Hoops journeys lead to UAF for Ketchikan players

Griffin Effenberger and Chris Lee have been playing basketball together since either of them can remember.

Growing up in Ketchikan, the two played with or against each other in numerous matchups spanning Ketchikan Dribblers League, Schoenbar Middle School and various private travel teams and summer basketball camps. Now, after exploring their own basketball journeys spanning high school and multiple colleges each, they are again sharing the floor as teammates at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Lee is a junior in his first season at UAF, and is one of the most accomplished basketball players in Ketchikan’s history. He holds the all-time career scoring record at Ketchikan High School with 1,911 points — seventh-most in state history — across his four seasons, three of which earned him all-state team honors. He also helped lead Kayhi to a state championship in 2019, its first since 1974.

After graduation in 2020, Lee spent his first collegiate season at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. During a COVID-19-shortened season, Lee played only five games for the Aztecs in which he averaged 14.6 points per game and shot over 50% from the field.

He then spent two seasons at Edmonds College in Lynnwood, Washington, from 2022-2024, where he averaged 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.75 assists per game while shooting 50.7% from the field and 34.6% from deep.

Lee’s performance in the 2023-2024 season caught the attention of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, which named Lee to its All-American team. Lee’s performance also earned him the North Region MVP award. He scored a total of 763 points over two seasons at Edmonds.

Lee’s ultimate goal at UAF is to leave the program better than he found it.

“I’m just hoping to build on the season and kind of change what Alaska basketball is all about,” Lee said recently. “I think so far we've done a good job of that. Just handling our business and creating a little buzz around UAF. But I think my goal is to set a foundation for anybody younger than me, or anybody that’s had the same path as me. I want them to see what I'm doing, and see that Alaska basketball is somewhere to go and somewhere you can be successful and build yourself to become a good basketball player.”

Lee has been the Nanooks’ main offensive threat this season, leading the team with 15.9 points per game, shooting 43% from the field and 36% from 3-point range through 17 games. Additionally, Lee is averaging 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game thus far.

UAF head coach Frank Ostanik said that he knew scoring was one of Lee’s strengths going into the season, but added that he’s also had to grow his game in other ways to make a bigger impact on the floor.

“Chris has been a guy that could score the basketball, I'm guessing, for as long as he's played, certainly for as long as I've known him,” Ostanik said. “But his game has had to grow at a high level. From the time that he got on campus, we've asked him to defend at a higher level.”

“Chris is in a unique role where he has the ball in his hands as kind of the point guard on our team,” Ostanik continued. “And while it's great to have a guy that can score in that role, you also facilitate a little bit more than you might normally do as just a scorer. So we've asked him to be out of his comfort zone [and play at a] high level at the defensive end and as a facilitator, and he's grown in that regard. There's still room to grow, but he's way better today than he was four or five months ago.”

On Jan. 2, Lee became the second Kayhi alumni to reach 1,000 points across his collegiate career. After scoring 836 points in his prior three seasons, Lee hit the millennium mark with his seventh point of the game on the road against Western Washington University. He put up a total of 16 points in the 88-73 win. As of Jan 30, Lee has scored 277 points this season.

Lee isn’t all that impressed with his milestone though, saying he feels it’s more special to do it with one team than across multiple.

“Honestly, when I scored that 1,000 I didn't even know what was happening,” Lee said. “It's kind of a milestone, but also at the same time, it's like I feel in high school it was a much bigger deal. Whereas in college, I feel like reaching 1,000 at one school would be super cool to do. So I'm just looking forward to scoring 1,000 for Fairbanks.”

Effenberger is a senior also playing in his first season at UAF. Born and raised in Ketchikan, he began playing competitive basketball at age 7 in Ketchikan Dribblers League, and subsequently spent two seasons starting for the Schoenbar Middle School boys A-team from grades 7-8. At 14 years old, Effenberger moved to Spokane, Washington, due to his father securing a new job, and to pursue other opportunities playing basketball.

“My dad got a job that gave him a better schedule… it was a better job overall,” Effenberger said. “And then my parents wanted more opportunities for me to be able to play in different AAU tournaments and be able to play against as many different players as possible. They wanted to give me a better opportunity to be seen by more coaches all the time.”

Effenberger said he made the right decision moving to Spokane, as it opened up opportunities to attend more basketball camps and work out with NBA legends like John Stockton and Karl Malone. Effenberger said he’s grateful for the opportunities and exposure the move to Spokane afforded him.

Effenberger spent his high school career at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, where he was a standout player. He was named All-Greater Spokane League in his junior year, while leading Lewis and Clark to a third place finish in the state tournament — their highest finish since the 1950s. Through his junior season, Effenberger averaged 16.4 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Originally committing to play at Black Hills State University in South Dakota, Effenberger transferred to North Idaho College after one semester at BHSU in 2019 in which he appeared in one game. His 2020-2021 season — cut short by COVID-19 — saw Effenberger appear in four games.

The following season, Effenberger transferred to Pima Community College where he spent 2021-2022, missing Lee by one year. In his true freshman season at Pima, Effenberger played in 27 games, averaging 5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

He then transferred to Southern Wesleyan University, where he spent two seasons from 2022-2024. In his time at SWU, Effenberger started 44 of 56 games and averaged 8.5 points, 2.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. He scored a total of 476 points and shot 39.5% from the field and 37% from 3-point range.

Following the 2024 season, Effenberger said he was unsure about his future in college basketball. While waiting on his appeal for another season of eligibility — based on his limited time at BHSU — Effenberger was playing in a summer basketball tournament called “HoopFest” in Spokane, where was spotted by UAF assistant coach Tobin Karlber. Ultimately, his appeal was granted, and Effenberger took the “leap of faith” to play his final collegiate season at UAF.

Effenberger said when he moved away from Ketchikan, he never thought he’d end up back in Alaska playing basketball. He said he’s grateful for all of the opportunities he’s had in his collegiate career, and that he’s tried to take advantage of each one.

“It's crazy how many different places a basketball can take you,” Effenberger said. “Since high school I've been to Black Hills State, Pima, North Idaho College, Southern Wesleyan and now I'm in Alaska. I've been to five different states. I would say that my college career has been successful in the sense that I've tried to make the most of every opportunity I've gotten.”

Effenberger has provided depth off the bench for UAF this season, describing his role as a “plug-in player” who can provide a “spark off the bench.”

“I play wherever they need me. I'll play one through three, and I've played in the four at times. Whether it's scoring or having a couple defensive stops here and there,” Effenberger said.

As of Jan. 30, Effenberger has scored a total of 768 points in his collegiate career.

Ostanik called recruiting Effenberger “a no-brainer” and said he appreciates his maturity as a player who has several years of college basketball experience. He complimented Effenberger’s “really great feel for the game,” and said it was “an easy transition” to add him to the team. He also said that Effenberger and Lee “mesh well together” on the court.

Lee said that being teammates with Effenberger again has felt unreal at times, and that he appreciates having teammates with whom he’s already built a relationship.

“Honestly, it doesn't feel real sometimes, just looking back on when we were little,” Lee said.

“I know our parents were super excited about it when we told them. Especially when we were playing in KDL, and now being on the same team, I’m definitely trying to not take it for granted. It's kind of surreal at some points. It’s like you’re in middle school again and just having fun. I feel like that's why this year has been so fun, because I’ve had guys around me that I've known, and trusted. And you just go out there and play basketball with your brothers, and it’s fun. I feel like you're just going to find success in that.”

Effenberger described playing with Lee again as “a blessing,” adding that “it’s been super fun and “like old times.”

Lee and Effenberger expressed their desire to visit Ketchikan after their season at UAF, with the intent of organizing a youth basketball camp like the ones they attended as kids.

“Me and Griff have been talking about coming back to Ketchikan and doing a little camp, hopefully in the spring or in the summer, just to give back and show love,” Lee said. “Griff hasn't been back in a while, and we kind of just want to come back and see what the new youth basketball is now. Back when all of us were playing basketball, we were all in the gym. That was our main thing we did. [Griffin’s] mom would drag us there, we'd find a way to the gym. So hopefully we can come in and bring that kind of mentality back of going to the gym and having fun and being connected.”

Ostanik praised both players for their willingness and ability to buy into the program he’s building at UAF. 2024 marks Ostanik’s return to the Nanooks’ head coaching position, one he previously held from 2004-2007.

He said Lee and Effenberger “have taken great strides as players in our program” and “done whatever we've asked them to do.” He added that they have been “instrumental” in helping grow the culture of UAF basketball.

“We’ve certainly gotten everything we could hope for out of these guys,” Ostanik said. “We're always trying to get better, but at the same time, I couldn't be more pleased with these two young men and what they've meant to our program. Our expectations were to turn this program into a competitive one, and thus far, we've been competitive. I would like us to grow in that competitive ability and ultimately compete for championships.”

“But this is a long process, and these guys have been immensely important and valuable in the process of us building this program and moving it in the direction that we want to go,” Ostanik noted. “We want to win, and we want to do it with the best Alaska players we can find. We want to represent our state at the highest level, and both of these guys are playing an integral role in helping us do that.”

As of Jan. 30, the Nanooks are 9-10 on the season with eight regular season games remaining.

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News