THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: From teammates in North Dakota to friends and competitors in North Idaho, more than 40 years later

For two years in the early 1980s, Post Falls High athletic director Craig Christensen and Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach Kent Leiss were college basketball teammates. 

Both graduated in 1982 from high schools in North Dakota — Christensen from Williston, Leiss from Dickinson. 

“We were at rival high schools ... so we were always butting heads,” Christensen recalled.

Then they played together at what was then called the University of North Dakota-Williston — now called Williston State. Christensen was a 6-5 forward, Leiss a 6-1 point guard. 

Christensen on Leiss as a player: 

“He was hard-nosed, smart, good court sense; he was a very good point guard for us. He could shoot the ball. He was always fun to play with. He had a pretty big basketball IQ, which you can see now (as a longtime high school basketball coach). 

Leiss on Christensen, who also was a sprinter in college: 

“One thing people don’t know about Craig was he was extremely athletic ... he could fly. He was athletic and fast. He wasn’t a shooter; he was more of an inside player, good around the basket.” 

“At 6-5 you wouldn’t think I was (fast),” said Christensen, who ran the second leg of the 4x100 relay at Minot State. "You don’t see a lot of sprinters my size.” 

After junior college, Christensen played two years at Minot (N.D.) State, and Leiss played at Dickinson (N.D.) State. 

They said they knew of each other in high school, got to know each other better at the JUCO. The next two seasons, since Minot and Dickinson were rivals, Christensen said the only times he connected with his former teammate were when "you set a screen on him a couple times a game.” 

AFTER THAT, both went into coaching, in Minnesota — Christensen at Detroit Lakes High, Leiss at Climax High. 

Eventually, after 13 years as a head boys basketball coach, Christensen went into administration, first as an athletic director in Chicago, then coming to Post Falls as A.D. in 2002. 

Leiss went on to coach at Flathead High in Kalispell, Mont., before coming to Coeur d’Alene in 2003, for what would be the first of two stints as Vikings coach. 

“Climax was a smaller classification, so we never did play him,” Christensen recalled. “I kept an eye on him; he had pretty good teams there, and great relationships with his kids. We crossed paths every now and then.” 

Leiss was a successful coach at Flathead — his final Braves team played for the state title in class AA, Montana’s large-school division. 

But he was interested in living in a more metropolitan area. 

So the next year, when the Coeur d’Alene boys job opened up, Christensen said he put in a good word for his former teammate to Larry Schwenke, then the athletic director at Coeur d’Alene. 

Also, when Leiss was at Flathead, Randy Russell, who would later be Coeur d’Alene High principal and is now superintendent at Freeman, was the principal there, and Harry Amend, who would later be superintendent in Coeur d’Alene, was the superintendent. 

Leiss’ Flathead team played a game at Coeur d’Alene High his last season in Kalispell, but he said he wasn’t thinking of relocating here at the time. 

But when he did leave Flathead, Leiss said the locals in Kalispell couldn’t believe why he would want to leave ‘God’s Country.’ 

“I like it here; I can hop in my car and be in Seattle in four hours,” Leiss said. “I can go watch a Trail Blazers game in five hours. An airport 30 miles from my condo; I can go anywhere. When you’re up in Kalispell, it’s a drive to get anywhere. To get back to North Dakota. To get to Seattle. To get anywhere.” 

In 2007, the boys basketball job at Post Falls High came open. One of the applicants was an up-and-comer named Mike McLean, a Post Falls grad who was an assistant on Leiss’ staff for four seasons.  

But he had never been a varsity coach. 

As Leiss tells it, Christensen called his former college teammate. 

“Are you sure he can do this?,” Christensen said. 

“Absolutely,” Leiss replied. “100 percent. I have no reservations whatsoever.” 

“And he went on to be a phenomenal coach,” Leiss said of McLean, who won a pair of state titles and took his Trojan teams to state 11 times in his 18 seasons at his alma mater, before stepping down following last season. 

Christensen on Leiss as a coach: 

“He’s all about business. Same as a player. He wasn’t joking around ... he was focused as a player; he had the same look on him as a player.” 

Leiss on Christensen: 

“I can’t think of anybody I would say is a nicer guy than Craig Christensen. He’s quiet, laid back; he’s just a good guy.” 

The irony of two North Dakota kids winding up in North Idaho years later is not lost on either of them. 

“I’ve been pretty lucky to watch his career,” Christensen said of Leiss. “It’s been pretty cool to keep an eye on him and stay in touch with him, and end up in the same spot.” 

In fact, Leiss noted one of his high school classmates at Dickinson, Les Hintz, also wound up in North Idaho, and is the chief executive officer at Hayden Lake Country Club. 

“And even with my buddy at Hayden Lake Country Club, it’s just interesting how we all showed up in this area. A freak coincidence,” Leiss said. “I do think we both realized that living in the Post Falls/Coeur d’Alene area is pretty dang cool, and when we had chances to come to this area ... “ 

After Leiss’ first stint at Coeur d’Alene, he went to Sandpoint High, where he coached the Bulldog boys for four seasons, then taught for seven more before retiring as a teacher after the last school year — to the condo he owns in Post Falls, near where Christensen lives. 

“Yeah, it’s weird that we ended up in the same spot,” Christensen said. 

A FEW weeks ago, Kent Leiss brought his Coeur d’Alene team to Post Falls for the first game of 6A Inland Empire League play. 

The next day, his phone rang. 

It was Craig Christensen. 

As Leiss recalled the conversation going:  

“Hey, are you OK? You looked like you were limping around like an old man,” Craig said. 

“Craig, I’m OK. No, I’m 62. It’s just the way I walk now,” Leiss replied. 

“So he’s still looking out for me,” Leiss said. 

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. 

    Courtesy photo The 1983-84 University of North Dakota-Williston men's basketball team. Seventh from left is Craig Christensen, now a longtime athletic director at Post Falls High. Third from right is Kent Leiss, now the boys basketball coach at Coeur d'Alene High.