S-R Showcase: Spokane’s high school all-star basketball games return featuring MVPs, all-league and all-state players, scoring champions
Now that the high school basketball season is over, it’s time for the awards season.
There are several all-star and all-state games in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, The Spokesman-Review helped establish postseason festivities in our area with The Spokesman-Review Showcase, reviving the Jack Blair Memorial girls all-star game and introducing the Denny Humphrey Memorial boys all-star game.
Both games last season were well-attended by athletes, families and fans of high school basketball in the region. The success of the event ensured these games will continue going forward, becoming part of the landscape of Spokane basketball. The Greater Spokane League, SWX and Spokane basketball institutions Hooptown and Shoot360 will help sponsor the games.
This year’s event is March 26 at Lewis and Clark High School. The girls game is at 5:15 p.m., the boys game at 7.
The games will again feature the best players from the GSL and the surrounding area, all-stars from the Tri-Cities and Yakima areas, and top seniors from North Idaho.
Every All-GSL first-team player – boys and girls – except one has confirmed to play, including league MVPs Ryan Lafferty (Mt. Spokane), Teryn Gardner (Mead), Ben Fried (West Valley), Chloe Deharo (West Valley) and Kendall Wallace (Clarkston).
In addition to the GSL all-stars, the game will feature all-league and all-state players from smaller schools, including Colfax junior Brynn McGaughy, one of the top girls basketball prospects in the country, and Lapwai senior Kase Wynott, a three-time state champ who set the career scoring record for Idaho on Jan. 26.
Because the games are during the school year, our all-stars will be coached by retired and nonactive coaches from the area.
The Metro boys team will be coached by longtime Mead boys coach Glenn Williams, who among other accolades guided the Adam Morrison-led 2002-03 Panthers to an undefeated regular season with league, district and regional championships before falling in the state title game.
Williams will be assisted by two-time state champion coach Jim Stinson, father of former Washington State volleyball coach Jennifer (Stinson) Greeny and grandfather of Cheney all-star Evan Stinson. Jim Stinson literally wrote the book on the State B tournament, titled “Remembering the B.”
The Region boys team will be coached by Jay Humphrey, son of Denny Humphrey, who followed his father into coaching and retired from West Valley last year after 14 seasons and 207 wins.
Coaching the Metro girls will be Felice (Moore) Orrell, who won two state championships while a player at Central Valley and another as coach in 2020.
The Region girls team will be coached by former Colfax coach Corey Baerlocher, who retired from coaching after the 2020 season after 18 years with 397 wins, 16 state appearances and eight State 2B or 1B championships.