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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

It Could Be Banner Season Post Falls’ Depth Would Be Key To Securing Iel Title

Greg Lee Staff Writer

Senior point guard Ryan Edmonds gazes frequently at the Inland Empire League boys basketball title banner in the Post Falls High School gym.

It serves as a reminder to Edmonds of his team’s goals this season.

Just once since the school moved from the A-2 Intermountain League in 1985 to the A-1 Inland Empire League has a Post Falls boys team captured a league title.

Though the Trojans want to hang a second banner, it’s not the paramount goal.

The No. 1 goal is to go to state a second time in school history.

In many ways that pressure dangles like a banner over the players’ heads. With the most returning talent among league teams, Post Falls was tabbed a heavy favorite to win the conference crown going into the season.

So the Trojans have much to gain and much to lose. Anything less than a trip to state and the season won’t be as successful as expected.

The Trojans, 2-1 in league and 12-2 overall, aren’t playing as if they notice the pressure.

“What I like most about the team is our overall attitude,” Trojan coach Scott Moore said. “They want to win, they’re very competitive and they’ll do whatever it takes. It’d be easy at 12-2 (record) for a team to get lackadaisical in practice. That’s not so with this team.”

Though the Trojans are deep - Moore plays all 11 players on the roster - they don’t possess an all-state caliber player. In fact, they don’t boast a league most valuable player candidate.

Most of the Trojans are blue collar, nofrills players.

That both speaks to the Trojans’ strength and weakness. When Post Falls plays as a team, it’s formidable. When the Trojans play independent of each other, they’re beatable.

The balance on the team is reflected in the statistics.

Senior wing Mike McLean is the leading scorer at a modest 12.2 points per game. Senior off-guard Tim Roberts averages 11.5, Edmonds is at 9.9 and 6-6 senior post Darick Pope is at 9.8. The fifth starter, 6-4 sophomore post Austin Lee, adds 5.6 points but, more importantly, 5.4 rebounds.

The six substitutes are contributing 22.6 points per game. Inside support players Tim Cudmore, Tim Pichotta and Mike Froehlich, all seniors, chip in a combined 11.4, while guards Brock Alexander and Justin Curtis, both seniors, and junior Brett Hollenbeck add a combined 11.2.

Rebounding, too, is a shared responsibility.

Trying to find enough playing time for all 11 players has been Moore’s most difficult task.

“Everybody deserves a lot of playing time, probably more playing time than they’re getting. Even my starters deserve more playing time,” Moore said. “But they understand the importance of the bench getting playing time. The great thing is they understand their roles on the team. It is something that could explode and be a problem on some teams. But (the players) are working hard toward our team goals. I think some of the (bench players) would start for some teams in North Idaho.”

Perhaps the player that best embodies the Trojans is McLean.

A lean 6-1 wing, McLean isn’t overly gifted. He scores many of his baskets by just being in fundamental rebounding position and putting back misses by teammates. He’s been affectionately tagged with the nickname “Garbage Man.”

“He’s always around the ball; he’s a very intelligent player,” Moore said.

As a junior, McLean split time on the varsity and junior varsity, playing mostly on the JV. He earned a starting job this season held previously by Cudmore, who was moved from wing to post.

McLean felt he could have contributed to varsity last year, but said the experience made him hungry and prepared for this season.

“I think what has helped me be a better rebounder was playing on JV because I had to play inside,” McLean said.

McLean has nothing but praise for the bench - the players he considers the strength of the team.

“I don’t think the bench has had a bad game,” McLean said. “We wouldn’t have near the record we have without them.”

Edmonds agrees. He credited the bench for Post Falls’ recent 71-40 win over East Valley. With all the starters on the bench, the reserves turned a four-point lead with 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter into a 37-25 lead by halftime. The reserves - led by 12 points from Hollenbeck and 11 each from Alexander and Cudmore - continued to pull away in the second half.

“The starters played like junk against East Valley,” Edmonds said. “Coach took us out and put the subs in and they played great. Everybody has their off nights and it’s great that we always have somebody there to pick up the slack.”

A pleasant surprise to Moore has been the play of Pichotta, a transfer.

Pichotta moved to Post Falls before the start of his junior year, and enrolled briefly before leaving to attend a private school in Coeur d’Alene.

But Pichotta desired to play high school basketball and returned to Post Falls this fall.

“He wasn’t a player we were counting on before the season,” Moore said.

In fact, Pichotta saw just 47 seconds of playing time in Post Falls’ second game of the season.

His time has increased to at least a quarter and as much as two quarters. He’d like more time - “I feel anybody on the team could start” - but will continue to strive for the most productivity out of his time. He averages four points and four rebounds per game.

“I had to start out at the bottom and earn my position,” Pichotta said of the early season. “They (teammates) were really accepting from the start. They made me feel at home.”

Said Moore: “We weren’t sure he’d fit in right away. But he’s gained respect through his work ethic. The rest of the guys have been together it seems since birth. Tim plays like he’s been a part of the system a long time, too.”

Post Falls faces two key home league games this weekend: Lewiston on Friday and Lake City on Saturday.

Moore is less concerned with his opponents and more concerned with his team heading into the weekend.

“We’ve done some super things in the scope of the offense,” he said. “But when we go away from it we turn the ball over. We don’t have the ability to win games oneon-one. We have to work hard as 11 people deep.”

Edmonds, McLean and Pichotta agree.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, and if things aren’t flowing we get frustrated,” Edmonds said. “And the frustration seems to feed an anxiety and someone feels like they have to turn it around. We can’t play one-onone.”

Pichotta said the best of the Trojans has been split in two games: The starters excelled against CdA and the reserves stood out against EV.

“But you haven’t seen the best from us yet,” Pichotta said. “If we want to go all the way to state we’re going to have to play well. We’re not going to be able to slide by.”