Chewelah Boys Basketball Aims to Climb the NE2B Under New Head Coach

First-year head coach Tom Skok said he’s taking over the program with the goal of building momentum and a team identity centered on toughness and chemistry.

“I would like to build on the momentum our team gathered last year,” Skok said. “We have a number of returners and a solid group of sophomores; the trick will be to build some continuity with our group so that we play as a whole and not individuals.”

Turnout is slightly smaller than in recent years, but the roster brings a healthy mix of returning experience and developing talent.

“We only have three seniors but that is pretty well balanced out by eight juniors, which gives us 10 upperclassmen,” Skok said. “We also have 14 underclassmen, so we are pretty even amongst the grades.”

Having the numbers is key in the 2B ranks, according to Skok, and Chewelah will be able to juggle lineups and work on its developmental pipeline. Skok said he isn’t looking to center the offense around a single star. Instead, he hopes the Cougars can become the kind of team that forces opponents to guard every player on the floor.

“Ideally, I would like to play as a team and make it hard for our opponents to zero in on any one player,” he said.

Still, Chewelah returns a proven scorer in junior Ryen McMillan, who will be a focal point of opposing defenses.

“Our most experienced scorer is Ryen McMillan, so people will have to pay attention to him, or he is capable of putting points on the board,” Skok said.

The NE2B doesn’t offer many easy nights and Skok said he expects that trend to hold.

“Our league is stacked,” he said. “We will look to climb up the ladder this year as compared to the last years, but every game will be a battle. I would imagine that Reardan will still be the team to beat, even though they have lost a couple great high school players.”

Though new to the boys basketball position, Skok is far from new to coaching. After years as an administrator prevented him from leading teams, he said he saw this as the right moment to step back onto the sideline.

“When I became an administrator in the Chewelah School District I was no longer able to coach,” he said. “So now that I am back to filling a teaching role, I wanted to get involved with coaching again. I felt this was a great opportunity, so I put my name in the arena and was fortunate enough to land the job.”

His coaching philosophy is rooted in fundamentals and character.

“I would like to instill teamwork, hustle, and hard work in our players,” Skok said. “There is a great group of kids playing basketball this year, and I hope to make the experience for them as good as possible.”

Skok has taken several Chewelah teams to state in different sports and has created solid programs in softball and girls basketball when he was holding the clipboard. 

“Barring these last three years of not coaching, I have coached three sports a year for almost 20 years, so I am very excited to get back at it with the boys team,” he said.

With a veteran scorer, a deep junior class, and a coach eager to return to the sideline, Chewelah aims to move up a crowded NE2B ladder this season.