Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Moscow
2. Lakeland
3. Sandpoint
Players to Watch
Jamari Simpson, Moscow
Bryden Brown, Moscow
Taylor Strong, Moscow
Arie VanDenBerg, Sandpoint
Rusty Lee, Sandpoint
Scotty Hocking, Lakeland
Written by: Will Hoenike
The Lakeland Hawks reached the 4A state tournament last March, ultimately reaching the consolation final on Saturday before falling in a tight contest to Jerome of District 4.
Then the changes began. Veteran head coach Dave Stockwell resigned. The league’s MVP, Jalen Skalskiy, was one of three All-IEL seniors to graduate. Those left the Hawks to re-set the program.
In steps Tony Hanna, formerly of Timberlake and Coeur d’Alene, as the new head coach at Lakeland. He must replace Skalskiy and the others, but has six returning players to help accelerate the transition, including junior guards Collin Cameron and Scotty Hocking.
Sandpoint junior forward Colin Roos earned All-IEL honors as a sophomore. He averaged nearly 12 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs, but decided not to come out for the team this year. Sandpoint will be looking to break out in league play after failing to win a league contest last season. Junior Parker Pettit, the quarterback for the school’s state runner-up football team this fall, also returns.
In Moscow, the Bears return a strong backcourt, led by senior all-league honoree Jamari Simpson, as they look to return to the state tournament this spring. Moscow missed the tourney in 2021 after reaching the 4A championship game in 2020. The talented point guard will be joined in the team’s backcourt by Bryden Brown and Taylor Strong to help lead the way. The trio recently combined for 57 of the team’s 82 points in an early-season win over Kellogg.
The three teams of the 4A IEL are part of a scheduling cooperative agreement with the 5A IEL. That means Lakeland, Sandpoint, and Moscow each play a “league” game against Lake City, Post Falls, Lewiston, and Coeur d’Alene as well as the usual home-and-home games against their 4A IEL rivals.