Prep Girls Basketball: Kelso charts a new course with Cap'n Johnson at the helm
Getting to Know You — Lassies will lean on experienced backcourt in season of change
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
If you’ve been following high school sports in the Blast Zone for any amount of time longer than the life expectancy of a fruit fly then you’ve probably at least read Andrew Johnson’s name before. The new Kelso girls basketball coach has certainly had plenty of stops along the way before reaching his current station in K-Town.
More than a dozen years ago Johnson was the C-Team basketball coach under the tutelage of John Schroeder. Then he spent time as the JV assistant under Jason Buffum at Woodland, before taking over the program for three years after Buff left the old Forest City for greener pastures in Ridgefield. During that time Johnson’s teams qualified for a District title contest and played in three state tournaments.
But Johnson was soon on the move again, this time landing in Castle Rock to serve as an assistant coach under Hayden Tilton. And in just three short years the Rockets went from playoff strangers to District champions and State participants. After Tilton left Exit 49 for an assistant job at Mark Morris, Johnson once again took over the reins in order to lead the Castle Rock boys team for one season (and again making the district tournament), before taking last year off.
Oh, and he’s also the head coach of Castle Rock track and field and spent this fall as an assistant coach with Kelso football. And when he gets bored he’s been known to put on his reporter’s cap and file stories for local news publications.
That is to say, Johnson knows how to get around. But this time he’s hoping he’s found a home for good. Johnson was hired to teach at Kelso five years ago and ever since then he’s had his eyes on a head coaching gig. But with a wife and three young kids at home, he had to be patient and pick his next spot carefully.
So when a basketball job at Kelso High School unexpectedly hit the wires, he knew just what he had to do.
“When this opportunity opened up I had to jump on it,” Johnson said after directing his first practice at head-coach of the Kelso girls basketball team earlier this week. “Here it is year 14, 15, 16… whatever it is and it’s full circle. I’m back at the helm.”
The Lassies have had plenty of success in recent years, but last year’s campaign was mired by injuries and inexperience at important spots. This year, Kelso is hopeful that time on the injured reserve will be limited and that those touch-luck lessons from last year will convert to wins this season.
“There’s a lot of returners coming back this year,” Johnson said, noting that the team will feature six seniors this season. “Our attitude is we’re going to be someone who when you come in to watch us play we’re going to have an attitude and a chip on our shoulder every single time we go out there.”
Bregan Ruhland and her headband will likely lead Kelso this season as the shifty guard returns for her senior season on K-Court.
“Watching last year’s film you’ve got Bregan Ruhland who is a first-team All-Leaguer and she’s really turned a corner this year,” Johnson noted. “She’s showing why she was a first-team All-Leaguer last year and it’s just been amazing to see how big her jump has been, not only offensively but defensively.”
The Lassies are also expecting big things from the likes of sophomore spark plug guard Karsyn Hall, junior forward Peyton Champagne, and junior wing Ellie Treadway. And then there’s the return of senior wing Tru Bettineski, who figures to be an X-factor after missing most of last season with an injury sustained in the opening weeks of the campaign.
The Lassies’ new coach also expects fans to wind up impressed by the play of sophomore guard Hayden Johnson, who went largely under the radar last season. Kelso will ask her to do a little bit of everything, including posting up, shooting from the outside, and rebound of course. Senior guard Madalynn Moe will also provide experience for the Hilanders.
But, according to Johnson, netting W’s will begin with playing great D in K-Town.
“We want to be chaotic on defense and we want to be smooth like poetry on offense,” Johnson added. “But we are going to be a team that gets after it on the defensive end, first and foremost.”
Expect Treadway and Champagne to be integral parts of that defensive unit as they work to force opponents to shoot over the defense while trying to limit those possessions to just one shot.
“With Ellie and Peyton, they’re both fairly long, so they can both guard from the wing down to the post if they had to,” Johnson said.
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