Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Victory Charter
2. Liberty Charter
3. Rimrock
4. North Star Charter
5. Wilder
6. Notus
7. Riverstone
T-8. Gem State
T-8. Idaho City
10. Centennial Baptist
11. Greenleaf Friends
Players to Watch
Dallin Criddle, Liberty Charter
Gus Black, Rimrock
Derek Liebich, Riverstone
Carson Cole, Victory Charter
Jasper Luce, Victory Charter
Noah Palomares, Victory Charter
Moises Perez, Wilder
Written by: Brandon Baney
A year ago, the Otters of Riverstone International School were one of the more enjoyable teams to follow. Following the stunning death of head coach Bobby Gantt in late July, and a Covid-19 impacted schedule that didn't allow the team to compete until January of 2021, Riverstone won the Western Idaho Conference going away and advanced all the way to the 1AD1 state championship game, where they fell to Lapwai.
That loss to the Wildcats in the title game was the first of the season for Riverstone, which finished with a 15-1 overall record. Now, for the second year in a row, Otters coach Steve Bowen faces a difficult task. Last season came the challenge of replacing a beloved coach who had tragically passed away. This season the challenge is different: finding a way to win with an entirely new cast of characters.
"(I'm) not sure what to expect this season," says Bowen. "(We have) one returning player in senior Derek Liebich, and he was not in our rotation. In fact, no one else has played in a game in two years."
So if Riverstone is learning on the fly this season, the top spot in the conference could go to a more established team, like Victory Charter or Liberty Charter. Both teams will go about winning in different ways. Victory Charter will try the quantity approach (several returning All-Conference players and contributors). Liberty Charter will instead try the quality approach (senior Dallin Criddle is the best player in the league).
Victory Charter lost just one senior this offseason, and will be led by the trio of point guard Carson Cole, shooting guard Noah Palomares and power forward Jasper Luce. Luce was a 1st Team All-Conference selection, while Palomares made the All-Tournament team at state. "We scored well last year (at 60-plus points per game)," says Vipers coach Josh Hubbard. "And we are looking to continue that mark."
The conference opener on December 22nd between Victory Charter and Liberty Charter could determine the WIC race. The Patriots defeated Victory Charter at the state tournament last year en route to an appearance in the consolation final. Liberty Charter also returns the best player in the WIC this year, senior Dallin Criddle.
That's a nice luxury to have for first-year head coach Scott McConnell. Criddle is capable of playing all five positions on the floor, and that versatility will allow McConnell to better fit in varsity newcomers like Kade Johnson, Luke Thomas and Luke Starner.
Notus finished third in the regular season standings a year ago, but fell to both North Star Charter and Liberty Charter at districts to end the year at 11-9. New head coach Jim Boeder has a relatively inexperienced varsity squad featuring three freshmen.
As for North Star Charter, the win over Notus at districts last year could possibly give the Huskies some positive momentum. "I think North Star could be the surprise (team) this year," Victory Charter coach Josh Hubbard says. "They got a new head coach (Ryan Baxter)."
Rimrock is another team that could take a step forward in 2021-22. "They did pretty well last year and are returning a lot of players," says Wilder coach Eric Lopez. "They like to put pressure on you by pressing all game. They can make a run in the conference." Rimrock will be led by Gus Black, who earned All-Conference honors a year ago.
As for Wilder, the Wildcats are hoping an 8-13 record last year with a lot of younger players will translate into more success in 2021-22. Senior point guard Moises Perez will lead a team that coach Lopez is excited for. "Our chemistry is one thing that I want to carry over to this year," says Lopez. "No matter what the score was, we fought hard until the end."
One area Wilder will have to improve is finding more diverse scoring. Jonathan Mendoza's 20 points per game graduated during the offseason, and coach Lopez is looking for several players to fill that void. "We usually had one player (Mendoza) score most of the points," Lopez says. "We need others to step up and score when we can. We can't rely on one person to do all the scoring this year. We have to have better ball movement."
Idaho City, Gem State, Centennial Baptist and Greenleaf Friends all finished in the bottom half of the league standings a year ago. All four teams are relative unknowns at this point, as their coaches did not respond to IdahoSports.com's preseason questionnaire.