THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Lakeside's run, and what the future holds for the Knight boys

Coach James Twoteeth chatted with a reporter as he watched his Lakeside Knights pose for pictures with the third-place trophy, soaking up every last minute they could before loading onto the bus for the long ride home from the state 1A Division I boys basketball tournament at Vallivue High in Caldwell.

It had been quite the four-year run for the Knights, with three of the five seniors — Jayson "JJ" Hall, Kenyon Spotted Horse and Darren "Day Day" Higgins — starting as freshmen. The run culminated with a state 1A Division II title last season, and then nearly another title this year after moving up one classification.

"And even before that," Twoteeth recalled. "I was their middle school coach, seventh grade all the way up to their senior year. It’s going to be different, without them. It’s been an awesome ride; they’re great kids, they work together. This year, I wish it would have been back-to-back, but third place isn’t bad either."

THE FIRST two years, Lakeside couldn't get past the juggernaut that was Genesis Prep. In 2018, the Knights lost to the Jaguars for the district title, and Genesis Prep went on to win its second straight state title. In 2019, Lakeside gave the Jaguars a pretty good fight before falling in the district title game. The next week, Genesis Prep's bid for a three-peat came up short with a third-place finish at state.

Last year, Lakeside finally broke through, beating Genesis Prep in the district title game, then rolling to a state title to complete a 24-0 season that the Plummer-Worley community saw coming.

"Everybody in the community always said it," said Twoteeth, who played on Lakeside's other state title team, an A-4 champion in 1997. "In seventh grade, I think we were undefeated. We kinda knew this is the next group coming up."

Twoteeth, whose son Talon was a standout senior guard on last year's state title team, said he'll miss this senior class — which also included Jasper Abuan and Christopher Matt.

"There’s just a group of them, and it was the same thing when I came up, there was like a group of 10 of us," James Twoteeth said. "That’s kinda the blueprint — you have to get five or six or seven to play together when they’re little, then as they progress, and they have the same coach … I think that’s what helped — they’ve had me through this whole thing. More structure; they knew what to expect. I’m going to miss them, and that’ll play into whether I come back."

Twoteeth was Lakeside's seventh head coach in seven seasons when he took over the varsity program in 2017. The Knights are 66-22 in four seasons under him.

"He has so much confidence in us," Hall said of his coach. "In the huddle he always asks, what do you guys want to do on defense? What should we do here? He’s always asking us, so we have to be leaders and step up and actually pay attention to the game, know what’s going on."

"He’s definitely a smart defensive coach," sophomore guard Vander Brown said. "Most of our basketball is done off the defensive side. Of our two-hour practices, an hour and 30 of it is defensive drills, and defensive slides ... So he’s definitely a good defensive coach."

This year's squad included three freshmen, and three more were on the roster at state.

So could that be the next group at Lakeside?

"Might be back here (at state) in a couple of years — one or two," Twoteeth said.

MOMENTS LATER, in a long hallway outside their locker room at Vallivue High, two of those seniors — Hall and Spotted Horse (Higgins missed the postseason with a knee injury) — and Brown, the spunky guard, reflected on the Knights' run.

"It means a lot," said Hall, who also plays football and runs track for Lakeside. "Last year, my junior year, undefeated, 24-0. This year, we struggled here and there, played some really great competition, but just came up short (at state).

"I’m going to miss JJ and Kenyon," said Brown, who played a key role at guard the past two years. "JJ, he brings everything; he’s the best 6-3 senior in the whole state of Idaho. He can shoot, he can rebound, he can play defense; he can do it all.

"Right here," Brown continued, looking at Spotted Horse, "we've got the best 6-2, 6-1 point guard in the whole state of Idaho standing here right next to me. He can do everything. He can shoot the ball, he can pass the ball, he can score really well."

There were no juniors on this year's team, so Brown, the youngster who could do his thing the last couple of years, will be the veteran next season, joined by that group of freshmen and whoever else emerges.

"He’ll be a leader next year," Spotted Horse said of Brown.

"He’s averaging 30 next year for sure," Hall added.

Spotted Horse, the state Player of the Year in his division as a junior last year, hopes to play in college. He can play point guard, play off the ball, and was one of Lakeside's top rebounders as well.

In interviews, he's soft-spoken, and keeps his comments brief.

"When you actually get to know him, he talks so much," Hall said of Spotted Horse.

"They say the quiet ones are the killers," Brown added.

"He lets his game talk the trash, for sure," Hall said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.