THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The benefits of playing tough teams

The Lake City High boys basketball team had hoped to earn an invite to the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational next week, where the Timberwolves could have gone up against Bronny James, and perhaps seen his father sitting courtside.

The Les Schwab, a 32-team tourney slated this year for Jan. 26-30 at Liberty High in Hillsboro, Ore., includes mostly Oregon teams, but also features some elite high school and prep school teams from across the country.

Among those who have played at the Les Schwab in years past include Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, Kyle Singler, Tyson Chandler, Ben Simmons, Aaron Gordon and Kemba Walker.

But when getting into the Les Schwab didn’t work out, Lake City went looking for other tough competition.

The T-Wolves found it at the Curtis Winter Classic in University Place, Wash. — where they drove by Chambers Bay, site of the 2015 U.S. Open, every day on the way to the gym at Curtis High.

They wanted a shot at the tourney hosts, Curtis, which was coming off a state 4A title in Washington last year, and they got it, pulling away in the fourth quarter for an impressive 77-65 victory in the championship game.

“It was more than physical,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said of the tournament. “It was big-boy basketball. This whole tournament, they let you play.”

IN ADDITION to noting the play of senior guard Kolton Mitchell, the tournament MVP, and senior center Blake Buchanan, an all-tournament selection, Winger also had praise for others, including senior wing Deacon Kiesbuy and senior forward Nathan Hocking.

“Deacon had a great tournament; he was ready to roll, he made some gorgeous passes this weekend,” Winger said. “And Nathan, too … he’s such an athlete. He was our defensive stopper, he and Zach (Johnson).”

“This (tournament) was so good for us, Winger added.

Curtis, led by junior point guard Zoom Diallo (offers from Gonzaga, Arizona and UCLA, among others), was ranked No. 40 nationally by MaxPreps last week.

Owyhee, which lost to Lake City 80-60 on Dec. 10 at North Idaho College, was ranked 83rd by MaxPreps in its top 100 preseason rankings two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Coeur d’Alene, playing at the Jerry Tarkanian Classic, is off to a strong start as well, showing a combination of depth and high scoring, a rugged inside game to go along with the Vikings’ perimeter threats.

“I feel like we’re placed pretty good, as far as the right bracket,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Adams, whose Vikings are in the third-best bracket in the tourney. “All these teams play fast-paced; it is good for us. They play full-court, play very physical, and are on top of you. We had done well (earlier in the season), but we need to get put under some duress, and some pressure.”

If you’re looking ahead — past the snow, and the cold — the first scheduled meeting between Coeur d’Alene and Lake City is Friday, Jan. 13, in the Fight for the Fish spirit game at Coeur d’Alene High.

POST FALLS, which also played at the Curtis Winter Classic, going 1-2, found another weapon in 6-foot-2 freshman Connor Carver.

Carver, brought up from the Trojans’ junior varsity last week, started all three games at the Curtis, hitting three 3-pointers in Post Falls’ last game of the tourney, a win over Kamiak of Mukilteo, Wash.

Post Falls coach Mike McLean said he planned to bring Carver up to the varsity at some point in the season.

That point became after Carver scored 41 points in a JV game.

“We were struggling to score,” said McLean, whose team is now 1-7. “Connor can shoot the 3, but he can also score around the basket. He’s a long-bodied, athletic type.”

He also helped fill the void left by junior forward Cooper Craig, who was attending a football showcase in Florida last week.

Craig is expected back this week, as Post Falls returns to action tonight at Ferris.

The addition of Carver, and the return from injury by junior Alex Shields, has given Post Falls two more perimeter threats to go along with junior sharpshooter Neil McCarthy, and junior Tyras Blake.

McCarthey hit eight 3-pointers and scored 41 points in Post Falls’ final two tourney games. Blake had 28 points in the Trojans’ last two tourney games.

“It’s hard to cheat on one guy,” McLean said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.