Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Hoopa boys head coach Inker McCovey talks to his players during a timeout in last week’s playoff game at Eureka.

By Ray Hamill — The future of the Hoopa boys basketball program appears to be in good hands.

The Warriors’ season ended last week in a North Coast Section Division-5 loss at Eureka, but with several key young players expected back next winter, along with head coach Inker McCovey, the program appears to be headed in the right direction.

McCovey, who guided the Warriors to plenty of postseason success in his first spell in charge of the team back in the early 2000s, returned to the sideline this winter.

But it was an up-and-down season for the team, as the players and coach adapted, although McCovey says several of the young players are buying in and they should only continue to improve moving forward.

“It’s different coaching styles, and the kids had to adapt to it,” McCovey said this week. “It was just a big learning process this year.

“We did alright. We got into the Niclai, we got back into the North Coast Section (playoffs). Overall, I think we did as well as we could.”

After a strong start to the campaign, the Warriors struggled early in January, dropping two of their first three Little 4 games, before closing out strong and clinching second in conference.

The Warriors closed out this season with a record of 12-12 and reached the semifinals of the Dick Niclai Tournament — where they pushed eventual tourney champs McKinleyville as close as St. Bernard’s did in the final — before making it to the NCS playoffs.

One of the encouraging aspects to the season was the play of some of the younger players down the stretch of the campaign, with a couple of sophomores and a freshman all finishing strong.

“Next year I think we’ll be a lot stronger, better defensively and more locked in,” McCovey said. 

Freshman center Willie Simms looks like he could be a force in the Little 4 for the next few seasons, while sophomore guards Torin Billings and Ma-ninay Ferris showcased their talents more and more as the season progressed.

Billings made the move up to varsity midway through the season and will give the Warriors a steady hand at point guard moving forward. 

“He’s a good floor general,” McCovey said. “I need a player that’s going to lead the team out there.”

The experienced coach added that 6-foot-3 Simms will be an “animal next year, and he’s only a freshman. He’ll be going in the weight room this year.”

Ferris also made an impact this winter as a three guard and a reliable shooter.

“I think he’s going to be a very good player for us next year too,” McCovey said of the standout sophomore, who also appears to have a bright future with the team.

That trio, coupled with a class of six juniors — including Joshua Moon and Jesus Jones — could make the Warriors legitimate conference contenders in 2026/27.

“It’s all about buying in,” said McCovey, who added he has “a bunch of young kids that are buying in.”

Any potential success next winter will begin with the offseason program, and the coach is excited about that.

“Hopefully we’ll get 20 games in this summer,” said McCovey, who will be coaching the Hoopa AAU team.

The coach also thanked his assistant coaches — Joe Marshall and Tyler Mitchell — for the important role they each played this year, as well as Hoopa Valley High School, which he said was “100 percent” behind him.