Getting the most out of the group

Often times, teams have a moment that defines their season.

Whether it be a particular road trip, close game, winning a game that they probably shouldn’t have, it happens.

Other times, it’s all about the strength in numbers.

FANS HAVE been witness to this in recent years, whether it be on the football field, or a basketball court in the area.

In 2017, Post Falls came close to winning a state 5A girls basketball title. It didn’t but the lesson the Trojans learned from an overtime loss to Eagle in a semifinal game paid off last February when they knocked the Mustangs off for the state title at the Ford Idaho Center.

Having a lot of returning players, who also showed they could be pretty good in the Tarkanian Classic last December in Las Vegas, really helped as well.

The same could be said for any of those state championships — 2010, 2011 and 2013 — that Coeur d’Alene has won in football in the last 10 years. The Vikings also appeared in the championship game in 2012 against Madison (at Holt Arena in Pocatello) and again last November against Highland, but finished runner-up, also at Holt Arena.

At times, they almost make it look way too easy on most Friday nights. Take nothing away from those opponents on those nights, but there’s a reason why there has been more than a few of those Viking athletes that have played at the college level.

During the 2015-16 men’s basketball season, North Idaho College finished the regular season at 30-0, with more than just a few Division I prospects.

BJ Blake (who went on to play at Idaho), Braian Angola-Rodas (Florida State), Kyle Guice (Illinois-Chicago), Trey Burch-Manning (South Dakota), Sam Dowd (Idaho State) and Lucas Antunez (Toledo) all continued at the top level off that team that qualified for the NJCAA tournament that year. Both Blake and Angola-Rodas spent time in the NBA Summer League, and Angola-Rodas is playing for the G-League (rookie league) Lakeland Magic.

FOR ALL the hype around the Gonzaga men’s basketball team this season, and it’s well deserved it seems, keep in mind the Bulldogs are still without Killian Tillie for a few more weeks at least.

It should be interesting next week when the Zags take their show on the road for the Maui Invitational.

There’s also some hype around Duke — a team that could be on a collision course with Gonzaga in the title game — and its star freshman Zion Williamson.

In recent matchups, Duke has beaten Gonzaga, and will be expected to do so again next week, should it happen.

It’s not the end of the road for Gonzaga should the Zags slip up, whether it be next week or anywhere else along the nonconference schedule.

If nothing else, it should help build confidence in some reserves for what should be a deep tournament run.

Building strength in their numbers — now where have I heard that before?

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 jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.