2023-23 Winter High School Sports Preview: Mt. Spokane’s Ryan Lafferty, Cheney’s Evan Stinson ‘ready to go’ for senior seasons

The high school basketball season is already underway and the always competitive Greater Spokane League is stocked with postseason-caliber teams and players once again. This year, District 8 (GSL and Mid-Columbia Conference) will send two 4A teams to state, three from 3A and two 2A teams.

Two players in particular to watch are Mt. Spokane senior point guard Ryan Lafferty, a first-team all-league pick last season, and Cheney senior wing Evan Stinson, who earned first-team honors as a sophomore before enduring an injury season last year.

Lafferty leads experienced Mt. Spokane

Under coach David Wagenblast, Mt. Spokane runs a successful program year in, year out. But last season was an impressive accomplishment any way you slice it – one regular -season loss (to eventual 4A state champ Curtis and super prospect Zoom Diallo), a perfect league record and No. 1 overall seed to the state tournament.

The Wildcats won their first two postseason games before falling to O’Dea in a state semifinal before bouncing back to top Auburn in the third-place game.

“It was a great thing for our program,” Wagenblast said of the No. 1 seed. “We’re really excited because our guys have put in all the hard work in the offseason and are looking forward to getting an opportunity to play at a really high level.”

With many of those same players returning – including all-league guard Ryan Lafferty and emerging post Drew Rayment – the Wildcats expect much the same this season.

“I’m ready. Can’t wait to get started,” Lafferty said before the season got underway. “We have a pretty ‘old’ team, so everyone’s really competing in practice. We all have the same goal in mind.”

“Ryan has really embraced the role of becoming a better leader,” Wagenblast said. “Throughout his four years here we’ve just seen his growth as a leader. He’s become who he is. He’s trying to lead by example in his offseason workouts. Leading by example in every drill. We’re really proud of him for that kind of growth.”

Lafferty, who has committed to University of St. Thomas-Minnesota, was proud how the team came back from the semifinal loss to win the following night and leave Tacoma with a win.

“It was a good way to end last year,” he said. “My sophomore year we lost that game. It gave us confidence. But this is a new team at the same time.”

Maybe that momentum doesn’t carry over, but what’s more important is the experience gained.

“We have a lot of guys with experience in big games – in multiple sports,” Lafferty said. “I think that experience is going to be great for us in the GSL then to continue on through districts and into state.”

That type of big-game experience is why Wagenblast is excited to watch his team perform at this year’s Les Schwab Invitational national tournament over the holidays.

“Those big games are going to do nothing but help us be more confident in the playoffs hopefully,” he said. “The Les Schwab is – it’s hard to explain to people who aren’t from Portland. They sell out this massive high school stadium and you’re going against three of the top teams in the country. To be a part of that is really exciting.”

Rayment , who is headed to Santa Clara for baseball , was perhaps the most improved player in the league last season. Lafferty and Wagenblast expect even bigger things for his senior season.

“Having a great supporting cast allows me to play multiple positions,” Lafferty said. “We have great point guards, great big men. I’m kind of in-between all those doing a little bit of both – doing a little bit of everything.”

“We are fortunate to have a 6-foot-5 point guard,” Wagenblast said of Lafferty. “He is exceptional at point guard. And yet we can put him off the wing. And we can post him up. He’s not a guy that has to play a certain position. He doesn’t care. Whatever is the best for the team.”

The Wildcats will have to figure out a way to replace the scoring provided by last year’s GSL MVP, Maverick Sanders, who is playing every night and averaging eight points per game for Central Washington as a freshman.

“It’s our senior year. We have a big senior class,” Lafferty said. “We’ve been with each other for a long time so we kind of feel like it’s our year to do something big, even though we lost a couple of big pieces from last year.”

The rest of the league agrees, as an informal poll of coaches shows Mt. Spokane as the unanimous favorite.

“We want the pressure. We’ve earned it,” Lafferty said. “I don’t think it’s going to change anything for us. We’re going to come out and start every game ready to compete. We’re going to go at any team, regardless of who it is. That target doesn’t really do much for us other than make us work harder and want it even more.”

“We’re excited about what we have,” Wagenblast said. “Our team has a lot of depth, experience – and that’s really hard to replicate. We have a number of players that can come in an impact the game. We’re eager to show this year’s version of Mt. Spokane.”

Stinson healthy for senior season

Things did not go the way Cheney hoped last season. A slow start complicated by a late transfer into the program was exacerbated by injury when star Evan Stinson went down over the holidays with a broken foot. The Blackhawks won just one game after Stinson’s injury en route to a winless league season and 6-14 overall.

The injury did not prevent Stinson from receiving an offer and committing to Washington State earlier this year.

“That’s been my goal from when I stepped on a basketball court and having that opportunity come by has been pretty awesome.”

Stinson is “100 percent” healthy and eager to get back at it – and perhaps reach the postseason for the first time in his high school career.

“We didn’t want that screwy season (last year), but it was a good experience for us knowing what not to do, I guess,” Stinson said. “Going through that last summer, then this summer knowing what we had to do differently to prepare has definitely helped us a lot.”

Stinson said the mental side of the recovery was the most difficult, “knowing I couldn’t be out there helping my team,” but it allowed him to concentrate on video review and growing that part of his game. He’s also in better shape overall.

“Missing that year was awful,” he said. “But I’ve worked on my body tirelessly, have gotten stronger. And I’ve gotten better. And just becoming more of a leader on and off the court to help this team gets where it needs to be.”

“The injury really put what he needed to do in perspective for him,” second-year coach Travis Peevey said. “And he took that to heart and absolutely put in a monster of an offseason in the weight room, packing on pounds, and really just dedicating every bit of time to get healthy, getting strong. So, he’s ready to go.”

Stinson plays all over the court for Peevey but will play more on the wing once he gets to Wazzu next year. He concentrated his offseason workout plan around improving his ballhandling skills and off-ball movement.

“We have to focus on what we’re doing here, of course, like any coach would,” Peevey said. “Evan’s gonna be able to play 1 through 5. So, he’s going to be wherever we need him to be.”

Stinson’s flexibility in skill and attitude are key for the Blackhawks.

“He is absolutely about the team all the way,” Peevey said. “If it means he needs to go get 15 rebounds one night, take less shots because he’s catching a double team, whatever that may be to find the right guys in the right spots and kind of be a coach on the court. He’s able to do that.”

While Mt. Spokane is a pretty clear favorite in the GSL 3A ranks, Stinson thinks Cheney can compete for one of the other two spots to get out of the district tournament.

“Mt. Spo, I mean, they’re kind of solidified on paper – that doesn’t mean we can’t go out there and get a win,” Stinson said. “But one of those three spots should go to us if everything goes as planned.”

It would be quite an accomplishment considering the Blackhawks own 10 wins the past two seasons combined.

“We don’t have a lot of experience with (playoffs),” Stinson said. “But this team, but once we get there, it’s because we’re all in the same boat and have the same goal. That’s why we can be successful.”

“(Playoffs) would be incredible way for him to finish his senior year,” Peevey said. “But in the bigger scheme of things, we’re looking at turning the corner for this program in the culture. That’s what I’ve been trying to do since I’ve been here and change it to where we are expecting to win.”