Boys teams balanced; Pullman girls favored

Great Northern League basketball teams don’t get into the meat of their seasons until after the start of the new year. This month of non-league competition prepares them for the grinder that has become synonymous with their conference.

The recently completed football season was an example. Six teams scrambled for playoff spots up to the final week of the season.

In boys basketball last year, four strong teams battled for three state spots. Ultimately, the league’s co-third-place finishers wound up in Tacoma, leaving the regular-season league champion at home.

West Valley beat Pullman in a district semifinal game and Cheney knocked off Pullman (13-1 in league) for the GNL’s third state spot. WV, Cheney and Clarkston advanced to state.

Cheney’s Blackhawks wound up placing seventh in the 2A tournament, the highest finisher among the three state qualifiers.

Expect more of the same this year, and because only two teams qualify for state, there’s even less margin for error.

“The scenario wouldn’t have even existed for us to get in (the state tournament),” if last year had been this year, Cheney coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “All year long we went against some of the strongest teams in state (within the league) and we benefited.”

Five veterans return for Cheney, including junior DeAngelo Jones. The Blackhawks must get contributions from new faces.

“I was really happy with the progress he made as a sophomore,” Fitzgerald said of Jones. “He started every game for us and really got better as the year went on. He had a great district and state tournament.”

Jones and his graduated brother Griffon were the Blackhawks’ scoring leaders. They’ll miss Griffon’s size and nearly 18 points a game.

But with DeAngelo, a 6-foot-3 athlete, and 6-5 Daniel Igbinoba, who worked his way into the lineup as the season progressed, the Blackhawks have enviable size.

“Daniel swung for us until the middle of the year,” Fitzgerald said. “He had a huge state tournament. Instead of the other tall kid on the floor, he’s the tall kid. We need him to be a force.”

Third-year point guard Mike Sprenger runs the show.

“He needs to keep things under control for us and be a defensive presence,” Fitzgerald said.

Pullman, with three starters and six lettermen back, has unfinished business.

West Valley, led by the league’s top returning scorer, Jordan Lupfer-Graham, is another likely challenger, but other teams will have a say.

“It depends on who wins on the road and who holds court at home,” WV coach Jamie Nilles said.

Girls coaches don’t expect any first-place suspense in their league. Pullman, which rolled unbeaten through league last year on its way to a fourth-place State 2A finish, is the clear favorite.

The Greyhounds are an enviable mix of depth and size.

“Everyone on Pullman is an impact player,” Colville coach Don Teeguarden said.

West Valley, league runner-up last year, will rely more on sophomores making the race for second interesting.