Jared Bligh Falls Christian Year: Junior Sport: Basketball Position: Wing

“Never” is a word Jared Bligh would like to erase from a statement regarding Falls Christian boys basketball.

As in “never been to a state tournament.”

This much is evident after the first week of the season: Falls Christian will have to be reckoned with in the North Star League.

“We’re looking to turn a few heads this year,” Bligh said.

The head-turning probably started last week. Falls Christian opened with a 73-53 win over Springdale, Wash., and followed it with a sweep over NSL foe Kootenai (77-48) and A-3 independent Wallace (68-60) to capture the Silver Valley Tournament title.

Bligh scored a career-high 29 points Monday in FCA’s 75-72 win over Logos of Moscow. And the Eagles pushed their start to 5-0 with an 89-66 victory over St. Michaels of Spokane on Tuesday.

A starter since his freshman season, Bligh is averaging a double-double for points (22.3) and rebounds (11). His scoring is up nearly eight points over last season.

What do the statistics mean to Bligh? Very little, the humble player says.

“It doesn’t matter if I score four points or 20 points. The most important thing to me is we win,” he said.

Two NSL teams qualify for state. Defending state champ Lakeside is in its final year in the A-4 division, but doesn’t appear as powerful as last season.

And Clark Fork, the team picked to finish behind Lakeside and a spot ahead of FCA, finished tied for third with the Eagles last year.

Although FCA’s future looks bright - Bligh is one of four juniors in the starting lineup and a freshman and another junior are the first substitutes - Bligh believes the future could arrive this season.

“Our new coach (Tim Marks) has taught us to respect the other team but never fear them,” Bligh said.

That attitude along with a newfound dedication to defense and rebounding are the areas Bligh feels his game and the team’s game has improved over last season.

“Jared’s the hardest-working player on the team and I’ve got a team full of hard workers,” Marks said.

The 6-foot-3 Bligh is starting at a third position in as many years. He was the point guard as a freshman, a post last season and he’s listed as a wing this year.

His versatility could cause league opponents problems.

“He can go inside or outside,” Marks said. “The great thing is he’s scoring his points in a variety of ways - in the offense, in transition, off offensive rebounds. And he’s taking the ball to the hole.”

Bligh, who set school records for yards (1,504) and touchdown passes (19) in his first season at quarterback this fall, hasn’t given any thought to personal statistics in basketball.

“The points will come,” Bligh said. “We’ve got a chance to do very well this year. How we do as a team is most important to me.”

Added Marks: “I don’t know if you could ask for a better individual. He’s just a great person.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo