If the last month and a half of Powell High School’s junior varsity boys’ basketball season is any indication, the program is in good hands. 

The Panthers ended the 2020-21 campaign on a 10-game winning streak, defeating Lovell and Lander Valley in the last week of the season. Powell’s overall record was 14-4.

A road loss to Worland in January proved to be a turning point, as the Panthers never lost again. 

“We continued to get better and better each game,” JV coach Waleryan Wisniewski said. “The ability for them to come together and play together as a team finding ways to win each time we played was impressive.”

At first, the Panthers’ play was inconsistent, with players of different ages learning how to play with one another. But it didn’t take long for the squad to gel and find its identity.

“I watched our guys continue to play together as a team, being unselfish to find the guys that had the hot hand,” Wisniewski said. “I also felt that each player on our team improved tremendously by the end of the season in their fundamental skills and their understanding of the game of basketball.”

Rather than singling out a few individuals who stood out, Wisniewski said every player on the junior varsity squad made an impact. From the leading scorers to key bench contributors, every Panther made his mark at one time or another.

“It took all of us for our team to be successful, whether it was winning the 50-50s, battling for a rebound, making the next pass or finishing at the rim,” Wisniewski said. “All of these were needed to be done for our team to be successful, and I saw that we were willing to put aside some of our individual goals to achieve the greater goal of team success.”

Several of the JV players saw minutes on varsity this year, but their roles will only increase as they continue to mature. Seeing those players — as well as the other JV members — develop excites Wisniewski. 

“I really look forward to what the future holds and the foundation that was built throughout this past season of teamwork,” Wisniewski said. “All the players in our program played hard for each other, and when you combine that with trust in each other, the sky’s the limit. I feel like we are in for some good years to come in Panther boys’ basketball.”