He built Eagle girls basketball into a power. Now he’ll try to do the same with the boys.
Cody Pickett led the Eagle High girls basketball team to its first state championship. He’s already set his sights on doing the same with the Eagle boys basketball team.
Eagle announced the former NFL quarterback and record-setting passer at the University of Washington as its next boys basketball coach Monday night. His hire is still pending school board approval.
“I know there’s a lot of buzz right now, and I haven’t even had a chance to really talk to any of (the players) because of this dang virus,” Pickett said. “I’m excited to just get them together, feed them some energy and get their minds right. Our goal each and every year, just like it was on the girls side, is to be state champs.”
Pickett built the Mustangs’ girls basketball team into a perennial power, posting a 137-48 (.741) record and leading Eagle to the only state title in program history in 2018-19.
In seven seasons, he led Eagle to six state tournaments, winning five state tournament trophies and reaching the finals three times. The Mustangs were ranked as high as No. 22 in the country in 2017-18 before Post Falls spoiled their perfect season in the state finals.
“We know what we’re going to get with Cody,” Eagle Athletic Director Beth Holt said. “He’s obviously been very successful with our girls program.
“He has a lot of ideas. He’s just excited. He’s energized. His personality is just magnetic. He has this way about him that makes you want to make you get up and go play basketball.”
Holt added Eagle will post its open girls basketball position soon.
Pickett will become the fifth boys basketball coach at Eagle in the past eight years. While the job opened several times before, he said this felt like the time to make the switch from the girls bench to the boys.
“I always knew at some point in time I wanted to end up back on the boys side,” Pickett said. “There’s never a good time to go. But where we had eight seniors this year and it so happens the boys job is open, I thought, ‘You know, this is the time.’ ”
The 1999 Caldwell High graduate has experience with boys basketball, leading North Star Charter for two seasons. The Huskies made their first two state tournament appearances in program history under Pickett, going 34-18 and winning the 2A state consolation trophy his first season.
Pickett inherits a Mustangs boys basketball program that has reached the state tournament the past two seasons but hasn’t won a state tournament trophy since 2010.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 7:29 PM.
