HOOPFEST NOTEBOOK: On the newest Celtic, a reunion and some future names to watch on the court

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

For as rough as some of the games might have been on the streets of downtown Spokane on Saturday, it might have been nothing compared to a driveway in Coeur d’Alene just a few short years ago.

On that pavement was Deon Watson Jr., who after a standout football and basketball career at Coeur d’Alene High went on to star as a receiver at Idaho from 2013-16.

The opposition wasn’t too shabby either.

And apparently, the World Champion Boston Celtics agreed, selecting Anton Watson — Deon’s younger brother — with the 54th pick overall on Thursday in the second round of the NBA Draft.

As for those games in the driveway ...

“Before he got to college, I could get him,” Deon Watson Jr. said. “Now, it’s definitely him. But that’s a testament to the work he’s put in. He’s always been a competitor, and I’ll always be a competitor. But, right now, he’s got the best of me.”

Add in father Deon Watson Sr., a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 9.3 points and 7.3 rebounds a game in 120 games played at Idaho from 1990-94.

“He was getting me 1-on-1 when he was a freshman,” Deon Watson Sr. said. “We had some parent-student game, and it wasn’t even close. He was getting me right after high school.”

As for seeing his son selected …

“It was an awesome feeling,” Deon Watson Sr. said. “I know all the work he’s put in and the sacrifices he’s made. He’s such an unselfish player, so it’s good to see him get some recognition as well.”

THE WATSON family watched the NBA Draft from a hotel suite in Spokane.

“He said, ‘I think I’m going to the Celtics, guys,’ and we just yelled as loud as we could,” Deon Watson Jr said. “Once I saw it on the TV, it kind of settled in that it was real.”

Then, more calls started to come in.

“We talked to (Gonzaga men’s basketball) coach (Mark) Few and John Stockton after it happened, and they were really excited for him,” Deon Watson Sr. said. “The entire community is just excited for him and can’t wait to see what he can do. It still hasn’t sunk in yet, and there’s a lot of work to put in.”

“It’s really fulfilling,” Deon Watson Jr. said. “To see all the hard work that he’s put in, and also the person he is — not just because he’s my brother — but with all the work he’s put in, for him to get that opportunity. I know the work he’s done in the shadows to shine brightly in life.”

These days, Deon Watson Jr. coaches football at Pro Vision Academy in Spokane.

“The Celtics have a great organization and coaching staff,” Deon Watson Sr. said. “They won the championship this year, so that says a lot as well. They play defense and take advantage of mismatches. Anton worked out with them last summer and they see how versatile he is and they’ve talked to him and know what kind of kid he is.”

Anton Watson, who was born at Kootenai Medical Center, played on the Coeur d’Alene Little League baseball team that advanced to a regional final in 2013 alongside Kyle Manzardo, who made his major league debut for the Cleveland Guardians in early May.

“It’s awesome,” Deon Watson Sr. said. “I’ve been following Kyle and they played basketball and baseball together. Those boys had dreams of playing professionally, and they’ve done it. It’s been a lot of hard work and sacrifice, and they’ve earned it.”

Anton attended school in Coeur d'Alene through the eighth grade, before transferring to Gonzaga Prep in Spokane as a freshman. He led the Bullpups to a pair of state titles.

Deon Watson Jr., playing on Goodie Mob with former Post Falls High and Montana State star Marcus Colbert and Shi Blake, a former NIC standout, went 0-2 in the men’s elite division and will play a consolation game today.

“Marcus and I played AAU ball,” Deon Watson Jr. said. “Last year was supposed to be my last year, but when Marcus hit me up, I said I have to. That’s my guy from when we used to play together with Eastern Elite.”

THE GIRLS basketball team at Timberlake High is familiar with chasing state 3A championships, with four titles since 2016.

Key cogs in that run were McKeeley Tonkin (2016, 2017) and Brooke Jessen (2020, 2021). Tonkin was a senior, Jessen a freshman on the 2018 Tigers team.

Tonkin enlisted Jessen, who recently wrapped her playing career at Abilene Christian, as well as former Blue Mountain Community College teammate Jaelyn Brainard (Coeur d'Alene High) and Bonners Ferry High product Jerzie Pluid to chase a Hoopfest title.

“Jaelyn and I met at Blue Mountain in Pendleton, Ore., and I’m really excited to play with her again,” Tonkin said. “My dream is to have all four of our players from the Timberlake state championship teams to come play and have a team.”

Tonkin added that attempts to get Taryn Riley (nee Soumas) and Shelby Starr didn’t work out this year.

“We were trying to get Taryn, but she’s away for the weekend,” Tonkin said. “We were going to have Shelby play, but she just had surgery on her foot. But she played last year.”

Jessen played one season at Texas-Rio Grande Valley before playing the past two years at Abilene Christian and graduating this spring.

“I was able to graduate early,” Jessen said. “I’ve got one more year of eligibility remaining, but I’m not going to take it because I don’t need any more school. I just got my bachelor's in the mail the other day in kinesiology,” Jessen said. “That really made all the long hours and hard work worth it.”

Now, Jessen is back in Spirit Lake, working for Timberline Adventures in Coeur d’Alene.

“I’m just having fun this summer,” Jessen said. “I might try to go to a fire academy soon, and look into being a firefighter or paramedic.”

But, for at least this weekend, Jessen is back playing again.

“McKeeley texted me, and I thought, ‘sure, why not,’” Jessen said. “I hadn’t played in Hoopfest in seven years, so I thought it would be fun. (Timberlake girls basketball) Coach (Matt) Miller didn’t let us play, which is understandable because this game gets a little rough. We reffed a few years ago, but I hadn’t played here in a long time.”

All three — Tonkin, Brainard and Jessen — have college eligibility remaining, but only Tonkin has intentions of returning for the 2024-25 season.

Tonkin has played the past two seasons at NAIA Warner Pacific in Portland, and plans to play a fifth season there this year.

“I’m going to get my master's and just started in June, so it’s my one week off,” she said of playing Hoopfest.

“I went to Multnomah (University) in Portland, but left after the semester,” Brainard said. “It just wasn’t the right place for me. I’ve got two years left and am going to take this year off. But maybe I’ll continue playing next year.”

While at Warner Pacific, Tonkin had the chance this past November to return to Spokane to face the Gonzaga women’s basketball team in an exhibition game.

“That experience alone was a dream because we got to come back to Spokane and I grew up watching them,” Tonkin said. “It was really fun to have some of my hometown friends and teammates come back and watch us in our first game. It was a huge turnout for us too. It was probably one of the biggest highlights of the year for me.”

“I miss it every now and then,” Jessen said of basketball. “I miss my teammates and camaraderie and some of those aspects. I miss loving the game. I’m excited to just have fun this weekend and get back into it.”

The team went 1-1 and will play in the consolation bracket today.

“We’re all competitive, so we really want to win,” Tonkin said. “Most importantly, I think just to have a chance to play with some of my old teammates will be really cool and bring back some memories. I love playing with these guys, and that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”

IT MIGHT be a few years, but the future looks bright for the Sandpoint boys basketball program.

The Sandpoint Hoopers, including Bennett Nieman, Blakely Marshall, Santino Villelli and Gavin Petro, a rising group of seventh grade students from Sandpoint Middle School, went 1-1 on Saturday.

“We played together last year and it was a pretty good experience,” said Nieman, who plays with the group on the Sandpoint Futures AAU boys basketball program. “We had to play on a bridge, so it was kind of annoying. But it was fun.”

This year, the team was front and center on the streets of downtown Spokane.

“We’ve played together for a while, so we know each other really well,” Nieman said. “I really enjoy playing with these guys.”

The Sandpoint Hoopers rallied from four points down to tie the Wild Catz in their opening game, before losing to open the day, then beat Splash Back to advance in the consolation bracket. 

“Basketball is definitely growing in Sandpoint,” Blakely Marshall said. “It’s fun, because it’s a small town. Our 5-on-5 team is pretty good, so we really are enjoying playing as a group.”

“I really like how physical it is,” Marshall said of Hoopfest. “You can really use your body.”

The Futures had four teams from their program in various brackets.

“It’s cool to be a part of something special that we’re building,” Marshall said. “It’s cool to be a part of this AAU team we’ve got coming up.”

MEMBERS OF Lebongbong Elite, a group of rising freshmen at Lake City High, didn’t have to sweat it much in the first game of the day.

Their opponents didn’t show up.

But, the team still advanced to a semifinal game later today with a win later on Saturday.

“We’ve played in a 3-on-3 in Coeur d’Alene and started playing together for the last three years,” Andy Irgens said. “I like the competition and being out in the sun a little bit.”

The group has won their bracket in the past two Hoopfest tournaments.

“I like the enthusiasm of this group,” Irgens said. “Whenever we do something good, we always pop up to support each other.”

“I just like the competition and being in downtown Spokane,” guard Kole Rodda said. “It’s a really good environment to play in. When we get down with our games, we can go shopping and then play another game.”

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Jaelyn Brainard, a Coeur d'Alene High product, looks to cut to the basket for Shawties during a game in the Spokane Hoopfest 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Saturday.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lebongbong Elite team members Brady Green, left, and Andy Irgens, warm up for Saturday's opening round game at the Hoopfest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Spokane.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Sandpoint Hoopers player Bennett Nieman goes up for a shot during an opening round game against Wild Catz at the Hoopfest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Spokane on Saturday.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press McKeeley Tonkin, the former Timberlake standout, drives to the basket for Shawties in an opening round win over Red Flags at Hoopfest on Saturday in Spokane.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Shi Blake, the former North Idaho College star, goes up for a layup for Goodie Mob in an opening round game against TBD on Saturday at Hoopfest in Spokane.