‘Small’ forward rises above
Lakeside’s Mike Sifford is on a mission.
Playing forward at just 5-foot-8, he’d have to be.
But what the Knights’ leading scorer – averaging a hot 21-plus this year – lacks in size, he makes up for in spirit.
Sifford said spirit is what drives undefeated Lakeside, the defending North Star League champion.
“We felt it a little bit last year, but we really started clicking this year,” he said. “We’re looking like we’ve played together all our lives.”
Funny thing is, they have.
“Our five starters have been playing together since we were in third grade,” said Sifford, who led the Knights to a fourth-place finish at state last season. “So we know each other like the back of our hands.
“We’re a fast-paced team, and it all comes to us; when we get it flowing, it’s pretty much over after that.
“We’ve had a couple of close calls,” said Sifford, who watched Post Falls Christian put up a 34-spot in the second quarter last week before his team equaled that number in the third quarter. “And I don’t want to be big-headed or anything, but if we’re at the top of our game, I don’t think there’s a team that can beat us.”
Opponents have some hurdles to clear when they take the court against the 6-0 Knights.
One of those hurdles may not appear imposing.
“I’m one of the shortest kids on the team, but I’m down there with the big boys, and I kind of made it a goal for myself this year.” Sifford said. “I wanted to be a horse this year – we call ‘em horses on our team.”
Lakeside coach Stacey Sonder, who’s mentored the Knights’ core group since the third grade, is betting on this particular horse.
“Mike is just a great guy and a quality person,” Sonder said. “He just plays good, hard-nosed basketball and takes it to anybody. Size doesn’t mean anything to him.”
Just how far they can go remains to be seen, but the Knights’ success in 2004-05 hasn’t been lost on the Plummer-Worley area.
This season, Lakeside – and its fans – are single(triple?)-minded.
“We’ve got three goals,” Sifford said. “We want to start off with taking the league title, and none of us have ever cut down the district nets, so that’s something we want to do.
“The third goal is something I don’t want to talk about just yet, but it’s something that every team in the state wants more than anything.”