ACH Warriors ready for another run to state

Nov. 25—COULEE CITY — After falling short by three points in the state championship last season, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (27-2) return to the court this season with the same expectations. Head Coach Graham Grindy said the standard has been set especially since they return most of last year's roster.

"Bringing back what we brought back, statistically, we're bringing back a lot of our major players that led us in scoring, rebounding, defensively, all the areas. We definitely have high hopes," Graham said.

The Warriors return a nucleus of players that play two other sports together. Nolan Grindy, Max Grindy and Caden Correia all play football and baseball with each other outside of basketball. Graham said the chemistry they have built in recent years does not get any better than it is.

"They don't care who gets the glory. It's all about getting the win and playing your role and doing what you're supposed to do, because collectively that's how basketball works," Graham said.

The coach said the entire roster is bought into playing their role and working as a team to stack wins. From a coach's perspective, that's pretty special to see.

As much as he enjoys seeing his players playing together across multiple sports, their success in football particularly could impact their preparation as a team. At the time of press, the Warriors football team had just advanced to the semifinals of the 1B state tournament. The further they go, the more their basketball practice is delayed.

"That first part of the basketball season is a lot of just getting into shape and getting the ball back in your hands, and so we'll definitely be working through some of that stuff," Graham said.

However, despite any delay they face, Graham said their experience and basketball IQ will play to their advantage. Their understanding of the game and how Warriors basketball functions will help them still hit the ground running.

In addition to having a strong core of upper classmen with solid experience as starting players, the Warriors also bring in a larger freshman class this year. Graham said they will bring in nine freshman this season, which is bigger than normal for a 1B school.

"That's pretty rare for our size school, and that class, it's just going to make practice so much more competitive because that's always tough at a 1b school, how you get a good five on five in practice to get them going," Graham said.

He said the experience the freshman will get this year will beneficial next season, too. After they graduate this year's seniors, this class and the current sophomores will be expected to contribute right away.

Graham said Max, Nolan and Josh Booker are expected to be the Warriors top scorers this season. Booker falls under the radar at times but is a bucket getter, he said.

"He's just a hustle guy. He's got a nose for the ball. He gets a lot of points in the paint and runs the floor well," he said.

Tucker Bayless and Brady Roberts are expected to be pillars on the interior while Brody Pitts provides a defensive spark for the Warriors. When this team hits the court, they might as well be one mind.

"These guys have been playing together since they were eight or nine years old. That's the coolest part is just our nucleus has a really good understanding of each other," he said.

Graham praised his players for the pride they carry representing Coulee City. He tells them all the time to think about how their impact on the court paves the way for players that come after them. Just like players before them.

"They see those older guys do it, and then it's like, it's our turn to do it. All of our sports, we build a good culture where the emphasis is on being a good person, carrying yourself with high character, and doing it the right way," Graham said.

As they look ahead to the upcoming season, the Warriors are set to play Odessa on the road Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Their first home game will be Dec. 18 against Neah Bay at 6:30 p.m. Graham expects the league to be very competitive this season.

"It's shaping up to be a pretty good year, and the 1B again last year state tournament was great as far as competition and what teams brought to the table and it's going to be the same way this year, so it's going to be fun," Graham said.