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Boise High School
School Info
Conference: 5A Southern Idaho Conference
Classification: 5A
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Head Coach: Manny Varela
Years as Head Coach: 1st Season
Previous Experience: Eight years as an assistant coach at Borah High School
Record Last Year: 12-14
State Titles: 1924, 1938, 1947, 1980, 1986
Assistant Coaches:
Paul Perotto
Michael Johnson
Jon Neulist
Brett Plummer
Returning Athletes:
Evan Henning – Senior Guard
Seth Newville – Senior Guard
Valentino Daltoso – Senior Post
Jason Siegrist – Senior Guard
Dylan McGee – Senior Guard
Paul Pennington – Sophomore Guard
Returning Players with Honors:
Evan Henning – 5A SIC Honorable Mention
“Key Players” lost from last year:
Brian Smith – Point Guard – Ability to handle the ball and create for others
Logan Miller – Guard – Overall Athleticism – 5A SIC Honorable Mention
Incoming “impact” players:
Jack Streeby – Junior Guard
Andrew Theobald – Junior Guard
Lucas Centeno – Sophomore Guard
Emmett Plummer – Freshman Guard
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Team Preview:
Written by: Ryan Lee
Boise High took a step back record wise last season and finished the year with a 12-14 record. The Braves had a busy offseason graduating two of its play makers, Brian Smith and Logan Miller, but hired a new coach in Manny Varela. Coach Varela is one of the many new coaches in the Southern Idaho Conference this season, and hopes to reenergize a storied program and get them back to the state tournament; a place Boise hasn’t been since the 1997 season. Coach Varela was an assistant coach at Borah High School the last eight seasons, and has been a part of three State Championship coaching staffs. He brings championship experience to Boise and knows what it will take for them to get back to the state tournament.
The Braves return five guards from last year’s squad, and entering the 2015-16 campaign it looks like the Braves will play small ball with a guard heavy lineup. Returning are sophomore guard, Paul Pennington, senior guard, Dylan McGee, senior guard, Jason Siegrist, senior post, Valentino Daltoso, senior guard, Seth Newville, and senior guard/SIC Honorable Mention, Evan Henning. The Braves will also add four more guards to their lineup, including a talented freshman in Emmett Plummer. Boise will be one of the smaller teams in the conference this season, but their experience over the last couple of years should pay dividends in competing at the highest level in the SIC.
Offense:
Offensively, Boise was up and down in the scoring column last season and Coach Varela would like to be more consistent on this end of the floor. He wants his team to limit their turnovers, take good open shots, and value each possession. Evan Henning will be called upon to lead the Braves this season and bring scoring and stability to a new offense.
Defense:
With a guard heavy lineup, Boise will have the speed and quickness at almost every position. Coach Varela wants his team to focus on defense first, and usually the offense will follow if they are taking good shots. “We want to make our defense a priority this season, and want to bring effort and intensity to that end of the floor every night. We have to get the kids to “buy-in” and make everything difficult for opposing offenses to execute.”
Wrap-Up:
Boise’s motto this season is “Leave a Legacy.” Talking to the team the team doesn’t necessarily want to leave a legacy of winning, but a legacy of commitment and hard work. “Our focus is not on winning the conference or the state championship but to improve every day, and hopefully we will be playing our best basketball at the end of the season.” It seems that Coach Varela has reenergized the program and it could be a successful season if he can have his team sacrifice for one another and bring the desire to work hard every practice and every game.
GAMES TO WATCH: Boise will have two big home games this season again Borah and Capital. They only play once during the regular season so make sure you catch these games on January 8 and January 29.
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