Cda Sophomore Makes Big Impression

Just call this a do-over, or a P.S.

After watching the Coeur d’Alene High School boys basketball team in its homeopening 68-62 loss to Central Valley last week, it’s evident another player should be added to the preseason all-Inland Empire League team.

In fact, this player wasn’t even listed in our “players to watch” graphic in the preseason preview package.

If Coeur d’Alene’s 6-foot-6 sophomore post Luke O’Dowd is still an unknown, it won’t be long before he erases “un” from the word and is known.

Somebody needs to remind O’Dowd that he’s a sophomore. He certainly didn’t play like a puppy against a sizeable CV frontline.

O’Dowd scored 12 points in the opening period, had 17 at halftime and finished with 24. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and had a pair of blocked shots.

“Where that comes from is all that hard work this summer,” Viks coach Larry Bieber said. “He called me every day on the phone and said, ‘Bieb, can we go over to the gym?’ I’d say, ‘I thought I was going to go fishing. OK, we’ll go over to the gym.’ He has a great work ethic.”

O’Dowd used an assortment of soft turnaround jumpers in the key and shots from the block. When he had the opportunity, O’Dowd drove aggressively to the basket.

“He’s the hardest-working kid we’ve got on the team,” Bieber added.

O’Dowd is averaging 11.8 points per game. The average might be higher, but he played with a sprained thumb against Centennial and managed just two points.

Early showdown

The weekend schedule gets a nice jump-start tonight when the defending State A-1 champion Lake City girls go to Sandpoint in what should be a thrilling Inland Empire League contest.

LC (2-0 in league, 7-3 overall) dropped out of the state rankings this week. Sandpoint (6-0), which is making its league debut, is ranked fifth.

Sandpoint gave LC its lone defeat last season, and that came at about this last year.

The state’s sportswriters and sportscasters kept undefeated Borah (10-0) atop the A-1 girls poll in this week’s rankings.

Borah received nine of 10 first-place votes. Highland (10-1), ranked second, received the other first-place vote.

In the A-2 poll, Moscow (9-1) and Sugar-Salem (7-0) swapped spots at the top and split the 10 first-place votes. Sugar-Salem moved into first by a point.

In boys games, Lake City and Coeur d’Alene play their first home weekend games when fifth-ranked Boise (3-0) and Nampa (0-4) visit.

Boise visits CdA (1-3) and Nampa is at LC (2-2) on Friday. The teams swap opponents Saturday in a pair of afternoon games at 2:30.

Complete standings, statistics and schedules for weekend games can be found in the Stat Sheet.

Around the state

Southern Idaho Conference boys basketball coaches have picked defending State A-1 champion Centennial to repeat as conference champion.

The Patriots cruised through the 1994-95 season undefeated (26-0), becoming just the third team in state history to post an unblemished record.

It will be much more difficult for the Patriots to repeat as state champion, not to mention SIC champion, largely because a third high school opened this year in the Meridian School District (Eagle). The Pats’ starting point guard last season, Clint Hordemann, is running the show at Eagle.

But Centennial didn’t lose everything. The A-1 player of the year, 6-5 post Jon Harris, is back.

Centennial opened the season with a win over Bonneville, but the Patriots’ 27-game winning streak was snapped the following night by Hillcrest of Idaho Falls, 75-69.

The SIC coaches picked Capital, currently ranked No. 1, to finish behind Centennial, followed by Eagle, Boise, Meridian (coached by former Kellogg coach David Roberts), Borah, Nampa and Caldwell.

The SIC will send the top three finishers at its district to state, while the fourthplace team will meet the A-1 Region I runner-up from the Inland Empire League in a playoff for a berth to state.

In eastern Idaho, meanwhile, Blackfoot is picked to win the High Country Conference. Madison, which captured the State A-1 Division II football title, and Hillcrest are picked to challenge Blackfoot.

The HCC lost a full berth to state to the SIC. The HCC’s district champion advances to state while the runner-up must take on the District IV-V runner-up for a berth to state.

Highland of Pocatello is favored to capture the District IV-V championship.

Spartans finally win

The Priest River girls recorded a huge win last week when they defeated Kellogg 68-48 in an Intermountain League game at Kellogg. The victory broke a 23-game league losing streak, dating to Jan. 23, 1994.

It shouldn’t be the Spartans’ final league win this season, either.

It was coach Ron Hopkins’ first IML win in three seasons. Ironically, Priest River’s last IML win was at Kellogg.

Phenomenal phreshmen

If it’s possible, most coaches, no matter the sport, try to avoid playing freshmen on varsity. For obvious reasons.

For just as obvious reasons, some freshmen are better off playing up.

Such is the case for a handful of talented freshmen in the Panhandle this winter.

Keep an eye on these names, to name a few: Janelle Ruen of Post Falls, Laura Dodge of Lake City, Kellie Stern of Coeur d’Alene, Krissi Ruiz of Priest River and Paul Nieman of Sandpoint.

, DataTimes