A major Trojan test at Tark tourney

The Post Falls High boys basketball team has had its fair share of challenging opponents in recent years.

Consider this weekend’s trip to the annual Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas at the top of that list.

POST FALLS will open the Tarkanian Classic today against Rancho Christian High of Temecula, Calf., at noon in the Orleans Arena, playing in the Platinum bracket in the four-day tournament.

“This tournament is the most competitive high school tournament in the country,” Post Falls coach Mike McLean said. “It will be a much higher level tournament than we have ever played in, and that includes all the state tournaments we have gone to in Nampa as well. The individual talent as well as the team talent will be amazing to see and compete against. I am sure there will be numerous McDonald’s All-Americans playing in this tournament as well as USA Today nationally ranked teams.”

Rancho Christian is 6-0 this season, and has won five of its six games by over 20 points.

“They will start 6-foot-10, 6-9 and 6-8 in the front court,” McLean said. “They are undefeated and are rolling over teams this far this season. I have not really researched the other teams, other than I recognize their names from ESPN, Sports Illustrated and USA Today. We are going into this tournament to challenge ourselves and compete at the highest level of high school basketball in the country. We have no disillusions, the level of this tournament is amazing. We have never avoided the highest competition we can find over the 11 years I have been here at Post Falls. This is the apex of talent and competition. We will be playing teams that recruit players from all over their areas and obtain players in different ways.”

AFTER TODAY’s opening round at the Orleans Arena, the tournament will finish at Bishop Gorman High.

“Playing in that arena will be a great experience, and allows our guys to play in a large venue,” McLean said of the Arena, which hosts the West Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. “That helps us be more prepared if we qualify for state and play in the Idaho Center, another large arena.”

And Post Falls isn’t quite done with arenas. The Trojans are scheduled to play at the ShoWare Center in Kent in a Martin Luther King Day Showcase in January.

“I attempt to schedule games and tournaments that will benefit us long term, quality of opponents as well as the venue we play in,” McLean said. “Bishop Gorman has put numerous guys into Division I programs, as well as the NBA. Zach Collins played high school there before coming to Gonzaga for one season.”

POST FALLS enters the tournament 2-1 this year, with a win last Friday at Lewis and Clark High of Spokane.

“So far this year, we have learned that being the hunted is much different than being the hunter,” McLean said. “We have had a lot of expectations placed on us from the outside, but really they are not any different than we have put on ourselves. We learned some very valuable lessons against Gonzaga Prep and we are better for it. Careless turnovers and a lack of defensive intensity will get you beat, and beat badly when you are playing against good teams. As a program, we have had a lot of success beating some really good teams over the years. Our current players cannot remember when Post Falls was not really competitive in boys basketball in the 5A Inland Empire League and the state level. To start the season, we are not playing our best. However, we are continuing to work hard every day in practice as individuals and as a team. No excuses, we will get better.”

And that process begins this week, no matter the outcome of the games.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.