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Nezperce High School
School Info
Conference: 1AD2 Whitepine League
Classification: 1A D2
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Head Coach: Dave Snodgrass
Years as Head Coach: 6th season
Previous Experience: 16 years at Highland, 7 at Clearwater Valley, 7 at Prairie, 36th year overall
Record Last Year: 19-4
Assistant Coaches:
Drew Leitch
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Photo By: Patty Theurer - #12 Arika Arnzen |
Team Preview
"Find A Way," as former Idaho State Bengal and current ESPN NFL analyst Merril Hoge says, is the motto for this season's Nezperce girls basketball team.
Last year, the Indians found a way to finish 19-4 and bring home the consolation title from the state 1A Division II tournament.
Among the returnees for Nezperce are Sydney Kuthen, a 5-foot-10 senior forward; Arika Arnzen, a 5-4 senior guard; and Tianna Leitch, a 5-4 junior guard.
Nezperce lost a couple of key players to graduation in Kelsie Seitz and Aleesha Arnzen, who averaged 12 points each last season. But Dave Snodgrass, in his sixth season at Nezperce, is hoping the addition of Kourtne Carpenter, a 5-2 guard, will help pick up some of that slack.
Snodgrass, beginning his 36th season as a coach in District 2 (including 16 at Highland-Craigmont, seven at Clearwater Valley and seven at Prairie, is optimistic his team's quickness will lead to fast break opportunities.
Improved shooting percentage is a point of emphasis, he said.
Arnzen and Leitch are expected to lead a defense fueled by great quickness, he said.
Snodgrass said what excites him about this team is they are "open to learning,' and said the "X-factor" for the season is that the "guards must score."
Highland is Nezperce's main rival, "and on paper they are better than us," Snodgrass said. But "we hope to be ready by tournament time," he added.
Asked which rule in Idaho high school basketball he would like to see changed, Snodgrass had an answer different from the other coaches.
"Let eighth-graders play at the little school level," he said.
Snodgrass said he continues to coach at the high school level because "kids keep me young -- I am a grandpa," and said he likes coaching at Nezperce because of the "great support from the community."
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