JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — High school sports shifts from fall to winter as basketball practices have begun in preparation for the 2021-22 season.
For the boys and girls teams, similar comparisons of the two programs are hard to ignore. Both, to put it kindly, have nowhere to go but up.
For the boys, last season was dreadful. The Broncs finished 1-18 overall, 0-6 in conference, and are riding a 13-game winless streak dating back to last January. Things didn’t go much better for the girls, either. The Lady Broncs finished 2020-21 with a 3-16 record, 2-5 in conference.
Blue sky
Yet, there’s cause for optimism in both programs.
The boys were energized last year by a trio of freshmen that will likely form the nucleus of the future. Andrew Hanna, Gavin Keelin, and Seb Brunner all logged valuable playing time on the varsity team last year as freshmen. Hanna’s inside game, Keelin’s dexterity as a perimeter ‘big,’ and Brunner’s streaky 3-ball shooting is a recipe for success, for the next three years, that has many around the state eyeing the Broncs for a big turnaround begin this season.
Similarly, blue sky abounds for girls. The Lady Broncs will enjoy steady leadership from seniors Jacie Chatham, Audrey Fouras, Caroline Fouras, Brooklyn Hills, Hannah Freeze, and Zaidee Smith.
Guards Chatham and Hills are good both ways (if they could only learn to shoot), either Fouras sister can carry the team through a quarter or a game when they get hot, and Freeze and Smith are gifted athletes figuring out the game of roundball more and more every day.
Then there’s the inside game where the girls excel. At 6’1”, Karsen Breeding creates matchup problems galore for most teams. As a freshman last season, Breeding struggled at times to translate her volleyball skillset onto the basketball court, but it’s coming together and when the center hits her stride, she’s impossible to stop.
Junior Gracie Hardeman exemplifies the Lady Broncs’ toughness. Her physical inside game can be intimidating, making the paint a place of pain for opponents.
And then there’s the X factor. How good is walk-on Rachel Noyce? The senior transferred from Utah for this season. What does the off-season improvement look like for promising up-and-comers like Bailey Chamberlain, Jade Ridgway, Anna Revill, and Kasey Carr?
Coaching changes
Finally, both programs will be under new leadership. Gone are Sam Lunz (boys) and Jason Huggins (girls).
Hayden Hatfield, 26, takes over the promising boys program after assistant coach jobs in Georgia. The Alabama native also brought on board Sean Shockley as his assistant. Shockley led the girls program for two decades from 1991-2010, amassing a 100-36 record during that span.
Hatfield said he is already encouraged by the product on the floor after watching film from last season and seeing many of the players in action at an early-season tournament last month. He hopes to help give the players the structure needed to deliver the team’s first winning season in over a decade.
Coach Andrea Joyce is a new hire for the Lady Broncs but a familiar face. As wife of football head coach David Joyce, Andrea moved to Jackson in 2017 and began working with the middle school program. Joyce has also coached varsity basketball in Colorado and Arkansas.
Upcoming
Daily practices continue for the Broncs basketball teams as they prepare for a tournament in Riverton next weekend. First home game for the Broncs is Saturday, December 18. Both programs take a holiday break after that before resuming the season on January 7.
