Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Less than a week after their season ended, the Del Norte Warriors are already getting excited about their prospects for next year.

The Warriors were one of the more intriguing stories in H-DNL boys basketball this winter, going on an exciting late run that captured the imagination of their fans and earned them the respect of their peers around the league.

And with all but one of their players expected back next year, there’s every reason to believe they can bring home their first league winning pennant since 2020.

“We’re excited about it,” head coach Cris Rice said. “We know we have to improve, but we feel we have a really good team and we’re excited about where Del Norte basketball is going.”

The Warriors are coming off a 20-11 campaign, their first 20-win season since 2020, and it was a year that saw them win three tournaments, place third in the Big 5, reach the Dick Niclai Tournament semifinals and win a North Coast Section playoff game.

This was also a roster of players that excited their fans with some thrilling finishes — most notably when Justin Cushman hit a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer against Arcata — and a squad that competed hard in every game and was clutch down the stretch of the season, winning four straight elimination games in their march to the Niclai semis.

Asked what he liked most about this year’s team, Rice answered emphatically.

“Their ability to climb out of holes,” he said. “I think they did a really good job staying competitive in every game. We were in every game. Even the games we lost by 10 or 11, we felt we were always around with this team.”

And that’s not the only thing that Rice appreciated about this year’s team.

“I had as much fun as I’ve had coaching this year,” he added.

Justin Cushman’s buzzer-beater against Arcata was one of the highlights of the season for the Warriors …

One of the team’s strengths was the depth of options Rice had at his disposal, with several players capable of taking over a game on any given night.

Damian Ecalera led the team in scoring with 13.7 points a game, but four of his teammates averaged 8.6 points or more, a group that includes Sawyer Fry (11.4), Ty Blue (9.9), Marcus Parras (9.2) and Cushman (8.6).

And while there are obvious areas the Warriors need to improve on if they are to end a seven-year wait for a league title, few teams in the H-DNL can match that offensive balance.

“Defensively we were not where we wanted to be, but we could shoot the ball,” Rice added. “I think the cool thing is we had five kids that could score in double digits. We just need to figure out how to become more tenacious on defense and learn to share the ball better.”

With all five of those sharpshooters expected back in nine months, that offensive depth should be even more proficient and experienced next season.

“We’re excited,” the coach said. “I think we probably return the most impactful juniors of any team in league. There were more of our juniors that played impactful minutes.

“But we’ll have to work for it. It won’t be handed to us. And I think our kids are excited to work.”

The Warriors will miss senior Kanyon Starkey, who helped set the tone for his younger teammates this winter with both his play and the example he set.

“Kaynon Starkey is a blue collar guy who does all the little things that don’t get recognized,” Rice said. “He brought the toughness to our team and led by example. We will miss his grit and toughness.”

One of the most notable differences next year will be a more challenging schedule.

Rice is already planning ahead and has scheduled a tougher pre-league campaign, replacing the Anderson and Bandon tournaments with trips to the four-day Jerry Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas and the South Medford tournament, with the goal of better preparing the team for the rigors of Big 5 basketball.

“Twenty wins was great, and we’d love to match that next year, but it will be a tougher schedule,” Rice said. 

The Del Norte coach also praised the contributions of his assistant coaches this year, a group that includes Chris Davidson — who “put so much into the season,” Rice said — as well as Wyatt Robson and JV coach Gabe Lopez.