Senators’ head coach expects that his crew will have games decided based on their defensive intensity.
“Doubling down on our principles and getting that really dialed in so we can change defensive looks more frequently and keep offenses guessing,” Golden said.
(Carson High School’s Isaac Chambers brings the ball up the floor during a game last season. Chambers will be a junior this winter and will be a staple in the Senators’ backcourt. / Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage)
LEAGUE LOOKS
The Class 4A North — made up of the usual nine suspects — is a bit of an unknown in the early going.
Spanish Springs appears to be the preseason consensus top team, but until minutes are actually being logged the Class 4A North appears to be a toss-up.
Of course, Damonte Ranch is coming off a state title game appearance from last season and the Reno Huskies can’t be counted out over the recent years.
“You have to see how rosters actually look once tryouts come. There are rumors and who knows, … Spanish Springs on paper is returning a lot of production. … They’ve been really a power program. You have to start there,” Golden said. “Reno played excellent last year. … Damonte had an incredible run last year and have a great guard coming back.”
Carson’s head coach didn’t overlook his rival to the south either, knowing that senior first team all-region guard Caden Thacker will lead the Tigers this winter.
With another blank canvas to paint, the Senators are hoping they can stay connected to the rest of the teams in the league.
“We want to figure out how good we can be and that can only happen if we are working hard enough each day to find out,” Golden said.
Carson High School basketball will kickoff its 2024-25 campaign Dec. 2 at home in a non-league game against Sparks High School.