Guards Are Up On All-North Idaho Team

It was the year of the guard in North Idaho boys basketball.

Therefore, it’s appropriate that four of the six players named to The Spokesman-Review’s annual All-North Idaho Team are guards.

There apparently was no in-between according to the vote of the region’s coaches. The other two players on the team are posts.

Senior Brason Alexander and junior Chad Quesnell of Post Falls and seniors Adam Miller of Moscow and Adam Hiatt of Bonners Ferry, all guards, and junior posts Andrew Twiss of Lakeside and Lukas O’Dowd of Coeur d’Alene were named to the team.

Scott Moore of Post Falls and Don Dudley of Moscow were selected co-coaches of the year.

Moore, who had announced this would be his last year at Post Falls before the season, directed the Trojans to an undefeated season in the Inland Empire League and the Region I championship. The Trojans (22-4) took fourth at state.

Moore’s five-year record was 73-46 (.613).

After his team opened 0-3, Dudley’s Bears (20-3) didn’t lose again. Moscow hammered Snake River 69-44 in the State A-2 championship game after finishing runner-up last year.

Post Falls’ success started in the backcourt with Quesnell and Alexander. They shared point guard duties, blending their talents for the betterment of the team.

Quesnell, named first-team all-state, led a balanced attack with 14.4 points and a team-leading 62 steals. Alexander, all-state honorable mention, averaged 12.7 points and dished out a team-high 128 assists.

The two were equally dangerous on defense, frequently causing headaches for opposing coaches with their pressure.

Miller was perhaps the best all-around player in the A-2 ranks. First-team all-state, he averaged 18.9 points, four assists and three rebounds per game.

Several schools, including a handful of junior colleges, have shown interest in Miller.

Hiatt, one of the purest shooters in the state, was selected to the second team. Had Hiatt and Bonners Ferry advanced to state where other coaches could have seen him play, it’s likely he would have been a first-team pick, too.

Last weekend, Hiatt, who led the Badgers football team to a league title, visited Ricks College, where he hopes to play basketball. Miller, a versatile athlete, is being recruited by several schools for basketball.

Miller received the most votes for the All-North Idaho Team.

Twiss, a transfer from Vancouver, Wash., led top-ranked Lakeside (22-1) to the State A-4 championship. He was named last weekend as the A-4 Player of the Year.

He averaged 18 points and nine rebounds per game. His family in planning on returning to the Vancouver area this summer.

O’Dowd had an up-and-down season. Early in the year, he put up all-state numbers. But during the league season, his statistics took sharp dips. He averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots per game.

Chad Cheeley of Lake City, Casey Hoorelbeke of Coeur d’Alene, Jeremy McLean of Post Falls, Chris Angle of Mullan and Allen Ashby of Bonners Ferry were named to the second team.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ALL-NORTH IDAHO BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM Pos Name Ht Yr School P Lukas O’Dowd 6-6 Jr. Coeur d’Alene P Andrew Twiss 6-5 Jr. Lakeside G Brason Alexander 5-10 Sr. Post Falls G Chad Quesnell 5-7 Jr. Post Falls G Adam Miller 6-0 Sr. Moscow G Adam Hiatt 6-1 Sr. Bonners Ferry Co-coaches of the year: Scott Moore, Post Falls; Don Dudley, Moscow