Coach’s Journal: Joe Floyd Tournament
Submitted by VHS Boys Basketball Coach
Greetings Buccaneer Family, Friends and Fans! Welcome to the first week of Buccaneer basketball games for the 2026 season! We are looking forward to a great year of hoops.
With the departure of our graduating seniors from last season: Tino, Jarrett and Romen, we are eager to see who fills the new leadership roles for the team. It is always exciting to see who put in work in the offseason and comes ready to contribute.
This season we are looking at a roster that is pretty young and will likely experience some growing pains throughout the year as we figure out our rotation, but very likely could be 9 or 10 players deep which is a good problem to have. Typically, as teams prepare for the state tournament, they will run an 8-man rotation. Having more players capable of defending at a high level could be a big benefit for us as we prepare for the postseason.
Having said that, we had the opportunity to trade some of that Valdez wind for a little bit of warmer rainy weather in Kodiak the day after Christmas for the 57th Annual Joe Floyd Tournament. Our schedule saw us play Kodiak’s JV, the Minto Lakers and finally the Kodiak Bears varsity team.
Game 1: Kodiak JV
Due to being so close to Christmas, we travelled to Kodiak on Friday and had our games stretch over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Apart from being our first games of the year, we also had another new (and in my opinion, fun) challenge: the shot clock.
If you’re unfamiliar with the shot clock, something that is a staple in the professional and collegiate level of basketball, the shot clock is basically a possession timer. At our level, we have 35 seconds to get a shot off, otherwise it’s a violation and turnover. Currently, the shot clocks are only implemented at the 4A level, but it is highly likely that next season it will be fully embraced across 3A as well. Parents and fans that are interested in learning more about it can talk to the coaches or athletic department staff any time, as we will surely be needing additional volunteers to run the shot clock once that gets implemented!
Anyways, what we knew about Kodiak from watching them play earlier in the day, was that they had a couple strong bigs and some great shooting guards. Defensively, we were prepared for a couple of their halfcourt set plays; once we guarded those initial actions well, Kodiak struggled to get a good look at the basket, and we were able to force a handful of shot clock violations to start the game.
After the first quarter we were ahead 12-8. In the 2nd quarter we dug in defensively and forced several turnovers, shot clock violations and contested shots which all led to advantages in transition where we were able to capitalize and take a commanding lead. We had our highest scoring quarter of the game, while simultaneously holding Kodiak to their lowest scoring quarter to take a 33-15 lead going into the half.
Despite only shooting 23% from 3pt range, and having 22 turnovers, we still managed to cruise to a nearly 20-point win. Another key factor for us was winning the rebounding battle 34-24. Being able to limit an opponent to one shot-per-possession is a point of emphasis for us this year. It’s always great to start the season off with a win!
Final: Valdez 56 – Kodiak JV 38
Game 2: Minto
Sunday, we had the opportunity to play against the Minto Lakers. Coach Anderson has done a phenomenal job building that program from the middle school level through high school over the last few years, and they are looking poised to make a run at a 1A state championship this year. It’s always an exciting challenge to play against well coached teams!
What we were looking to expect form Minto: Great shooting, solid foundational team play and relentless energy on both ends of the court.
We started this game off looking to match or surpass their tenacity on the court. Defensively we were playing with great energy to start the game. We were diving on loose balls and flying around with some great rotations. Offensively we were doing a great job getting paint touches and working the ball inside which led to some great looks at the rim as well as a few opportunities to get to the free throw line where we were a perfect 4/4. After the first quarter we were ahead 17-15.
In the second quarter, Minto started to get hot from beyond the 3pt arc, and we had some careless fouls which led to more free throw opportunities for our opponent. We had some miscommunications on our ball screen coverages, and with great 3pt shooters we need to be really dialed in or else they will find ways to get quick shots off. Those things combined helped Minto have their highest scoring quarter (20) of the game and take a 5-point lead into halftime.
In the second half, the game started to get away from us. We had some struggles with our transition defense and had our lowest scoring quarter of the game. Minto just steadily added to their lead and wound up beating us. As I mentioned, they are looking like one of the premiere 1A teams looking to compete for a championship this year and it showed. This was a good early season test for us to show some of the things we really need to work on. Despite shooting a serviceable 36% from 3pt range, what really plagued us were our turnovers (23) which led to too many transition advantages for Minto.
Final: Valdez 50 – Minto 67
Game 3: Kodiak Varsity
Although this did not end up being the technical “championship” game of the round robin tournament (as Minto would wind up being the champions), this was still a prime-time matchup. The stands were packed and loud.
The first two quarters of the game was very entertaining. It was back and forth, and very physical on both sides. We managed to hold the lead for the entire first half, but Kodiak was never more than 7 points behind and came back to tie us at least 5 or 6 different times. Kodiak had some success with a few high post actions that they ran, and a couple of their guards hit some tough 3pt shots to keep them in the game, and the crowd of course was a factor as well.
Starting the 3rd period, we held onto a 26-22 lead. We came out with an aggressive trapping defense and caught Kodiak off guard. This led to them playing at a pace they didn’t seem comfortable with, and we were able to get some scoring opportunities in transition. Kodiak still found some success scoring the ball (matching the 2nd quarter as their highest scoring with 13 points in each), we were able to extend our lead with our highest scoring period of the game with 18. The difference for us in that quarter: from the increased pace of the game, we got the Bears in foul trouble and were able to get to the free throw line. A couple of their starters had to sit with a high number of fouls (including a hard flagrant foul later in the game). From there, we were able to capitalize on that to extend and maintain our lead and close the game out with a tough win.
It was nice to play on the road against a tough team like Kodiak and especially with the energy their crowd brought. That crowd intensity and noise can really have an impact on a game and that will surely be something we have to deal with at an even higher level when we travel to Nome next week.
Final: Valdez 53 – Kodiak 42
Overall, it was a great first weekend of basketball. It was a fun experience to visit Kodiak, and cool to get a little taste of shot clock action (which we will see later this year at the South Tournament). The most important thing we need to remember is that at this point, although obviously as coaches winning is super important to us, the most important thing is that we just get better every single day and learn. We embrace challenges and struggles and learn from them so that we are at our absolute best by the time regionals comes around.
We ended the weekend with a 2-1 record and two of our players were honored with a spot on the all-tournament team: Connor Hamilton and Kian St. Amand.
Congrats guys and go Bucs!!!!