2023-24 Winter High School Sports Preview: Boys basketball capsules for Greater Spokane League and Northeast A

From staff reports

The Washington high school boys basketball season is underway. Here’s a preview of the Greater Spokane League 4A/3A and 2A divisions, plus others in the region.

Teams in alphabetical order by classification. Records/standing listed from 2022-23 season.

GSL 4A/3A

Central Valley (2-20, 2-7, ninth): The Bears took some lumps last season and new coach T.J. Milless has no starters and only three letterwinners back. Seniors Daniel Imes and Riley Davis will be counted on to lead. “We’re inexperienced, but we’ll be tough-minded and scrappy,” Milless said.

Cheney (6-14, 0-9, 10th): Coach Travis Peevey’s second year on the bench didn’t go the way he planned, as star Even Stinson got hurt and the team suffered a winless season in-league. Stinson is healthy and headed to Washington State next year. “We had a lot of growth throughout the offseason and are really committed to getting better,” Peevey said.

Ferris (16-7, 6-3, third): Eighth-year coach Sean Mallon returns seven letterwinners and three starters, including all-league senior guard Dylan Skaife, one of the best shooters in the league, who is committed to Lewis-Clark State. “It’s a group with some experience,” Mallon said. “But there are some players who need to get up to speed fast.”

Gonzaga Prep (24-5, 8-1, second): Coach Matty McIntyre, now in his 14th season, took a senior-laden crew to fourth at state last year. He has seven letterwinners back, but just one starter: guard Henry Sandberg, a second-team all-league pick.

Lewis and Clark (8-15, 3-6, seventh): Second-year coach Jace Wambold returns to the Tigers with eight letterwinners and two starters back, including seniors Luke Jessup, Paolo Murray and Parker Pincock. Senior wing Duran Downes, a transfer from Upper Columbia, will help.

Mead (10-11, 6-3, fourth): Luke Jordan is back for his third season with the Panthers and has five letterwinners, but no starters, back from last season. Seniors Emerson Fleck and Bo Dugan, and junior guard Nash Dunham are key returners. “We will be a younger team than we have been the past few years, so there will inevitably be some things to iron out,” Jordan said.

Mt. Spokane (25-2, 9-0, first): The Wildcats took a No. 1 overall seed to state and finished third for coach David Wagenblast. In his ninth year, he has seven letterwinners and three returners from that team, including all-state guard Ryan Lafferty and all-league post Andrew Rayment. “We’re looking to build on the past two years and challenge every team on our schedule,” Wagenblast said.

North Central (8-12, 4-5, sixth): Gonzaga star Robert Sacre takes the coaching duties with a lot of talent at his disposal. Guard Eli Williams was first-team all-league and leads eight letterwinners returning, including forwards Jacori and Juju Ervin.

Ridgeline (8-12, 2-7, eighth): Coach Freddie Rehkow has five letterwinners and three starters returning, led by sophomore guard Caden Andreas and seniors Easton Amend and Wyatt Cline. “We have a strong group that has worked really hard on their game this summer and we should see a fun and exciting group competing night in and night out,” Rehkow said.

University (15-6, 5-4, fifth): Coach Garrick Phillips returns an experienced team for his 17th season, including eight letterwinners and three starters, led by all-league senior post Shane Skidmore, a matchup problem for many in the league, and senior guard Gabe Heimbigner. “We have good size and are a skilled group,” Phillips said. “Our success will depend on the defensive end if we can develop there.”

GSL 2A

Clarkston (10-11, 5-5, third): Five letterwinners and three starters return for 13th-year coach Justin Jones, including seniors Carter Steinwand and Xander Van Tine and junior Josh Hoffman – but all-leaguer Xavier Santana transferred to a prep school. “We are working through losing Santana and replacing his 24 points and battling through losing another starting guard, in Mason Brown, to a football injury,” Jones said. “But we are focused on being very processed oriented the first half of the year to overcome our inexperience and new faces.”

East Valley (8-11, 2-8, fifth): Coach Ty Fowler returns for his third season with three letterwinners back, including senior guard Nehemiah Harry, but without graduated all-leaguers Luke Holechek and Coleton Hansen.

Shadle Park (6-15, 2-8): Tim Lamanna takes over a team that struggled last year to a last-place finish but has three starters back: senior guard Enoch Gathecha, junior guard Jacob Boston and junior post Carson Eickstadt. “To be competitive we need buy-in and trust from the players and for them to come and outwork their opponent night in and night out,” Lamanna said.

Pullman (25-1, 10-0, first): Veteran coach Craig Brantner took a deep and experience team to third place at state last year but has just two starters back off that team: first-team all-league guard Champ Powaukee and center Austin Hunt. “We need to to develop our younger kids and get them to understand what it takes to be successful and competitive at the varsity level,” Brantner said.

Rogers (11-11, 3-7, fifth): Five letterwinners and four starters return for sixth-year coach Karim Scott and the Pirates, though leading scorer Dejuan Haney transferred. Seniors Aaron Kinsey and Hartman Warrick are leaders, and junior Treshon Green can light it up. “We are going to rely on our quickness to push the tempo on offense,” Scott said. “We’ll play pressure defense so we can create turnovers.”

West Valley (20-5, 8-2, second): The Eagles sent retiring coach Jay Humphrey out in style last season with a trip to state, and longtime assistant Mike Hamilton takes over the program. Three letterwinners return: seniors Ben Fried and Parker Munns and junior Noah Gadd-Lewis. “We are young and inexperienced at the varsity level so will have to adapt to the speed and physicality of the game quickly,” Hamilton said.

NEA

Colville (7-15, 6-6, fourth): New coach Josh Morgan has six letterwinners but no starters back from last season. “We are a very young team with only two seniors, one of whom is a transfer,” Morgan said. “We will be relying on a large number of sophomores to fill out our varsity team. The coaching changeover will slow our progress down as we learn plays and schemes.”

Deer Park (13-10, 8-4, third): Longtime assistant Samual Howard takes over the head coaching duties with one starter and two letterwinners back. Junior Davin Kemano will be counted on until others step into roles.

Freeman (21-4, 12-0, first): The Scotties reached state but went 0-2 there last year and return two starters: Colton Wells and Tanner Goldsmith. Fifth-year coach Kyle Olson said, “A lot of guys are going to have to grow up quick after graduating three starters who played the bulk of the minutes last season.”

Lakeside (13-10, 8-3, second): The Eagles eagerly await the return of several football players from their state title game run including Calvin Mikkelsen and Hiro Patterson, but once assembled, fourth-year coach John Edwards expects to build on a top-12 in state finish last year. “We are a balanced, unselfish group but need to develop chemistry with five of our varsity players missing due to football,” he said.

Medical Lake (1-19, 1-11, seventh): Brett Ward moves from girls coach to boys for the 23-24 season with eight letterwinners and three starters at his disposal. Senior Mavrick Rasmussen and junior Aiden Sudeth are leaders. “A team that struggled last year, but should be much improved,” Ward said. “We have some good, skilled big men inside and some shooters on the outside.”

Newport (5-15, 4-9, fifth): Fifth-year coach Brett Mackey has one starter and four retuning letterwinners to work with. “We have only one guy with vast varsity experience on the floor this year,” Mackey said. “We are gonna have to mature very quickly. We do have a little more length than what we have had in the past.”

Riverside (3-15, 2-9, sixth): The Rams return all five starters and nine letterwinners for second-year coach Jordan Dutton, including seniors Daniel Schneider and Jake Gaffaney, and junior Jake Graham. Riverside boasts five players over 6-foot-5 and a starting lineup all over 6-2. “This year’s team has the potential to win a league title and make it to state,” Dutton said. “Last year was my first year with Riverside and we really strived to change the culture of the program and how we play the game.”