Two wins and a roster addition for MODE Prep in Arizona
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 6 months, 2 weeks AGO
Courtesy photo Zuby Toms (21) of MODE Prep defends, as head coach Jon Adams (standing) and assistant coach Deon Watson Sr. (seated) look on during a Grind Session event last weekend in Chandler, Ariz.
MODE Prep, a boys basketball prep school program in Liberty Lake, won two of three games last weekend at a Grind Session (adidas-sponsored schools) tournament in Chandler, Ariz.
In predetermined matchups, MODE Prep opened with a 94-62 win over Vermeer Prep of Arizona, lost to the host school, AZ Compass 86-78 and beat Elite Prep of Tucson 87-65.
So far in Grind Session tournaments, MODE Prep is among the top 3-4 teams in the Elevation Division, the second division in the Grind Session, said MODE Prep coach Jon Adams, the former Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach.
The top eight teams in that division qualify for the national tournament in the Grind Session, and based on results, some of those teams will advance to the Chipotle National Championship, which also includes Nike-sponsored schools.
Rayan Elghaly, a 6-foot-6 senior small forward from Bloomfield, N.J., who joined the team in November, averaged 23.5 points in the Arizona event for MODE Prep. Alassane Doucoure, a 6-10 junior post from Mali, Africa, had 23 points, 15 rebounds, four blocked shots and four assists against Vermeer.
Point guard Matt Cummins added 15 points, six rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
The game vs. AZ Compass (where current Gonzaga freshman Davis Fogle played last season) gave MODE Prep a taste of its first true “road” game. The Liberty Lake squad fell behind by 20 points in the first half before pulling within four points late.
MODE Prep beat AZ Compass earlier in the season 74-71 in Arizona, but the Chandler school, boasting several different teams (including a high school team, this adidas squad and a Nike team) had a different look this time, as can happen in the prep school world.
“They added a couple more shooters,” Adams said of AZ Compass. “The first time they had more size, this time they were pretty much all guards.”
In the finale, Elghaly and guard Zuby Toms had 27 points each in the win over Elite Prep.
In the prep school world, Adams said Jan. 10 was the deadline for adding players to the roster to play in the postseason tourneys in March.
MODE Prep added 6-9 junior Bodo Konan, from the Ivory Coast who was originally brought over to play at a public high school in Kentucky but was found to be ineligible to play there, as different schools are allowed to offer different types of visas in bringing in international players.
Konan gives MODE Prep a second big along with Doucoure, Adams said.
Collin Simon, a 6-4 sophomore wing from Coeur d’Alene, did not make the trip after coming down with food poisoning the night before the team left for Arizona, Adams said.
A scheduled tournament in the Seattle this weekend fell through, so next up for MODE Prep is the Crush in the Valley event Jan. 23-25 in Napa, Calif.