THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: If you’re in the mood to see MODE Prep in person ...

The rumor is about to come live to North Idaho. 

MODE Prep, the Liberty Lake-based prep boys basketball program in its inaugural season, is bringing its show to Coeur d’Alene this week. 

MODE Prep is scheduled to play the Elite Prep Futures from Seattle on Thursday at 4 p.m. at North Idaho College’s Rolly Williams Court. 

Since most of their games are in “showcase” tournaments, prep schools largely play away from home anyway. So far, MODE Prep has played in tournaments in Kentucky, Utah and Arizona. 

“I think there is excitement, for me personally,” said MODE Prep head coach Jon Adams, the former Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach. “Having that curiousity (about the program); the drawback is always playing on the road. It’s a chance to showcase the kids (locally), and I’m looking forward to it.” 

BESIDES, MODE Prep has no home gym anyway — at least until next year, when one is part of a massive sports complex being built on the campus in Liberty Lake. 

So the team works out at area high schools or the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake, and scrimmages area high school teams. 

North Idaho College men’s basketball coach Corey Symons offered his gym to MODE Prep, saying “we’d love to have you,” Adams said. 

The MODE Prep-Elite Prep Futures game will be a “prelim” of sorts, as the NIC men are scheduled to play Green River Community College that night at 7 at NIC. 

MODE Prep is 3-6 through three tournaments. In the most recent one in Arizona, MODE defeated the AZ Compass second team, which Adams said featured five players with Division I offers.  

“The kids are coming together, and the kids are healthy,” said Adams, who was missing one key player for most of the first tourney Kentucky due to injury. 

“In high school basketball, you’re getting kids from the same town, who have played together,” Adams said. “We’ve got kids from Serbia, Germany, Africa ... and all play different styles. We’ve got one kid that doesn’t speak English at all. That’s an extra challenge, but a fun one.” 

AT THEIR most recent tournament, the Association Championship in Phoenix, Zuby Toms, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Las Vegas, averaged 24.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3 assists. Alassane Doucoure, a 6-10 junior post from Mali, Africa and a transfer from Prolific Prep, averaged 14.7 points and 9 rebounds.  

The two Coeur d’Alene players on the eight-man MODE Prep roster, Collin Simon and Hudson Reid, both sophomores, continue to see action off the bench. Originally, Adams had hoped there was a second national team and/or a high school team for them to play on at first. But this year, MODE Prep has just one team — a top-level prep team that this year is playing in the second division of the adidas-sponsored Grind Session. 

“Collin and Hudson, they’re playing out of necessity, getting critical minutes,” Adams said. “We anticipate them being key players in the future. Playing Wasatch, Collin (who is 6-4) is in there covering the 7-1 senior that’s one of the top players in the country. And Wasatch is a top-10 team in the country.” 

Adams said MODE Prep is hoping to add two more players later this month, and is already recruiting for next year’s teams. 

He said they hope to have three teams total, including one which will compete at the high school level in a small-school classification under the Washington Intercollegiate Activities Association, eligible to compete for Washington high school state titles. 

“We have been approved to have a WIAA team under the same roof, in addition to the national team,” Adams said. 

After Thursday’s game at NIC, MODE Prep is scheduled to head to Seattle for a tournament this coming weekend. 

Games can be viewed on YouTube by searching MODE Basketball. 

"I'm a coach that’s all about team, and they’re still trying to figure out their roles,” Adams said. “My job is moving them from this great collection of individuals to a great team.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.