Bremerton boys basketball adjusting to new faces in lineup

West Sound boys basketball fans might be required to take a few extra glances at team rosters during the first portion of the 2022-23 high school season.

A significant number of starters departed programs in the offseason — and not simply due to graduation. Two Kitsap Sun Super Six athletes from a season ago, Central Kitsap's Jo Jo Johnson and South Kitsap's KeVaughn Harvey, transferred following their junior campaigns. Johnson is now at Curtis, while Harvey is playing at Gig Harbor.

Three other Super Six players departed as senior graduates: North Kitsap's Jonas La Tour and Johny Olmsted, and Crosspoint's Thunderr Doty. The final member of last year's Super Six, Cade Orness, is back for his junior season with North Kitsap.

Of the eight local players who earned All-Olympic League 2A first- or second-team honors last winter, three were from Bremerton: Kanye Taylor, D'Angelo Moore and Ruppe Wilson. All three graduated in June, leaving Knights head coach Miah Davis with significant points and minutes to replace (Taylor is playing at Highline College, while Wilson is at Everett Community College). Bremerton's current roster includes zero returning starters and only three players who were on the varsity team a year ago.

"A lot of us are still getting used to the speed and the mistakes are magnified at the varsity level," said Davis, whose team opened the season Dec. 6 with a 86-46 road loss at Port Angeles.

"We're still getting to know each other," Bremerton junior Dyon Sellers added.

Davis' new-look Knights experienced on-the-job growth during Tuesday's Olympic League 2A home contest against North Mason. Playing in only its third game of the season due to snow postponing non-league games against Central Kitsap and Black Hills, Bremerton didn't exactly sprint coming out of the gates while falling behind North Mason 30-27 at halftime.

Davis told his players they didn't look ready for tip-off after going through a lackadaisical pre-game warmup.

"We were playing slow, playing sloppy," Sellers said. "We need to come in with energy."

The Knights found an extra gear or two in the second half. On defense, Bremerton switched from man to zone and showed impressive hustle in its rotations, which led to fewer open shots for the Bulldogs (0-4). Offensively, the Knights did a better job attacking North Mason's zone defense. Sophomore Isaiah Cadengo (20 points) scored eight consecutive points for Bremerton early in the third quarter, then Sellers (game-high 23 points) took over by scoring 14 consecutive points for the Knights, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner, as Bremerton grabbed 53-43 advantage heading into the fourth.

After the Knights (2-1) put the finishing touches on a 70-61 victory, Davis noted Tuesday's triumph was his team's second comeback win in as many league games. On Dec. 8, Bremerton knocked off Sequim 67-60 at home despite trailing by double-digits at halftime.

In the locker room Tuesday night, Davis told his players they need to figure out how to avoid slow starts in the first half, especially with tougher league foes ahead on the schedule. It starts with effort.

"We should be dripping with sweat during warmups," said Sellers, who played at South Kitsap last season.

With Bremerton still forging an identity, lineups and playing time are fluid. The Knights have four more games scheduled to close out 2022: Thursday at Olympic, Monday at Central Kitsap, Dec. 21 at home against South Kitsap and Dec. 29 at Black Hills. That's four more opportunities for players to impress before the calendar changes to 2023.

"Put yourself in a situation where you never want to be taken out of the game," Davis said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bremerton boys basketball adjusting to new faces in lineup