Mt. Spokane girls basketball coach Pratt takes over at Lake City

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

Lake City High’s new girls basketball coach has some past experience with the Timberwolves, having coached against them in high school and summer ball during the past eight seasons as head girls basketball coach at Mt. Spokane High.

David Pratt, 51, takes over for James Anderson, who resigned last month after six seasons to take over the Lake City boys basketball program.

“I’m getting into a winning situation, I know that,” Pratt said. “I like that a lot, I’m excited about that. I think there’s some good tradition and history at Lake City, especially in girls basketball, and to come in and be a part of that is exciting.”

"We are excited to welcome David to the Timberwolf family,” Lake City athletic director Troy Anderson said. “He brings not only a proven resume, but a hard work ethic and relationship-building qualities that fit what we were looking for."

Lake City returns most of last year’s 19-6 squad, including some players who are being heavily recruited.

Pratt said that appeal was “a bonus,” but mostly, “I think my philosophy and style fit really well with theirs.”

His philosophy and style?

“To win, to coach to win, to encourage kids to play hard all the time,” Pratt said. “They (Lake City) embrace winning. They think it’s important, I think it’s important. And that was a good deciding factor for me, and them.”

Pratt coached Mt. Spokane from 2015-23. He took the Wildcats to state each of his first five seasons, with one state 3A runner-up finish (2019), and two fourth-place finishes (2016 and ‘20). In ‘19, Mt. Spokane lost by two points to Prairie in the state title game.

“I’m pretty active — animated, if you like,” Pratt said. “I coach hard, and I expect players to play hard.”

After this past season, where the Wildcats went 12-11, “admin wanted to go in a different direction,” Pratt said, so he resigned.

“There were so many people (from the Greater Spokane League) that spoke out on his behalf — ‘Man, if you get this guy, he’s really, really good at building a program,’” Anderson said.

Pratt, from Los Angeles, played basketball at NAIA Corban University in Salem, Ore., moved to the Spokane area in 1997, and has been coaching the past 26 years.

He started off as an assistant at Northwest Christian in Colbert, then was a girls assistant at Mead for four years. After finishing his teaching degree, he spent a year at Kennewick, working with the girls basketball team.

Pratt then was head boys basketball coach at Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., leading the Eagles to the state 1A tournament four times in six seasons.

He then assisted the Mt. Spokane boys for two years and the Whitworth women for two seasons before becoming head girls coach at Mt. Spokane.

Pratt said he hopes to meet with his new players soon, and work with them over the summer.

“I’m just excited, really looking forward to joining that community, and being a part of the school and getting after it,” Pratt said.