Checking in with MODE Prep, mid-road trip
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 7 months, 2 weeks AGO
Courtesy photo MODE Prep junior guard Zuby Toms at a Grind Session tournament last weekend in Memphis.
Blame it on the southern fare.
MODE Prep, a first-year prep boys basketball program in Liberty Lake, went 2-1 at its recent Grind Session tournament in Memphis.
MODE lost 84-72 to Colorado Prep, beat The New School (Arkansas) 85-83, then defeated Minnesota Prep 84-82.
“Colorado Prep was very good, very sound, but we competed with them very well,” said MODE Prep coach Jon Adams, the former Coeur d’Alene High boys coach.
In the second game, MODE fell behind The New School by 20 points early before rallying to win.
“We were sluggish out of the gate,” Adams said. “I blame it on going out for Memphis barbecue the night before.”
The third game was back and forth, Adams said. Alassane Doucoure had a putback and free throw with 12 seconds left to put MODE Prep up by two points, then blocked a shot at the other end to seal the win.
Doucoure, a 6-10 junior post from Mali, Africa, finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in that game, and averaged 15 points, 11 boards and two blocked shots in the three games.
Zuby Toms, a 6-2 junior guard from Las Vegas, had 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win over Minnesota Prep, and averaged 25.7 points in the three games.
Vuk Zelic, a 6-7 senior wing from Serbia, averaged 15 points and 7.5 rebounds, including 21 points, 11 rebounds and three assists against The New School.
“It was good to see us win some really close games,” Adams said from Las Vegas, where his team began play Tuesday at the Tarkanian Classic. “The kids are buying into the offense, and playing committed basketball at both ends.
“Prep ball is more like AAU ... showcasing,” Adams added. “It (playing team ball) is not normal for the prep world, but we’re getting used to it.”
Rayan Elghaly, a 6-6 senior small forward from Bloomfield, N.J., who joined the team for its last tournament in Ohio, averaged 12.5 points, six rebounds and three assists in Memphis.
Beau Hansen, a 5-10 transfer from Utah Prep who recently joined the team, made his MODE Prep debut in Memphis and played some points guard and some shooting guard.
That helped fill the void left by junior point guard Matt Cummins, who missed the games in Memphis due to illness, but was cleared to play in the Tarkanian Classic.
That would give MODE Prep eight players, and Adams said the team plans to add another player after the holidays.
Next up for MODE Prep after the Tark tourney is an event in Arizona beginning Jan. 9.