Playing UP

By the time basketball standout Colby Gennett burst upon the scene as a promising freshman at Post Falls High, joining a talented junior-laden group, he was already used to playing with kids older than himself.

After all, growing up in Spokane Valley, Gennett usually “played up” an age group or two in AAU ball.

If that wasn’t enough, there was the constant competition just in his own family, which moved to Post Falls before the start of Colby’s fifth-grade year.

His oldest sister, Hallie, transferred from University High for her senior year, and helped the Trojans win a state 5A title in girls basketball in 2013.

Hallie went on to play at Sacramento State, and finished up at San Jose State.

“There was always a big competition between me and Hallie,” Colby said. “We both always wanted to get each other better. I’ll admit it; she beat me when I was younger, but I think I got her now, so it’s good. Whenever she comes back (to town), we always end up hitting a gym to see who’s better still.”

“She was very competitive, and wasn’t taking it easy on him by any means,” recalled their dad, Jeremy Gennett.

Years ago, Colby played hoops in the culdesac where the family lived in Spokane Valley, often times against the older boys in the neighborhood

“He’s used to playing up, and against older kids,” Jeremy said. “It definitely toughened him up some.”

Colby’s other sister, Abby, who played basketball and soccer at Post Falls, is two years older, and he sometimes practiced with her AAU team as a “extra body.”

COLBY IS 6-foot-4, with hops not often seen in these parts. He is one of 16 “under-the-rader” players nationwide selected for slam dunk contest. The high school seniors are placed in a bracket, and fans go online, watch highlight clips of each person dunking, and vote for the winner in each “matchup.” The winner is invited to participate in an actual slam-dunk contest with other high schoolers as part of the festivities at the the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.

“I don’t know,” he said of where his leaping ability came from. “My dad (who along with his mom, Kerri, graduated from Rogers High in Spokane) tells me every day it wasn’t him.”

“He’s a better athlete than most kids in Idaho,” said Mike McLean, in his 13th season as Post Falls High boys basketball coach. “He’s as athletic as far as getting off the floor, and being able to jump straight up and be athletic, as we’ve ever had. His leaping ability, and his ability to get above the rim is probably about as good as we’ve ever had. He can really get up. He is an elite rebounder from the guard position.”

While he’s athletic enough to get his shots, Gennett’s biggest impact on the Post Falls team is with his defense and rebounding.

Which he doesn’t mind at all.

For that, he credits Vince Grippi, a sports writer and one of his coaches with Eastern Washington Elite, the AAU team he has played with for several years.

“His mindset was ‘Defense, defense, defense’ ... I still think that’s how I play,” Colby said. “I’m still defensive minded. Offense comes and goes, but you can always be better at defense.

“I thank him to this day.”

GENNETT IS Post Falls’ leading scorer, albeit by a slim margin.

“I love creating my own shots,” he said, “but my biggest thing is getting others scoring, and getting the best shot for our team. That’s all that matters, getting the win at the end of the game.”

As a freshman, Colby became a starter on a Trojan squad, led by Jake Pfennigs, that reached the state 5A semifinals each of his first two seasons.

“When he came in as a freshman, we had some pretty talented kids,” McLean said. “He was never forced to have to be the guy that had to always make the big shot. He was capable of making that big shot as a freshman and a sophomore, but he had some other guys that could make the big shot, and Colby did what he needed to to make the plays.”

“I definitely had to earn respect from them. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Colby recalled.

“We had a bunch of upperclassmen who didn’t give him an inch,” McLean said. “He fought hard with them, and never complained, fit right in.”

Colby remembered, even back when he was in seventh and eighth grade, going up against older players at Post Falls, and having to earn their respect.

“They were tough on me; when we were doing our one-on-one drills, they were pushing me, not giving me anything. I couldn’t get a call or anything,” he said. “I just had to accept it because I was the freshman still, so I just took it. Overall, it helped me become tougher and stronger, for sure.”

Fast-forward to the beginning his junior season.

Those juniors he had played with for two seasons had graduated, replaced by an up-and-coming group of talented sophomores.

“Coming in as a freshman, I was a little nervous, but those guys, they made it such an easier transition,” Colby said. “And now here I am, sitting in their position, being the guy others look up to. I try to do some of the (leadership) stuff they did.”

Colby said last season “started out a little rough,” because he’d never played with the sophomore before.

“I kinda (thought) I needed to do more than I needed to,” he said, “but the sophomores came in and they were great, they settled me down a little bit. and let me fit into the role of being the leader.”

THE TURNING point was a early season game at Moses Lake.

“It was a long bus ride over there,” Colby recalled. “I ended up getting in foul trouble right off the bat, but I remember just seeing our sophomore class pick it up. Even though we ended up losing, they still hung in the game. Seeing that, the whole bus ride home I put my headphones in and thought about it. I just realized I could still play my style of basketball and fit in with these sophomores, and just do my thing, instead of doing more than our team needs.”

The Trojans went on to win their third straight 5A IEL title and second straight Region 1 title, and placed third at state, bouncing back from a disappointing loss in the semifinals.

“Last year, maybe he felt like he had to (try to do more), and he did at times early,” McLean said. “After 4-5 games, he realized these sophomores were pretty skilled.”

Earlier in his Trojan career, Colby’s role was more of a lock-down defender, charged with slowing down the other team’s top player.

This year, his role on defense has been more of that of a free safety....

“We allow him to roam,” McLean said. “He’s been fortunate the last couple of years, we’ve had some other good defenders with us, that’s allowed him to be that help side, free safety type, like (former Seahawk) Earl Thomas. Can he guard, and lock someone down? Sure. But he’s at his best when he’s kind of roaming, and has some freedom.”

MOST OF the recruiting interest in Gennett has come from NAIA schools. He has offers from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, and Corban University in Salem, Ore.

Gennett, who wants to go into physical therapy when his playing days are done, said he’s also heard from some Division I and II schools since school started, but has told colleges he wants to wait until his high school season is over before making a decision.

“Too many high school kids worry about the next level, and you need all these stats to get there,” McLean said. “Colby’s going to be fine at the next level. College coaches, they don’t look at box scores. You watch Colby play, obviously he’s not a ball-dominant kid. He plays within a system. He plays well with teammates. He moves the ball — all things that true kids that want to play at the next level can do.”

Gennett is averaging 16.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.9 steals per game this season for Post Falls (16-3, 3-1 5A Inland Empire League), which plays host to Coeur d’Alene tonight at 7.

He averaged around 16 points a game last season, 12 as a sophomore and eight as a freshman.

“He went from one group to another group seamlessly,” McLean said of Gennett being the younger kid as a freshman and sophomore, to being the older kid as a junior. “I think his overall game has gotten better. He’s a better catch and spot-up shooter. He used to be all, get to the rim, because he was so much more athletic than everyone.”

Gennett has become more of a quiet leader.

“I just want to be the best person I could possibily be,” he said. “My parents have pushed me to be the best person, not just player. It just drives me to be the best person — there’s always someone watching.”