Years as Head Coach
4

Previous Experience
29 years coaching camps and teams at all levels

Assistant Coaches
Jed Bateman, Josh Hawks, Christian Weaner

Record Last Year
23-2

State Titles
0

Returning Players
Asher Williams, Point Guard & Shooting Guard, Junior
Thomas Bateman, Shooting Guard, Junior
Trey Bateman, Guard, Senior
Eli Blackmore, Guard, Junior
Brody Rice, Guard, Junior

Returning Players with Honors
Thomas Bateman, 2nd Team All Tournament, All IML

Key Players lost from last year
Ridge Williams, Guard, was our best on ball defender, 3 time All IML, and 3 time All Tournament Team
Braeden Blackmore, Guard, was our leading rebounder and point guard the past 3 years. 4 time All IML
Riley Petesch, Post, got 6th Man Award twice in the Tournament and was a great scorer down low for us.

Incoming impact players
Brody Rice, Point Guard, Junior
Peyton Hinthorn, Guard, Freshmen

As a team, what are your offensive strengths?

Asher Williams will move to point guard and be a threat at all levels. Thomas Bateman is a great shooter and someone that can score both outside and inside. We like to spread the floor and play quick.

Offensive areas you hope to improve on over last year:

We will look to get more movement against zone offenses.

As a team, what are your defensive strengths?

We have good length this year at all positions and we rotate well.

Defensive Areas you hope to improve on over last year:

Continue to play solid on ball defense and rotate down and take charges.

What are you most excited about in regards to this year's team?

We have a great group of guys that have played together since elementary school and that are unselfish, discipline, and hard working. Both Asher Williams and Thomas Bateman have worked incredibly hard during the off season and we are looking for them to up their game on both ends. Trey Bateman is a work horse who will sacrifice his body for the team and does all the little things that it takes to win. Eli Blackmore and Brody Rice are tremendous competitors and are both great with the ball and play hard nosed defense.

What is the 'X-Factor' to having success this season as a team?

The key to our success is our defense and rebounding. If we focus on those things every night we should be ok.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Thomas Bateman, Bonners Ferry
Eli Blackmore, Bonners Ferry
Asher Williams, Bonners Ferry
Tyler Engleston, Timberlake
Jacob Yetter, Timberlake

Written by: Brandon Baney

Pundits often refer to football as a “game of inches”. No one’s been able to come up with a comparable phrase for basketball, but however you want to define it, the Bonners Ferry Badgers were a handful of plays away from claiming the Class 3A state championship a year ago.

Alas, the Badgers came up just short against Sugar-Salem, falling 52-47. It was Bonners Ferry’s second and final loss of the season as part of a 23-2 overall campaign. Their only other loss was to West Valley High from Spokane, Washington, by a single point, 56-55.

The Badgers bid farewell to three time All-League selection Ridge Williams, as well as three-year starting point guard Braeden Blackmore and sixth man Riley Petesch. But everyone else is back to help Bonners Ferry get over the hump in 2023-24.

It starts with Ridge’s younger brother, Asher Williams, a junior who can play both point guard and shooting guard. “Asher will move to point guard and be a threat at all levels,” says fourth year coach Nathan Williams. “Thomas Bateman will slide to shooting guard and is a great shooter, as well as someone that can score both outside and inside.”

Joining Williams and Bateman will be senior Trey Bateman and juniors Eli Blackmore and Brody Rice. All of them are listed as guards, which begs the question: who will collect the rebounds inside for Bonners Ferry? Williams says everyone will have to chip in. “The key to our success is our defense and rebounding,” Williams says. “If we focus on those things every night, we should be ok.”

There’s only one other team in the Intermountain League, so there’s no secrets here. Timberlake knows they’ll have to get through Bonners Ferry if they want to advance to state. Coach Mike LaFountaine welcomes back a number of athletes football fans will recognize. 6-foot-4 senior Cole Meidinger shifts from quarterback to forward. 6-foot-5 senior Braden McDougall moves from tight end to center. 6-foot-2 senior Vaughn Higgins pivots from running back to the wing. And 5-foot-9 senior Jacob Yetter will transition from wide receiver to guard.

The straw that will stir the drink, though, came in via a transfer. 6-foot-1 junior guard Tyler Engelson transferred in from Class 2A Priest River, and his playmaking abilities will be crucial for the Tigers. How much of an impact player is Engelson? Coaches in the 2A Central Idaho League unanimously agreed that Priest River would be the favorite to win that league if Engelson had stayed. With his departure, the Spartans tumbled all the way to the fifth and final spot without him in our preseason poll.