MODE Prep plays through growing pains in first season on national prep basketball circuit

The coaches and administrators at MODE Prep knew there would be growing pains this year as Spokane’s first national prep circuit boys basketball program embarked upon its inaugural season on the Grind Session circuit.

It has taken some lumps, as expected, but has also shown great promise.

“This really was our first, like a pilot team, I would call it,” MODE Prep coach Jon Adams said. “We’re figuring out how to schedule, how to do everything, what tournaments are important, how to recruit players.”

The last part – the players – is the most important.

When the concept was launched last year, MODE Prep hoped to field three teams this season – a senior national team, a junior national team comprised of younger players, and a high school team which would participate in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 2B or 1B classification.

But as preparations continued through the spring and summer, Adams and the administration decided to concentrate on just the senior national team this season. Even then, they’ve struggled a bit with the roster. Due to injuries MODE Prep attended its first tournament of the season with just six healthy players.

Now, a few weeks in, they still need assistant coaches to suit up so they can scrimmage during practice. Adams expects to add a couple of players as the season goes on.

“Next year we will have two or three teams,” Adams said. “Right now, there’s no shortage of minutes. Everyone is playing because everyone has to play.”

“We had way more players last year (at Utah Prep),” guard Matt Cummins said. “It was hard to know everyone. … So I feel like now with our one team, we’re bonding more. We’re always together, so you can’t really beat that.”

MODE Prep went 0-3 in its first tourney – though all their losses came by fewer than 10 points. They went 1-2 the next time out and last week went 2-1, including a win over the AZ Compass second team, which “is still full of Division I players,” Adams said.

It’s a good sign that the players are taking the losses hard.

“They’re not that far off. (The competition) is not that different,” Adams said. “It’s a four- or five-possession difference, and we win these games.”

Next up for MODE Prep, which was ranked No. 24 on the circuit recently, is a matchup against Seattle-based Elite Prep at North Idaho College on Nov. 13 at 4 p.m.

Two of the early leaders for Adams have been Cummins and wing Vuk Zelic.

Both bring previous prep circuit experience. Cummins, a Henderson, Nevada, native, played at Utah Prep last season, while Zelic – a 6-foot-7 Serbia native – played at the prestigious Christ the King program in New York City.

“We’ve been very fortunate, I think, in the kids we recruit, not just being talented, but they’re all super coachable. They’re good kids,” Adams said.

“We are all gelling together,” Cummins said. “Practices have been good. Obviously, we started a little late, with people coming from all across the country and the world. It’s gonna take some time but I feel like we’ve picked it up pretty good.”

On the active eight-player roster, three are from Nevada, two from Coeur d’Alene, and three are international players.

“We never played together before September,” Cummins said. “We might have started a little rough, but we good now.”

Zelic brought his game to America “to achieve my dreams.”

“This type of basketball, it’s a lot different than in Europe,” he said. “We play in front of a lot of coaches. Have to go big to play in college, hopefully end up in the big league.”

He’s been in America for several seasons now, but keeps in touch with his family back home in Serbia.

“I talk with my family every day. They’re my biggest support,” Zelic said. “And of course, I feel like I have home here. It’s my family.”

“Talk about a kid who’s well traveled, well experienced,” Adams said of Zelic. “He’s not your average 17-year-old kid. He’s like a coach on the floor. Nothing gets him rattled.”

Cummins is growing into a floor leader as well, Adams said. After a year with Utah Prep, his teammates naturally gravitate toward him and look for guidance on how to react in certain situations.

“I think I’m more of a natural leader. But you know, you can always grow in any aspect, so I’ll take on that role,” Cummins said. “I’m always looking to be better as a player. But as a team, I feel like it’s gonna be more important that we keep on stacking wins and, you know, just doing better in front of coaches.”