Second year in, six return, and nine join 2024-2025 Thunderbirds
The 2024-2025 season marks the second year for Tom Parks and Deion Anderson as head coach and assistant coach, respectively, for the Casper College Men’s Basketball team. In their first year as coaches, the Birds ended the season 24-9 overall and 10-2 in conference play.
This year, the two coaches hope to take the team beyond the semifinals of the Region 9 Conference to the championship game and a berth in the NJCAA Men’s National Basketball Tournament. Last year, the Thunderbirds were beaten by the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars in a hard-fought game 82-78 at Cougar Palace in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
The returnees include 6-7 Abdul Bashir, who played 33 games and started 32. He averaged 19 points, shot 46% from the field, 45% from 3-point range, grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game, and had 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Bashir made the Region 9 Honorable Mention Team. Thanks to his fine play and classroom work, Bashir, from Omaha, Nebraska, has scholarship offers from Arizona State, Texas A&M, Kansas State, and Central Florida.
Ethan Connery redshirted last year and did not play a game. However, according to Anderson, the 6-4 sophomore redshirt combo guard will play a significant role for the Thunderbirds this year. A former transfer from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, the Akron, Ohio, native has an offer from Radford University, a Division I school in Radford, Virginia, and interest from multiple other Division 1 schools.
Combo guard Rohan Butler-Kowlessar played 21 games last year, averaged 2.3 points per game, and shot 42% from the field and 32% from 3-point range. The 6-3 Butler-Kowlessar, from London, England, also Averaged 1.2 rebounds per game.
Parker Davis redshirted for Casper College last year. The 6-3 Fort Collins, Colorado, native is a shooting guard who Anderson described as an … “excellent shooter and teammate who is as tough as they come.”
Cheyenne, Wyoming’s Nathanial Talich played in 16 games last year and started in one. The 6-4 shooting guard averaged 5.8 points a game, shot 42% from the field, and 35% from 3-point range. The University of Wyoming transfer also averaged 2.4 rebounds per game.
Nate Sasser III played and started in 31 games last year. The 6-6 guard/wing averaged nine points a game while shooting 48% from the field and 26% from 3-point range. The West Palm Beach, Florida, native also averaged four rebounds and 1.3 assists a game.
This year’s new players include Aaron Siever, a 6-1 player from Auckland, New Zealand. The freshman point guard averaged 40 points per game during his senior year in high school.
Blake Neverdon is a 6-5 transfer from Baltimore City Community College. Last year, the guard averaged 15 points a game and shot 40% from 3-point range.
Freshman forward Buai Luak comes to Casper from Bedford, United Kingdom. Anderson said the 6-9 player is an … “extremely versatile forward who brings size and athleticism to our front court.”
A Casper native and senior team captain of the Natrona County High School Mustangs Basketball team, Colton Rogers will come in as a redshirt freshman. As the Senior Team Captain for NC, the 5-11 Rogers led the team to the final four. He will play in the point guard position for the Thunderbirds.
Paul Younker, a 6-4 freshman guard from Akron, Ohio, is also listed as a redshirt. He is known to be … “extremely passionate about the game of basketball and an extremely hard worker who is always in the gym,” noted Anderson.
An excellent passer with a high basketball IQ, Kamil Cardot comes to Casper College from Auxerre, France. The 6-4 guard played in the highest-level youth league in France.
A 6-8 forward from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Binael Basil has already received a Division I offer from the University of Portland since arriving in Casper. Basil is noted for his tough play and strength on the low block.
Freshman Stephen Osei, a 6-10 forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a former three-star recruit and played at the NBA academy in Mexico before arriving in Casper to play for the Birds.
Finally, sophomore Yel Deeng is a 6-9 forward transfer from Treasure Valley Community College in Caldwell, Idaho. During his freshman year at Treasure Valley, Deeng averaged 13 points a game and shot 46% from 3-point range. He also has an offer from Division I University of North Carolina at Charlotte to play ball following his season at Casper.
“We are excited about our prospects this year and the young men on our team,” said Parks. “We are focused on the season and the goal of winning the Region 9 Championship this year.”