Jason Carpenter takes reins from Brett Page
High School basketball season will tip off this month with a full slate of preseason action, bringing with it the usual excitement and optimism for local teams.
The Flying Tigers will start a new era under first-year head coach Jason Carpenter, who took the reins from successful longtime coach Brett Page.
Carpenter is no stranger to Analy hoops, having coached freshman and JV basketball for over a decade.
After almost yearly runs at the league title, the 2018-19 season will be no cake-walk for the Tigers in the newly aligned North Bay League Oak Division, which also features Windsor, Cardinal Newman, Montgomery, Piner and Santa Rosa.
“League realignment has changed the landscape of high school basketball, and we’re in a division with some excellent programs,” Carpenter said. “Even with a much higher level of competition, our goal is the same as it’s been for the last 10 years — to be champions of our league.”
The Flying Tigers graduated five seniors from last year’s squad, but return a solid core of six veterans that include seniors Nic Visser, JJ Fain, Sam Housman, Avi Gitlin, Quinn Vermuelen and Brenden Martinez.
Moving up to the varsity level are juniors Sage Bork, Antonio Sanchez, Kevin Wagner and Zac Eling.
“We’ve got a great group of kids that work extremely hard and care about each other,” said Carpenter, assisted by Chris Dluzak, Kyle Seever and Javon Williams. “We’ve also got a fantastic group of coaches, and I’m grateful for all that they do.”
Scheduling notes
The Tigers will open the winter schedule with a home scrimmage with Vintage on Saturday, Nov. 17 (3 p.m.) and visit Rancho Cotate in the annual Foundation Game on Tuesday, Nov. 20 (7:30 p.m.). Analy will host Ukiah in the home opener on Nov. 24 (6:30 p.m.).
Holiday tournaments will include Ukiah (Nov. 29-Dec. 1), Drake (Dec. 6-8), Casa Grande (Dec. 13-15) and Windsor (Dec. 26-29). Analy will start the league schedule on Jan. 3 against visiting Piner.
