Shane Therrian Post Falls Year: Senior Sport: Basketball Position: Wing

We’ve been known to recognize athletes in this weekly feature who might not otherwise earn recognition because of the position they play or the fact they’re not a starter.

You can put Shane Therrian in the latter category.

He started the first six games of the season for Post Falls while Austin Lee nursed football injuries. When Lee returned in late December, it was back to the bench for Therrian.

Therrian has proven most valuable coming off the bench - especially in the Trojans’ Inland Empire League-opening wins last week against Coeur d’Alene and Lake City. He wasn’t the team’s leading scorer, but his contributions were as important in coach Scott Moore’s perspective as the points scored by the regulars.

“A lot of the things he does are things you can’t measure on the stat sheet,” Moore said.

The stats do show that the 6-foot Therrian - who plays guard, wing and small forward - is averaging six points and four rebounds per game. He had a season-high 11 points against LC.

“Usually we have Shane on another team’s best wing or shooting guard,” Moore said. “So I’m not concerned about what he does offensively. That’s just a bonus. His intensity and speed are what’s important for us. We couldn’t be as successful without him.”

He’s the first player Moore brings off the bench. And when Therrian enters a game, it’s rare that he comes out.

“I put him in about the 4-minute mark of the first quarter against Lake City and I don’t think I took him out of the game after that,” Moore said.

Moore says it’s players like Therrian that have made his stint at Post Falls enjoyable. Moore has announced his resignation effective at the end of the season.

Therrian is a survivor. He was a marginal player as a freshman. He was cut during frosh team tryouts, but was put on a “C” squad for players cut from the junior varsity and freshman teams.

As a sophomore, he was the last player kept on the junior varsity. Last year, he started most of the season on JV at point guard and was moved up to varsity for the postseason.

He’s the lone player off the “C” team playing on varsity this season.

“It was like a blessing,” Therrian said of the “C” team. “I wasn’t real good when I was younger. It was just hard work. I was determined to play.”

Said Moore: “He does the dirty work, he understands his role and how important it is to the team. He gets some of the garbage stuff that Mike McLean got for us a couple of years ago and he flies around the floor like Tim Roberts did a couple of years ago.”

And Therrian knows his role.

“Defense. I just love hustling down the court and playing defense - playing all out and being an inspiration,” he said. “If an opportunity to score is there, I’ll take it. Most of the time, I like to dish it inside to a big guy or to someone else who’s open.”

Moore wouldn’t be surprised if Therrian receives some votes at season’s end for most valuable player on the team - an honor voted on by the players. “He’s very respected by his teammates because they know what he means to the team,” Moore said.

As far as personal goals are concerned, Therrian’s achieved the most important.

“I wanted to be on varsity, to be a Trojan,” he said.

Everything else is a bonus.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo