LIKE COACHES, PREDICTIONS NOT PERFECT

With the girls basketball season over, it's time to look back. And perhaps ahead.

Among several things we'll evaluate are my preseason predictions and how the coaches coached. I'll also list my all-league picks and take an early peek in the crystal roundball at next year.

Whether I'm right or wrong, just remember this: It doesn't matter. I've got the pen - or, with today's state-of-the-art advancements, I've got the cyber keystrokes.

Predictions

Yes, I picked Sandpoint to finish third behind Lake City and Lewiston in the Inland Empire League. I was wrong, very wrong.

Sandpoint captured the league title, but fell to Lake City in the Region I championship game.

I picked Post Falls last. Wrong again. After watching the state tournament last week, I'm convinced Post Falls and Lewiston were better than at least two and maybe three of the eight qualifiers.

Speaking of state, the tourney could be replayed four times and there'd likely be four different winners. There wasn't much discernible difference between Sandpoint, Lake City, Borah and Centennial.

Here's my unofficial State A-1 tourney team: Alli Nieman of Sandpoint, the most valuable player; Lindsay Herbert of Lake City; Staci Kirk and Barrie Jensen of Centennial; and Alyson Pincock of Borah.

Coaching grades

Duane Ward of Sandpoint and Sally Greene of Moscow earned the lone A's on my report card.

Ward did two especially noticeable things to earn his high mark - he built confidence in his guards, Becky Timblin and Jenna Verby, and his team played tough man-to-man defense all season.

The defense was particularly impressive in the final two games at state, when all five starters played the whole game.

The Bulldogs' biggest question mark going into the season was at guard. The guards ended up being the most improved players on the team.

Greene can coach against anybody in the state. Four state titles in five years. And this year's championship is the most impressive as the Bears did it without a player even close to the talents of former Moscow standout Heather Owen.

Give LC rookie coach Dave Stockwell a B-minus. He did a fine job, but there's room for improvement. In one more year, he'll have a little more distance between him and the man every coach in the area will be compared to - Dave Fealko.

This isn't meant to be critical, but LC would have had a few more wins under Fealko. The good news? Stockwell will be at LC long enough to establish accomplishments that will stand on their own.

Post Falls' Chris Johnson had a much better season in his second year. He earns a B-minus, too. Sure, he had the multi-talented Heidi Umthun, but he was able to get the rest of the team to believe it could play and support Umthun.

The rebuilding process continues at Coeur d'Alene. We didn't see much improvement from Sheila Sharp's first season to second campaign - at least not in wins. And it's hard to get excited about victories over poor A-2 Intermountain League teams. Give Sharp a C-minus. If given time, she'll turn things around, because we're convinced she can coach. The question is, how long will administrators be able to keep the disgruntled parents and boosters at bay?

What does next year look like? I'll harken back to my predictions this season. Lake City and Lewiston will be the top teams, in that order.

My all-league teams

My all-IEL team: Nieman, Umthun, Herbert, Tanya Allmaras of Sandpoint and Sara McEachern of Lewiston. MVP? Need you ask - although Umthun put up a good charge.

Rookie of the year is McEachern, a 6-foot junior post. She has a ton of potential and should be recruited heavily next year. Coach of the year is Ward, hands down.

My all-IML team: Amy Lemm, Jenny Moslemi and Angie Sorbel of Moscow, Denelle Ripatti of Bonners Ferry and Sara Suchocki of Priest River.

MVP is Lemm, who impressed folks at state with her court savvy, especially in the title game. Rookie of the year? Krissi Ruiz of Priest River.

Coach of the year? No contest, Greene.

There's no doubt that comparatively speaking, the Whitepine League and North Star League are worlds apart. The WPL continues to produce state champions.

But congratulations to Lakeside of the NSL. The Knights took third, an accomplishment at any level.

Copyright 1996 Cowles Publishing Company
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