Season preview: Bulldogs eager for fresh start, culture change

SANDPOINT — It’s no secret how difficult last season was for the Sandpoint boys basketball team, particularly the players.

Five games in, Wade Engelson resigned as the head coach and Mike Roos took over on an interim basis the rest of the way.

It was a tumultuous situation for everyone involved, and amidst all the chaos the Bulldogs still had to take the court night in and night out against North Idaho’s best. It was by no means easy, but the players stuck with it and were resilient in the face of endless adversity.

With a new face leading the program in Brian Childs, it’s a fresh start and the team is embracing the clean slate.

Senior Ethan Butler said Childs has done a great job bringing the team together in his first few months at the helm and it's evident how much he cares about the success of the players not only on the court, but off of it as well.

Fellow senior Jacob Eldridge shared a similar sentiment about the energy and vision Childs has brought to the program.

“It’s more lively,” he said. “Everyone likes coming to practice and it's a more positive and friendly atmosphere.”

For years, Bulldog fans have wondered, “Is this the season Sandpoint boys basketball turns it around?” But something like that doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, investment and buy-in from the entire community, and junior Rusty Lee believes the pieces are being put in place to create a successful program for years to come.

With the number of losing seasons the Bulldogs have encountered over the last decade and the constant upheaval within the program, Butler realizes the team has established a bit of a bad rep, which may have strayed athletes away from the program over the years. But he said things are different now and the culture is changing.

“I think this year is going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people,” he said.

Childs was named the new head coach in early April. For several months, he had to juggle the transition from his previous job at Heritage High School in Vancouver, Washington, while also taking over a Sandpoint program desperate for leadership and a new direction.

Childs and his family got completely settled into their new digs in late June, which somewhat limited the offseason time the Bulldogs got as a team. Plus, most of the players on the team were gearing up for a fall sports season.

Over the summer, Childs said he didn’t get nearly as much time with his full team as he would have liked and the team is aware there will be some significant growing pains in the early stages of the season as a result.

“That’s part of where we’re at now,” he said. “Instead of things simply being review and fine-tuning what we kind of want to do, everything has been brand new for the most part. It’s just going to take us time to come together and play the way we want to play.”

The Bulldogs did get in a jamboree with Post Falls and Lake City on Nov. 23 and Childs was really encouraged by what he saw in that preseason action, but he still didn’t have his full squad.

A run to the state championship game by the Sandpoint football team kept key pieces of last year’s boys team, like Parker Pettit, Arie VanDenBerg and Max Frank, and varsity newcomers Eli Allshouse, Layne Dunkel and Lasse Kuhn from taking the court until the football season ended right as the school entered Thanksgiving break.

And on top of that, VanDenBerg, Frank and Pettit are all recovering from injuries suffered on the gridiron.

As of this Monday, Childs said he was hopeful the team would have VanDenBerg back in time for their season-opening Border Clash with West Valley and East Valley, while Frank and Pettit’s statuses are a little more up in the air. Childs said he’s not sure when Frank could be back, but he’s optimistic that it could be sooner rather than later. In terms of Pettit, Childs said it's unclear if the Bulldogs will have him at all this winter.

“It’s challenging right now because we’ve been going for a couple weeks now not knowing exactly what rosters are going to look like,” Childs said. “We’ll know more after this weekend about exactly where we stand.”

The Bulldogs play West Valley tonight, East Valley Saturday, Coeur d’Alene Tuesday and Kellogg Thursday. That’s four games within a week to open the season for a team that has numerous question marks, including how they are going to replace all-league selection Colin Roos, who isn’t playing basketball this season.

But, as pointed out earlier, this team is no stranger to hardship, so they aren’t afraid to face it head-on. Childs sees all the question marks as an opportunity for some younger players to step up and take on much larger roles.

“We’re just trying to emphasize right now on who we are because … no one is going to feel sorry for us, so it’s up to the guys that we have to come together,” he said.

Butler, Eldridge and Lee are a part of five returners currently on the varsity team, a group that also includes junior Randy Lane. Second-team all-state soccer player Evan Dickinson is also new to the varsity team. The junior was hampered by a dislocated shoulder during his JV season on the basketball team last year.

Freshman Lucas Johansen is another new addition, along with Childs’ youngest son, Parker Childs, who played on the JV team at Lake City last season as a freshman. Childs’ oldest son, Conner Childs, is also an assistant coach on this year’s team.

Childs feels like the Bulldogs have a lot of interchangeable parts this season and plenty of athleticism, but they are lacking size.

Butler is the only center the Bulldogs have on varsity, so the team plans on doing everything they can to keep him on the court this winter.

“We’re going to have to keep Ethan out of foul trouble,” Lee said.

Butler rolled his ankle midway through last season and missed a handful of games, but he enters this year fully healthy and is ready for an increased role and an opportunity to showcase his skills.

“I think I’ve taken for granted my first three years,” he said, “and basketball has just been like there, and now that it's my last [year], I’m fully committed and I’m really trying to do whatever I can to help the team.”

With the new offense Childs has installed, Butler has been working on his mid-range game and has even added the threat of stepping out and knocking down a few 3-pointers to his arsenal. Eldridge said recently during a scrimmage Butler hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer right in his face.

“I’ve worked on it enough and I think my shot is finally becoming a little more consistent,” Butler said.

Lee and Eldridge are two players Childs saw put a ton of time in the gym during the offseason. Over the summer, Eldridge said he attended three week-long camps and was on the court nearly every day. Eldridge even worked out with former Sandpoint star Kobe Banks, a 2020 SHS grad, who helped him sharpen his skills and basketball IQ.

With last year’s leading scorer Colin Roos gone, Eldridge knows he needs to raise his game and fill up the basket as much as he can. He said he feels more comfortable doing that this season due to the freedom of Childs’ offense and the encouragement he’s received from the new coach. He won’t be afraid to let it fly this winter, he said.

Eldridge plans on going out strong this season and hopes to attract the attention of some colleges.

With Pettit sidelined, Childs is potentially looking at filling the point guard role by committee, but he also sees Lee taking on a lot of those duties.

“He was fantastic at the jamboree … and I think he’s ready for some more responsibility,” Childs said.

Lee polished up his game over the summer, Childs said, and looks primed for a breakout season. Lee, who finished second in the 300-meter hurdles and third in the 110-meter hurdles at the 4A state track meet this spring, really honed in on his shooting over the offseason and improving his aggressiveness when attacking the basket. He even added dunking to his repertoire.

“It’s kind of just what I’ve always done is put in effort in things I care about,” Lee said about his dedication.

Last season, the Bulldogs went 4-16 and ended the season on a 10-game losing streak. Sandpoint finished winless in 4A Inland Empire League play for the fifth straight season, but this group is determined to end that streak this winter.

“It’s going to happen this year,” Butler said about a league victory. “I will make it happen.”

Childs said it will take some games for the Bulldogs to feel each other out, but he knows this team will bring their all every night regardless of the results.

“They’re doing everything we’re asking them to do, so that piece of it has been really encouraging,” he said.

Rebuilding a program from the ground up is nothing new to Childs, who grew up in Muncie, Indiana. As the head coach at Coeur d’Alene Charter, Childs led the Panthers to a 92-65 record and a third-place trophy in the 1A state tournament in 2007. After that, he took over the reins at Eastbrook High in Marion, Indiana. He amassed a 54-80 record across six seasons there and helped return a struggling team to prominence.

Childs was doing the same at Heritage, before he moved onto his current stomping grounds. Childs said he believes the “want to” is here to revive the Sandpoint boys basketball program. It all starts with reaching out to kids when they’re young and establishing that love and commitment to the game, he said.

Childs also believes the program can build off some of the success SHS has had in other sports, like football and soccer, and instill that belief that something similar is possible on the basketball court.

“I think there needs to be continuity in the program, some consistency and that commitment that the good programs have,” he said.

Childs said he will lean heavily on his seniors this season to establish the foundation for the future of the program and set the standard for the next group coming up.

Just like last year, the Bulldogs will have to navigate a rugged 5A/4A Inland Empire League that includes arguably one of the best teams in the Pacific Northwest in Lake City.

Childs can’t wait to see what this group accomplishes.

“I want to get the most out of what they have and I want to make sure they have a good experience,” he said. “I think if we do that, we have a chance to have some success.”

Sandpoint opens the season at 8 p.m. today in the Border Clash at West Valley in Spokane. They play East Valley in the Border Clash at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs’ home opener is set for next Thursday against Kellogg.