THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Through a host of connections, the biggest one that Brayon (BJ) Blake might have made have started with his former AAU basketball coach.

Or maybe it was a former North Idaho College assistant basketball coach that noticed him playing on the courts in Ellensburg, Wash.

Regardless of where it started, it has worked out well for all parties involved, with NIC out to a 4-0 start on the season and Blake averaging 21 points and five rebounds a game thus far.

BLAKE PLAYED last season at Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz., and when he decided to transfer after one season, saying he didn’t like the area down there, he wound up taking a visit to Coeur d’Alene and the campus at NIC.

“He’s a Seattle kid, and we’ve got a lot of connections in the Seattle area,” NIC coach Corey Symons said. “His high school coach at Garfield High, Ed Haskins and I played together a little bit out of high school, but we really didn’t need his spot last year. He ended up going to Cochise and ended up in Ellensburg playing during the spring with some buddies. Jared Johnson (who was an assistant at NIC for the 2012-13 season) called me and said he was just hanging around. I talked with Ed and got him out here on a visit and it ended up being a really good signing for us.”

George Swanson, who is in his second year as an assistant coach at NIC, coached Blake at the AAU level.

“I was very close with George growing up in Seattle,” Blake said. “I decided to transfer from Cochise and they gave me a chance to come here and better my academics, as well as my basketball abilities. I was just playing basketball with the team at Central Washington and making sure I was ready to go for the season. George called me out of the blue and we really hit it off after that.”

Blake, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Garfield High in Seattle, enrolled in summer classes to get his academics caught up before the start of the season.

“When we got him to come here, he enrolled in summer school to get back on track,” Symons said. “And he’s the life of the party now. Everyone knows when BJ is in the room. We’ve been preaching to him that he’s going to be a leader, no matter if he wants to or not. All of the guys on the team follow him and he needs to make sure he learns to be a good leader. And that’s been good for him over the last couple of months. He’s learning how to be a great leader and taking care of business on the court and playing hard. And that’s the big thing is that he plays his tail off on both ends of the floor. When he gets the need to challenge someone at practice, they respect him because he works his butt off.”

BLAKE SIGNED a letter of intent Tuesday to continue his playing career at the University of Idaho next year.

“Idaho came into the gym, and since then, coach (Don) Verlin, (assistant Kirk) Earlywine and I have been talking and really hit it off,” Blake said. “We sat down and gave me a blueprint of what they want me to do next year, and I really like it.”

“When I came out of high school, North Idaho wasn’t on my radar that much,” Blake said. “Not because of me not picking here, but what was happening during my high school career. And I was going to (come to NIC) out of high school, but he (Haskins) wanted me to go to Cochise to experience that and grow a little bit as a person.”

“Idaho came up a couple of times during the preseason and they really liked him,” Symons said. “They just started recruiting him and he’s got some friends at Idaho. He hit it off with the team and staff on his visit. Academically, it’s a good fit for him, as well as basketball wise.”

The culture of Moscow didn’t hurt either.

“One thing is that Moscow is very family orientated,” Blake said. “It’s a big family down there already. I like to be outgoing and like to talk to people and really vibe with them. I just loved it there on my visit and the culture in North Idaho. I can stay closer to Corey, George and Michael Hale (a former Cardinal who is a first-year assistant coach at NIC). I’ll be able to help and come back here. I just feel like I’ve made so many connections since I got here. Now, I just don’t want to leave it.”

Blake attended Federal Way High, where Hale graduated from, and played with Hale’s brother Marcel as a junior in 2011-12.

“Mike’s a legend there,” Blake said. “I’ve always considered him an older brother and used to work out with him and Isiah Umipig (who played collegiately at Seattle University and is currently playing overseas). I always worked out with those guys, and learned a lot from Mike. And now that he’s here, it’s crazy. I’ve learned a lot from him.”

Blake transferred to Garfield for his senior year.

HIS TIME at NIC has worked out well thus far, with a season-high of 28 points in the Cardinals’ opener against Sheridan College on Nov. 6.

“I’ve enjoyed the team chemistry,” Blake said. “Everyone says that, but I really enjoy it. I’ve been through a lot in my years of playing basketball, winning a regional title at Cochise last year. Seeing these guys coming together with that same goal is really cool, and being able to help the coach and players to get better, I’m excited for that. I just really like the guys on this team. Kyle (Guice) getting an offer from Texas State the other day, I just love to see that. We’ve got a special group of guys here.”

“He’s had to adapt to our coaching style a little bit,” Symons said. “If I’m screaming and yelling at them, then we’ve got program. We tell our team that each kid is different and understand as coach, fair doesn’t mean equal, and equal doesn’t mean fair. We’ve got to coach BJ a little differently, and he’s a fireball. When we want to get on him, we do more of a 1-on-1 thing. He’s taken a likening to the team and said that the best thing for him was going to Cochise, because now he knows how good he has it here.”

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.