Chiefs basketball makes smooth transition in Class A

The Ronan High School boys basketball team, like their Maidens counterparts, were able to make a smooth transition from Class B to Class A. As they began, they split their games at the Missoula Tip-Off.

The Chiefs defeated Stevensville in the season opener 53-44 and lost to Corvallis 63-49.

According to Chiefs’ coach Mitchell Wassum, the victory against Stevensville lifted the team’s confidence.

“It was good for them to get the first victory off their plate early in the season,” Wassum said. “The biggest part (that we had to adapt to) was their size. They battled, competed and they just played hard both days. Our biggest thing that we’ve been talking about in practice is just taking it day-by-day and play hard and be relentless. We kept going and battled hard both days. Stevi and Corvallis, when we played them both, they had a lot of momentum. I am proud of the way my kids played because they played really hard.”

Wassum said he felt his team was able to get into a rhythm in their first two games of the season.

“It is a little bit hard playing the first couple of games because we have to shake off a whole lot of rust and there was a big difference from the first quarter of the first game to the end of the tournament,” Wassum said. “There was no time to talk about it and we just corrected our little mistakes. It was really nice. We are going to get into the practice and start grinding away. If we get four solid days of practice, we will continue to fine-tune those things. Everything is making improvements from what we did during the weekend and we can do that. We played against different teams with our strengths and weaknesses. We will pick those things out from playing other teams and we know what we have to work on.”

Wassum said one major difference between Class B and Class A is the size of the kids.

“We aren’t very big at all (compared to other Class A teams) and we were able to battle on the glass all weekend,” Wassum said. “We started out the game a little slow and we won (on the boards) 25-7 in the second half. Our team got after it hard against Stevensville. Four or their five starters were over six foot and they are quite a bit bigger. We were able to out rebound them at first. Our team is scrappy, they battle and size doesn’t mean anything to them right now.”

Currently, Wassum is still solidifying his depth as last year it was one of the team’s trademarks as the Chiefs look to have a lot of depth this season.

“This year, we still have to figure out our bench and who is capable of playing,” Wassum said. “Our team has to continue to work and get familiar with the system. We brought ten kids with me on the first day and when our JV was playing, I took ten. Right now, we have a solid rotation of eight to nine kids that are getting the bulk of the minutes.”

The Chiefs had a few standout players including Anthony Camel, who has averaged a double double in the first two games. Camel scored 26 points and 14 rebounds against Stevi.

“(Anthony) just had a monster game and he is only a junior,” Wassum said. “He battled and scored pretty much all of his points at the free throw line. He didn’t make any 3-pointers but is getting good positions to rebound,” Wassum said.

Another notable player was Perry Panzetanga.

“He is a senior guard, played 27 of the 32 minutes with foul trouble and he just played really hard,” Wassum said. “He was able to get six points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. He is just a kid that played many minutes in his first game of the year.”

Another player that stood out for Ronan was junior starter Dallas Durheim, who finished the game with six points and seven rebounds in his first varsity game.

In the team’s loss to Corvallis, Camel finished with 21 points and five rebounds. Zeke Misa finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

“He and Anthony both have a lot of energy and the kids follow them,” Wassum said.

As the Chiefs progress into the first half of the season before the first half break, Wassum said he just wants to see consistent progression throughout the season.

The Chiefs hope to continue the momentum they established by playing one of their Class 14A conference opponents Browning Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Ronan Events Center.