Boles making hoop dreams abroad

Jerod Boles' last season on the hardwood for Havre High School was 2016. But, he never gave up his dream of playing basketball beyond the Blue Ponies, and this fall, that dream took him all the way to the island nation of Guam.

Boles had a solid first league season for the University of Guam Tritons in the Triton Men’s Basketball League during the fall semester of 2019, including knocking down a 3-pointer for a last-second win.

The UOG Tritons went 5-7 in the league, won by the KFC Bombers, a dominant power on Guam from Andersen Air Force Base and Team Gatorade finished second, which had six players from the Guam National Team on their roster. The league also included the Tritons, Team Wu-Tang, the Four Stars and the FSAG All-Stars, with the Tritons and Four Stars making it to the semis of the league tournament.

Boles found his way onto the basketball court again by playing pick-up games while visiting his sister Michaela, who is stationed at Anderson Air Force Base on Guam. Both coaches of the Tritons witnessed his play and felt Boles had a lot to offer the Triton program including much-needed leadership.

The Tritons, under first-year coach, Dana Holmes, had only four returning players from 2018-19 and played mostly local freshmen during the league play. UOG was led by freshman Michael Quan (from Florida) who averaged 30 points a game and sophomore Logan Hopkins (from Texas) who scored 24 points a game.

Boles was the third-leading scorer for the Tritons. He averaged 13.1 points per game for the Tritons, with a season high 27 points against the champion KFC Bombers in the regular season finale. Boles also averagaed 3.6 rebounds a game, 2.2 assists and 2.9 steals. He shot 40 percent from the field to include 30 percent from three.

The Tritons will open their second league in the UOG Calvo Field House, with the PBS Guam Men’s Basketball League in mid-January. The league will include Team Wu-Tang and the Four Stars from Triton Men’s Basketball League, and new teams Guam Community College and UOG Tridents (UOG’s Recreation Club Team). The Tritons should get 10 games from the Guam PBS Men’s Basketball League.

Boles and the Tritons will finish their 2019-20 season at the March Madness Tournament at the Andersen Air Force Base and UOG will face several military teams from Japan and Korea in a high-caliber tournament. The March Madness Tournament starts on March 14 and lasts eight days.