Guards Make Points About Teamwork Post Falls’ Alexander, Quesnell Share Duties Fueling Powerful Offense

If Lake City High boys basketball coach Jim Winger were strictly a fan and not a coach, he’d watch Post Falls play as often as possible.

As it is, Winger has taken in five Post Falls games, not including his team’s first Inland Empire League contest against the Trojans. And Winger’s Timberwolves visit Post Falls tonight.

There are many things Winger likes about the Trojans. The two most obvious are guards Brason Alexander, a senior, and Chad Quesnell, a junior.

“That whole team is a lot of fun to watch,” Winger said. “I watched them play Kellogg (on Saturday). They’re all feeding off each other, especially the guards.”

Earlier in the season, Winger wondered if Post Falls was going to be as good as predicted.

“They’re even better than I thought they’d be,” Winger said.

Last year, Winger’s Timberwolves romped through league undefeated on their way to state. He thinks Post Falls may be even better than that team.

“We had a good team and we had a couple of players in Jon Chatfield and Scott Hoover that were difficult for teams to defend,” Winger said. “But Post Falls may be the best well-rounded team in years. You can try to take away the guards and they’ll kill you inside. And when they sub, they don’t go down. They’ve really matured a lot as a team.”

It starts with the guards.

They’ve been double jeopardy for opponents - especially IEL foes.

They share the point guard duties. Quesnell plays point most of the time, bringing the ball up after made baskets and getting the Trojans into their half-court offense.

But when Alexander is closest to the rebounder after a missed shot by opponents, he takes the point and Quesnell dashes to the off-guard spot during transition.

“It happens very naturally,” Alexander said of sharing the point responsibilities. “It’s not like we wave each other off or anything.”

Last year, they shared the position most of the season, with Quesnell most often starting in front of Alexander.

So when Moore decided to have them share the point as starters this season, he knew it could backfire.

“The chemistry wasn’t there last year to do it,” Moore said. “In some situations, it could cause problems. But they’ve committed to making it work. They know if they were to compete for the position, it would defeat what we’re trying to establish.”

Said Quesnell: “I think it’s gone very well. We both understand our roles and we’re both playing real smart.”

Early in the season, Moore sensed there was some competition between the guards.

“When they started working together and sharing responsibilities it made them better ballplayers,” Moore said.

The statistics support Moore’s conclusion.

Quesnell leads a balanced scoring attack with 14 points per game while Alexander is second-best at 13.7. And since league started, their numbers have risen with Quesnell scoring 19 per game and Alexander 15.6.

Post Falls has won 10 straight games since a 4-3 start. Both players’ statistics are up noticeably during the streak, particularly their shooting percentages.

Both players, as sons of former head coaches, have the kind of savvy that isn’t teachable. They’ve been around the game since they were born.

They also play as if they’ve been teammates for life.

Moore believes much of that goes back to last season.

“They have a year’s worth of experience together on varsity,” Moore said. “That’s worth its weight in gold right there. They have such confidence in each other. They’ve made very smart decisions.”

It’s no coincidence that they both sport 3.9 grade-point averages.

Of the two, Alexander has improved most since last year. Quesnell was an established starter as a sophomore, and Moore planned to return him to the point.

But Alexander raised his play so much that Moore had to start him, even though the move could have created chaos.

“Brason really jacked up his game during the summer,” Quesnell said. “He was constantly in the gym and it shows.

“We’ve both gotten a whole lot better,” he added. “And Brason keeps getting better every game. I swear he has eyes in the back of his head. It’s as if before he penetrates that he’s got it choreographed in his head because all of a sudden, here comes a behind-the-head pass to an open player.”

When Alexander can’t find an open teammate, he usually kicks it back to Quesnell for an uncontested 3-pointer. Quesnell exchanges the favor, too.

The players are close friends.

“I think that shows on the court,” Alexander said. “We look for each other on the break and in the half-court. What’s really surprised me is we’ve come together as a team. Playing time could have been a problem, but everybody knows that we can’t get to where we want to get without sacrificing.”

It hasn’t gone unnoticed either.

“Their improvement really has been immeasurable,” Moore said. “But their scoring is nothing compared to their overall knowledge of the game, their confidence and their leadership. It’s nice when they take charge. The rest of the team feels comfortable with that. It’s an aspect we didn’t have last year.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo