Positive position

Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach Kent Leiss isn’t going to lie. Timberline coach David Roberts isn’t about to fib, either.

The coaches like where their teams are placed going into the State 5A tournament Thursday, even though they play each other. Leiss’ fourth-ranked Vikings (18-4) open against District III runner-up Timberline (17-7) at the Idaho Center in Nampa. Tipoff is at 5:15 p.m. PST.

By virtue of capturing the Region I championship, the Vikings are the lone district champ on their side of the bracket. Two district champs are on the other side of the bracket. The four teams in that bracket, including Region I runner-up Lewiston (17-5), also have better records than Timberline, Borah (13-10) and Highland (12-12).

Four of the five teams ranked in the final poll also are on the opposite side of the Vikings.

So just pencil Coeur d’Alene into the state title game Saturday night, right?

“I think we have a very good chance to win (Thursday), but nothing’s for sure,” Leiss said. “I like our chances the second night, too, but nothing’s for sure.”

No. 5 Lewiston takes on District III champ and top-ranked Mountain View of Meridian (20-2) in the tourney’s first game at 12:15. In the other openers, No. 2 Madison (21-2) goes against third-rated Vallivue (17-4) and Highland takes on Borah.

“If you don’t like our side of the bracket, you’re not very smart,” Roberts said. “Coeur d’Alene and Timberline have to be saying, ‘Try to find a way to win the first one’ and in the semifinals you’ll play one of the teams with the worst record in the tournament. At the same time, those just aren’t any teams. Highland and Borah are used to being at the state tournament and used to winning.”

Leiss has a handful of concerns. Perhaps his top worry is his team was the first to qualify and will have been off for 12 days.

“When I coached in Montana we used to call the first day of state ‘Upset Thursday,’ ” Leiss said. “The top two teams from the East and West automatically qualified for state and didn’t have a game for 12 days. So if there were upsets at state they usually happened on the first day.”

It’s the longest stretch CdA has gone between games this season. The Vikings had a week off before a trip to a tournament in Gillette, Wyo., and a week off after returning.

“You hope you aren’t rusty, but I don’t know how you get around being off so long,” Leiss said.

Another concern is it is CdA’s first trip to state in six years. Yet another concern is how his players will shoot in an open-ended arena.

“Those things all concern me,” Leiss said.

Instead of dwelling on the concerns, Leiss has chosen to challenge his players’ pride.

“They’re not just happy to be there,” Leiss said. “They’re competitive and they want to do well.”

If the Vikings show a little rust early or miss shots they normally make, Leiss believes his team can rely on something that’s been its trademark this year: stifling man-to-man defense.

“I know we’ll be flying around like we always do. I know my kids will come and play defense,” Leiss said. “If we have any offensive lulls, hopefully we can play through them with defense.”

CdA, which is riding a 10-game winning streak, has allowed 51.2 points in its wins. The Vikings allowed just less than 50 the past 10 games while outscoring teams by 17.

While CdA likes an up-tempo offensive style, it has embraced a run-and-guard defensive style with passion.

Leiss said his team has shot fewer 3-pointers the second half of the season.

“We’ve talked about not coming out and blasting up a lot of 3s,” Leiss said.

Leiss drove to Boise last Friday to watch the District III title game between Mountain View and Timberline. The Mavericks had their way with Timberline, winning 63-48.

So what did Leiss make of Timberline?

“I know they’re better than what they showed,” he said. “I think I’m smart enough to realize they must be better than how they played against Mountain View. They’re kind of similar to us. They don’t have a lot of size. They want to run and they shoot the 3-pointer.”

Roberts agreed.

“We like to get after people a little bit defensively and so does Coeur d’Alene,” Roberts said. “It should be a fun game to watch, and if both teams get hot it could be high scoring.”

Although Leiss is taking CdA to state for the first time in his four years at the school, it’s the seventh time one of his teams has qualified in 18 years as a head coach.

“A couple of things you better do the first day at state are play defense and rebound,” Leiss said. “I’m confident we’ll do that.”

Roberts, who is in his first year at Timberline after coaching 10 seasons at Meridian and five at Kellogg, is taking his seventh team to state. He’s all too familiar with what can happen the first day.

“Thursdays concern me the most because you don’t know how your kids are going to respond,” Roberts said. “Sometimes it’s who becomes themselves first and plays like they’ve played all year.”

Notes

Coeur d’Alene’s top seven players have all started at one time either this season or last year. … Six CdA players average 6.2 points or more a game. They’re led by senior wing/guard Nate Bligh (16.4), senior/wing guard Austin Heleker (10.5) and junior guard Nate Clinton (10.2). Five-foot-9 junior Andrew Prohaska leads CdA in rebounding at six per game. … Lewiston is led by 5-11 senior point guard Shane Moser (17.2), 5-11 senior guard Shad Strerath (13.4) and 6-8 senior post Andrew Packwood (12.1). … Lewiston, which placed third last year, is the lone returning team that won a trophy. The Bengals qualified for state for a sixth straight year under six-year coach Dave Cornelia. … Here is the media’s final poll: 1, Mountain View; 2, Madison; 3, Vallivue; 4, CdA; 5, Lewiston. … Madison, which won its first 18 games, was ranked No. 1 most of the year before losing its final two regular-season games to 4A Blackfoot and Bonneville. … Madison beat CdA 62-60 in the teams’ second game of the season. … Timberline is led by 6-foot-4 junior forward B.J. Shearry. He averages 11.7 points and 12.1 rebounds.

“All 5A games will be Webcast by idahosports.com.

“Since 2001, the Idaho High School Activities Association has honored a “Legends of the Game” as a way of preserving the heritage of teams that won state titles decades ago. This year, the 1949 CdA Vikings will be honored at halftime of the 5A state title game. The team was coached by Elmer Jordan, who died Jan. 7. Former University of Idaho and Oregon men’s basketball coach Don Monson was a sophomore on the ‘49 team.