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Thompson, Janke shake up Dollar Bay lineup

Dollar Bay’s Ashton Janke, left, is the lone Blue Bolt to consistently come off the bench. His role is to add defensive team speed. (Jason Juno/Daily Globe (Ironwood))

DOLLAR BAY — There are no secrets when it comes to Dollar Bay basketball. Each opponent knows what the Blue Bolts do, and how they do it. They don’t change their offense or defense in nearly any situation. Their shooters shoot, their scorers score and their facilitators facilitate.

It’s pretty simple.

But in their home gym, the Blue Bolts do have a secret: a skinny sophomore guard named Ashton Janke.

In practice, Janke goes against Dollar Bay’s starting guards, players like Devin Schmitz, Brendan LeClaire, and his older brother Jaden Janke.

He can score off the attack when he wants to, and shoot from the perimeter when it’s available. He’s got all the makings of a scorer, topped off with a shooter’s touch. But Janke’s abilities will remain a secret to opponents. Because when he’s not practicing in Dollar Bay’s gym, Janke has a role to play. He knows it, and he embraces it.

“If I do get in, I just try to play my role, and I don’t try to do too much,” he said. “My role is to come in and try to make defensive stops. I’m kind of quick with my feet, so usually (Kentala) sticks me on guards and I try and stay in front of people.”

Janke serves as Dollar Bay’s sixth man and is usually the only player to come off the bench. He makes the occasional appearance if a Blue Bolt starter is in foul trouble, but mostly, Janke is a situational player, subbing in for Brandon Thompson. If an opposing team has a big man to keep in check, Kentala goes with Thompson. But if a team is guard heavy, Janke will see increased minutes.

The effectiveness of both lineups was seen through the regular season. In the 51-42 win over Ewen-Trout Creek, Thompson played a pivotal role in holding the 6-7 Jake Witt to 20 points, seven below his average. And in the comeback-win over Jeffers, Dollar Bay overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to limit Jeffers to 6 of 20 shooting and 11 turnovers in the second half, thanks in large part to Janke’s ability to pressure with his quickness and jump passing lanes.

“They are very different players, so as a coach, it is awesome to have that luxury,” Kentala said. “So when teams are big and they have size, Brandon is a great post defender. He handles a lot of the size and rebounding and dirty work that we need. Ashton is quick, he’s smart, he reads the floor very well. He is one of the best anticipating players on our team. He brings a different guard dimension against quicker teams.”

In Dollar Bay’s regional semifinal against Rapid River, Kentala was worried about the Rockets’ big man Logan Hardwick, so the majority of Janke and Thompson’s split minutes went to the latter, and he dominated Hardwick, holding him to just nine points.

Then, in the regional final, when Dollar Bay knocked off Carney-Nadeau, Kentala needed someone who could handle a more guard-oriented team.

Like the entire Dollar Bay squad, Janke and Thompson are competitive. They both want to be on the court at all times, but they know that isn’t reasonable.

“Both are very competitive, both want to do well, both understand their role,” Kentala said. “They know that often times they interchange for matchups, so they don’t take it personally, which is nice. They understand the bigger team concept, which is all you can ask out of these kids.”

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