What was supposed to happen was Joston Cripe was going to have a solid spring season of AAU basketball, followed by an excellent summer of playing hoops with his Flathead teammates, all building up to a satisfying senior season.

What happened instead was that last April 26, Cripe was executing a dribble handoff to a Montana Select teammate in an AAU game in Los Angeles when his right knee gave way.

“I didn’t do anything in particular,” Cripe said. “I just planted my foot in a weird way and down I went. It was kind of a freak accident, and there wasn’t much I could do to prevent it.

“I wish I had a cooler story.”

Cripe feared the worst, took a wait-and-see attitude on the advice of a trainer, then woke up the next day and knew for sure something was wrong.

“It was just huge,” he said of the knee. “Fat and swollen.”

On May 5, he had surgery on his torn ACL.

“I took a positive outlook on it, right away,” he said. “I took it as an opportunity to build my character a little bit.”

OK, maybe not right away: When Dr. Kim Stimpson made the official diagnosis to Cripe, the senior – who led the Braves in scoring as a sophomore and junior – broke down in tears.

“It was tough to hear,” he said. “I thought I’d miss my senior year.”

“It was just kind of tragic news about a kid that was All-State as a junior,” Flathead coach Dirk Johnsrud said. “It was a bummer that he couldn’t be with us that summer, and it was something this fal that was just week-to-week.”

What has happened since is remarkable. In the fall Cripe played golf (“I had some of the best rounds of my life”); in January he got back on the hardcourt for Flathead.

Remarkable, but probably not a surprise, says Johnsrud.

“We didn’t know for sure when the season started,” Flathead’s second-year coach said. “His doctor and his parents decided he should not play the preseason schedule.

“Knowing the passion that Joston has for basketball, I knew he was going to do everything he could to rehab and get himself ready to compete.”

Friday at 7:30 p.m. the 6-foot-1 senior will play in his fifth crosstown varsity game, with Glacier visiting Flathead. The Braves are 1-7 this season and 1-5 in their last six against the Wolfpack, but Cripe adds another factor for the 2-6 Wolfpack to deal with.

As a junior he averaged 15.6 points for a team that was otherwise senior-dominated.

This month he became the team’s fifth senior starter. And the third game he was back, he poured in 27 points as Flathead claimed its first win, 55-48 at Helena High.

“I love that gym,” said Cripe, who knocked down a last-second shot there last February, lifting Flathead to a 50-47 overtime win. “I had a lot of confidence going in there this year.”

“He’s had two great games at Helena High,” Johnsrud said. ““His ability to make the extra pass, but also has the ability to score – he has extreme passion for the game; he absolutely loves it. And he’s a fun player to watch because of it, because of the energy he brings.”

Johnsrud feels a fully recovered Cripe – he wears a knee brace currently – is a college-level player. “With his ability and his passion, I know he could play,” he said.

Recruiters aren’t knocking down his door thus far. “I’d like to go out of state, somewhere warm,” Cripe offers. “But I’d take any scholarship offer I got.”

In the short-term, half a regular season is still ahead. Flathead can make shots and has energy, but an inability to stop opposing teams’ runs has been the Braves’ downfall.

“I would say our outcomes don’t really describe how we play,” Cripe said. “Whenever we’re out there we’re just battling our butts off, every minute. We’ve just got to lock in on defense, and not let teams get on those runs.”

“It’s a huge piece to our puzzle,” Johnsrud said of Cripe’s return. “We’re starting five seniors now. What I was able to observe is that his return took pressure off our other players. Everyone could just take a deep breath and relax. It helps our chemistry, and our ability to execute.”

Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 758-4463 or [email protected].