Martin, Cats on verge of something big

Clark Fork’s Mike Martin is still only a junior.

But after three years of starting at point guard for the Wampus Cats, Martin plays more like a seasoned field general.

Pressure? What pressure?

“I have to say I thrive on it – it makes it a lot of fun,” said Miller.

Miller also has a lot of fun explaining to anyone who asks – and there are a lot of them – how a Wampus Cat is a mythical Native American vision of a mountain lion with a spiked ball on its tail.

“And I don’t necessarily feel the pressure any more – it’s almost like a day-to-day thing because I’ve been doing it for so long,” he said.

Clark Fork can capture the North Star League boys basketball crown outright with a win tonight at home against Lakeside.

“This week is huge for us – it’s almost pretty much the defining week for our season,” said Martin, who had 16 points and six assists Tuesday in a 60-46 home win over Kootenai. “We have total control of what we can set ourselves up for in the postseason.”

Consistency, or lack thereof, Miller said, will be the key.

“We’re looking pretty good and starting to get more patient in our half-court sets,” Miller said. “We usually show up for about two quarters a game – like against Coeur d’Alene Charter, we came out real slow in the first half , but then came back in the second half, took over and played like we should.

“We’re starting to see it, and hopefully we can start putting four quarters together.”

He admits it is easier said than done, but listening to him talk one gets the feeling he and his teammates are up to the task.

“I definitely think we can do some damage down at state,” said Miller, who also plays tennis and football for Clark Fork. “We haven’t played nearly our best basketball this year. We’ve got a lot of the components that we need to go deep into state.

“If we put them all together, and we can play consistent like we’re supposed to, we can make a good run.”

And Miller said the town of Clark Fork is beginning to believe as well.

“Especially after that game against Coeur d’Alene Charter,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest win we’ve had in the last three years. It was huge coming back from being down 13 at half.

“The community and everybody walking off the court after that game … it felt so good – it seems like everybody’s got our back now.”