THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, December 12, 2015
There’s plenty of things you can attribute to a team’s success and failures in a given season.
Injuries, players with their own agendas or just having a bad night are a few things that can steamroll a season in a hurry.
Getting along as a group, talent and a strong lineup can also cause those expectations to rise just as fast.
ENTERING THE Scenic West Athletic Conference with an unbeaten record is one thing for the North Idaho College men’s basketball team. Playing with a team-first mentality is another.
Having two players — Braian Angola-Rodas (25.7 points per game) and BJ Blake (19.7 ppg) — with the ability to score has definitely helped as well.
“I’ve known him for the last four months,” Angola-Rodas said of Blake. “He’s a really, really nice guy and my brother out there on the court. When he’s having a down night, I try to pick him up on the court. When I’m down, he’ll pick me up. We’re always talking to each other to see how each other is doing, whether it’s school or about anything. When he’s having a good night, I’ll get him the ball and I know he’ll get me the ball if I’m having a good night.”
Both sophomores on a team with seven freshmen, they know it’s up to them to lead by example — both on and off the court.
“We’ve got to keep our relationship going really well,” Angola-Rodas said. “When things are going bad, and we’re losing, we’ve got to be the guys to get things going. We’ll see what kind of team we really are. It really takes all the guys buying into the team and coming together to believe in what we’re doing. If we get behind, someone has to step up, and we’re on the bench telling them ‘Yeah bro, you can do it.’”
Even coaches from outside the area have noticed, albeit in a short time, just how close this NIC team really is.
“The Florida International coach flew out to watch our game on Tuesday (against Columbia Basin) and told me that they truly care about each other,” NIC men’s basketball coach Corey Symons said. “And that’s really helped a lot of our guys.”
SOMETIMES THINGS just don’t go your way, however.
In its North Star League girls basketball on Thursday night, the Kootenai Warriors came up short in a 45-25 loss to the visiting Lakeside Knights.
The Warriors scored eight points in the second half after trailing 19-17 at the half. The key stat from that game was the Warriors shooting 2 of 25 from the field in the second half.
“It was the difference in the game,” Kootenai Mike LaFountaine said. “Lakeside’s a good team, but we’ve got to shoot the ball better than that.”
Meanwhile on the road in Spangle, Wash., the North Idaho Christian girls basketball team fell victim to a 43-21 nonleague loss to Upper Columbia Academy.
North Idaho Christian was called for 28 fouls, to Upper Columbia’s eight in the game.
It’s still early, with teams still trying to get back into a rhythm after losing a week of practice due to power outages and weather issues, followed by the Thanksgiving holiday.
Still plenty of time to turn things around.
Or just continue the roll they’ve been on.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.