THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Introducing a national high school basketball program in Liberty Lake — with a local twist
No doubt you’ve heard of boys basketball powerhouse prep schools like IMG Academy, Montverde Academy and Oak Hill Academy.
Well, one of those national level high school boys basketball programs is starting up right in our backyard.
And a former Coeur d’Alene High coach and ex-Viking is in charge.
Liberty Launch Academy Preparatory School, a three-year-old grade K-12 private school in Liberty Lake, is launching a high school boys basketball program this coming school year — with two of the three teams playing at the national prep school level.
Jon Adams, who coached the Coeur d’Alene High boys for the past five seasons, is the overall head coach of the three-team Liberty Launch Academy boys basketball program — and he’ll be the head coach of the Warriors’ top team, the national team.
There will also be a junior national team, which will also play in national level prep tournaments, and a high school team which will compete in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, at a classification level to be determined.
“The timing is so fantastic,” said Adams, 52, who was fired as Viking coach in January during a turbulent season, one season after leading Coeur d’Alene to the state semifinals for the first time in more than a decade.
Shortly after that, he heard from a staffer at Liberty Launch Academy whose son had been in Adams’ program at Coeur d’Alene as a freshman.
The school was starting to dabble in athletics — the Warriors had a wrestling team this past winter — and was looking to make a splash by starting a national level boys basketball program.
Adams was asked if he was interested in coaching.
“Heck, yeah,” he replied.
“Coaching high school for so many years, there is a model,” Adams said. “I have certain ambitions and certain missions, and there are certain limitations within the high school world. That was the big draw when I met with Luke (Kjar; founder and executive director of the school) and Scott (Reed; director of basketball operations) and told them my ambitions and they said, we have the same ambitions. So our ambitions and visions for building a program were very well aligned.
“But I also knew the prep model was becoming another level between high school basketball and college basketball, where you can recruit the kids that you want,” Adams added. “You’re recruiting the best of the best ... the most talented, the most motivated, committed, and the most high-character kids. You really are getting those kids who are the highest echelon of players, that you’re preparing them for the next level.
“I coached at the college level many years ago, and there’s an attractiveness to that level ... knowing you’re working with the best of the best.”
FOR BASKETBALL, Liberty Launch Academy is recruiting nationally and internationally for players, particularly for the two national-level teams, though local players will also be considered.
The national teams will play in showcase tournaments throughout the season which attracted college coaches, hoping to earn an invitation to the national prep school championships in March.
Players will stay in a 32,000-square-foot house Kjar is renovating in Liberty Lake, where they will have access to chefs and the like.
Each of the three teams will consist of 8-10 players each, and Adams said players can move from team to team throughout the season.
Players (and their families) will handle most costs of attending, though Adams said scholarships are available.
“It is a new concept to this area, and it’s probably a well-overdue concept to this area,” Adams said. “It’s such a basketball-crazed area.”
As for players, “we’re looking locally, we’re looking nationally, and we’re looking internationally,” Adams said.
As for the potential threat to local high schools, taking some of the top players in the area, Adams said “some people may look at it that way, but we really are looking much broader across the country and internationally for players.”
Unlike some prep schools where learning is done online, players at Liberty Launch will attend in-person at the school campus in Liberty Lake.
According to the school website, “At Liberty Launch Academy we are committed to innovation in education, empowering teachers to integrate academics into hands-on projects so your kids can feel safe & fall back in love with learning.”
The school building is also part office building, where students can study upstairs, then go downstairs and interact with, say, an architect.
Adams said Kjar, who was a wrestler growing up, started the school to showcase a different type of educational model. But his vision was always to add sports.
PREP SCHOOLS on the west coast are few and far between.
California has some, and Portland and Seattle each have one. Most prep schools are on the East Coast (IMG Academy is in Bradenton, Fla., Monteverde Academy is in Montverde, Fla., and Oak Hill Academy is in Mouth of Wilson, Va.)
In Utah, there are two prep schools gaining notoriety in recent years — Utah Prep, based in Hurricane, Utah; and Wasatch Academy, in Mount Pleasant, Utah.
Jackson Rasmussen, who helped Owyhee High of Meridian win the Idaho state 5A championship in 2024, played his final season at Utah Prep this past season. So did AJ Dybantsa, a 6-9 wing from Brockton, Mass., considered the nation’s top high school recruit. He has signed with BYU. Rasmussen has signed with Idaho.
Isiah Harwell, who initially attended Century High in Pocatello, transferred to Wasatch Academy prior to his sophomore year in 2022. He has signed with Houston.
Adams said the Liberty Launch folks have worked with the people at Utah Prep during Liberty’s transformation from a small school to a national boys basketball program, picking their brains and asking for advice.
“They came up and evaluated what our offering was — the facilities, the amenities, the resources, the boarding, the location," Adams said. “They had been talking about how much of a need there was for a prep school like this in our area. They said, looking at what you guys are offering (academic model, and amenities), nobody’s going to be able to compare to this. They said only IMG was the only other prep school in the country they said had a similar offering.”
Adams said Liberty Launch will feature all the resources for strength training, dieticians, full medical staff, physical therapy, etc.
He said the school is breaking ground on a 250,000-square-foot sports facility on campus that will house indoor football, indoor soccer, four basketball and volleyball courts, wrestling, jiu jitsu, etc., expected to be completed by summer of 2026.
In the meantime, Adams said the basketball teams will practice at area facilities, including the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake, and the two national-level prep teams will travel to tournaments around the country this next season. Once the on-campus facility is built, Adams said Liberty Launch can host some national-level prep tournaments.
Adams is in the process of hiring other coaches and support staff for the program.
EVEN THOUGH they’ve only been at this a couple of months, Adams said word has spread quickly, and “we already have kids signed up” to play next season.
Adams noted while some prep schools take “fifth-year” players, Liberty Launch Academy plans to limit its teams to players using the normal four years of high school eligibility.
And while some teams (prep and AAU) focus on individual exposure — often at the expense of team play — Adams hopes to strike a balance between developing teams and creating exposure opportunities for his players.
In addition to the unique educational opportunities offered by the school, he said.
Liberty Launch Academy currently has an enrollment of roughly 180 students in grades K-12, and there is room in the current school for up to 900 students.
Adams graduated from Coeur d’Alene High in 1991, where he played for Donny Haynes. He had a coaching record of 67-37 with his alma mater.
In 2023-24, the Vikings finished 21-5, won their first league title since 2016, won their first outright league crown since 2014, won their first regional title since 2011 and advanced to state for the first time since 2012.
“The vision and ambition for this school are aligned with what I was hoping that I would have at CHS,” Adams said, “and I just don’t think they aligned with my ambitions and vision for our program.”
WHEN PLAYERS will start to show up at Liberty Launch Academy depends partly on when what they call the “Big House” is ready. But Adams is hopeful he can have one or two Warriors teams ready to play in his fifth annual Coeur d’Alene Summer Shootout basketball tournament, which this year will be played at Post Falls High and surrounding schools, and scheduled for June 20-22.
Adams said Liberty Launch Academy is looking to eventually add other sports. But for now, he said Kjar is hoping having basketball teams that compete nationally will bring notoriety to the school.
“It fits perfect with me, and what I want to accomplish,” Adams said. “It’s interesting how when one door closes, another one opens ... the timing of this is almost perfect. I feel fortunate, how things have transpired now ... this is a great opportunity.”
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.
