Alaska Hoops: 3-part series

Rich Krupa helped coach his daughter at Sitka High School.

For this series on basketball in Alaska, I talked to three coaches in Southeast Alaska who grew up and played basketball in Alaska. All three have been part of successful programs both as coaches and players and offer insight from everything to the evolution of the game, mentoring kids and being recruited.

PART 1 - ISLAND BALL - 1A and 2A
Kelly Smith grew up on Prince of Wales Island and played basketball for Thorne Bay and Craig in the mid-1990s. He is now the head coach of the Ketchikan High School girls basketball team which as won the Region V title eight out of the last nine years. In this episode we talk about the transition to coaching girls, building a program and island life.

PART 2 - THE EVOLUTION OF 4A
Rob Casperson is the head coach of the Juneau-Douglas boys basketball team. He grew up in Juneau and played for the team that lost to future NBA player Trajan Langdon's East Anchorage team in the state finals, and was later a teammate of Alaska's next NBA player - Carlos Boozer. In this episode we talk about adapting a system to match players, Alaska's talent pool, recruiting, dramatic finishes and how 4A basketball has changed around the state.

PART 3 - 3A AND RECRUITING
Rich Krupa grew up in North Pole Alaska, played college basketball at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, met his wife, and never left. His daughter played at Sitka High School while he was an assistant coach and she went on to play at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In this episode we talk about college basketball in Alaska, the college basketball recruiting scene, the downside of trying to "be seen", recruiting services, and adjusting to team dynamics as a coach.