THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, March 12, 2016

After watching the Southern teams sweep the Northern teams in the 12th annual North vs. South state high school all-star basketball games at North Idaho College in 2015, NIC athletic director Al Williams wanted to tweak things a little bit.

For the 13th installment, to be played out starting with the girls game at 1 p.m., things have changed — a lot.

THIS YEAR, to balance out the rosters — or at least try — teams will be comprised of players from the metropolitan Boise area against the rest of the state (North Idaho, Lewiston, Pocatello and Twin Falls). The first 12 years, seniors from District 1 and 2 comprised the North team, and the rest of the state played for the South.

“I really wanted to see a more competitive game,” Williams said. “It’s going to be nice to see some of the north and south players together. There’s more schools in the southern region and it seemed like the most logical reason to do it.”

The boys game is scheduled to begin at 3:30, with a slam dunk contest and 3-point competition between the girls and boys will be held in between the games.

The format may change again in the future, with Williams tinkering with the idea of having coaches draft players to teams.

“I think that make things a little more fun for the kids and crowd,” Williams said. “If we could find a way to get the teams picked a little earlier, it might make things a little more fun.”

The South girls won nine of the first 12 games, and the boys won eight of 12.

In addition to bringing some of the top basketball players from the state to NIC for the game, Cardinal coaches have found it as a good recruiting tool, with Clarissa Smith (Lake City High), Kaylee Olson (Challis), Alyssa Case (Mountain View) and Tony Naccarato (Coeur d’Alene) competing for the Cardinals as freshmen this season. Ebony Norman (Meridian), who tore her ACL last season, came to the game last year and signed with NIC in the spring.

“It’s kind of nice to get a chance to see the kids from the south and have our coaches get a chance to see these players and see our campus,” Williams said. “It’s good to get to see them play in this gym.”

THANKS TO NIC’s first trip to the NJCAA men’s basketball tournament since 1997, the Cardinal players won’t be around to help with such activities as judging the slam dunk contest — something they’ve done at each of the first 12 high school all-star games.

“The men’s team will be on campus on Friday so they’ll get a chance to watch workouts and get to meet the kids,” said Williams, noting the Cardinals are scheduled to leave for Hutchinson, Kan., on Saturday morning. “The women’s team will be a little more involved and the coaches are evaluating some kids for the boys team as well.”

Williams will leave Sunday morning for the NIC men’s opener at nationals on Tuesday.

Lewiston’s Dalton Stamper and St. Maries’ Drake Lounsbury will be unable to play in today’s all-star game due to other commitments. Cary Cada of Borah will coach the Metro boys team, replacing Dan Winn of Buhl.

“Cary coached in the first all-star game and he’s excited to come back,” Williams said. “Most of the other players are already here, so I’m expecting two really great games.”

Williams also added that he’s excited to see Mountain View guard Destiny Slocum, who has signed to play at Maryland after leading the Mavericks to back-to-back state 5A championships in 2015 and ’16.

Slocum has also been named a McDonald’s All-American and will play in the annual game on March 30 at 3:30 p.m. PDT at the United Center in Chicago. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

“I mentioned her at the booster club banquet, everyone was nodding their heads about how good of a player she is,” said Williams of Slocum. “She was so good, she was getting votes for this game as a junior.”

He also added that he’s looking forward to watching some of the lower classification players from 1A Division I Lapwai (Tommy Miles-Williams) and Prairie (Jake Bruner) compete against the larger 5A schools.

“Jake has had a good career and played in our holiday tournament last year,” Williams said. “We’ll have a little more interest going to the NWAC next year. We’ll need a lot of these kids to fill out a roster spot. All-Star weekend is always a fun time. It will be the first time (Post Falls senior) Max McCullough gets a chance to try and dunk in a game. It’s going to be a fun. Caleb (Symons of Genesis Prep), I’m looking forward to seeing how he can match up. He was the first one to send his form back. It’s a big deal for the kids to get that chance to come play with the big kids.”

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.

UPDATED ROSTERS

REGION GIRLS — Emily Callahan, Coeur d’Alene; Kaliegh Ranisate, Genesee; Lindsay Cook, Hillcrest; Cierra Dvorak, Lake City; Whitney Meier, Lake City; Whitney Taylor, Lapwai; Shaylee Gilchrist, Minico; AubreAnna Johnson, Post Falls; Madi Schoening, Sandpoint; Payten Rhodes, Timberlake; Jade Skidmore, West Jefferson; Kallee Nickerson, West Jefferson. Alternates: Olivia Maryon, Lake City; Kate Maryon, Lake City. Coach: Bryan Kelly, Lake City.

METRO GIRLS — Gabi Harrington, Bishop Kelly; Issy Hadden, Boise; Dominique Williams, Centennial; Rian Rawlings, Century; Lindy Westendorf, Cole Valley; Zoe Wessels, Council; Jenny Stevens, Eagle; Allison Law, Kuna; Erika Linford, Liberty Charter; Destiny Slocum, Mountain View; Rylee Jensen, Skyline; Abby Allen, Sugar Salem. Alternate: Sierra Schmeckpepper, Council. Coach: Connie Skogrand, Mountain View.

REGION BOYS — Caleb Symons, Genesis Prep; Connor Harding, Highland; Mason Baker, Highland; Tommy Miles-Williams, Lapwai; Josh Crane, Madison; Max McCullough, Post Falls; Zach Hillman, Post Falls; Jake Bruner, Prairie; Austin Smellie, Preston; Davan Norris, Sandpoint; Carlos Collado, Sandpoint; Jakob Lynn, Coeur d’Alene. Coach: Marsell Colbert, Genesis Prep

METRO BOYS — Travis Yenor, Ambrose; DeAndre Jones, Borah; Rylan Bergersen, Borah; Kasey Crossland, Buhl; Hayden Eckert, Buhl; Talon Pickney, Centennial; Ryan Rosengrant, Council; Lucas Orme, Firth; Connor Burkhart, Firth; Jake Johnson, Kuna; Damen Thacker, Mountain View; Brock Rice, Timberline. Alternates: McKay Mangeris, Hillcrest; Justin Wade, Teton. Coach: Cary Cada, Borah