Lone Peak is team to beat

WEST VALLEY CITY -- Basketball pundits have raved all seasonabout the overall quality of basketball in Class 5A.

Yes, two-time defending champion Lone Peak is still the teameveryone is gunning for, but unlike last year when Davis was theonly team with a realistic hope of beating the Knights, this yearthere appears to be seven or eight teams capable of knocking off thechamps.

Pegging down who the top contenders are among that group isvirtually impossible. Beginning back in late November, they've alltaken turns looking like the top challenger at various points thisseason, each enduring hot and cold spells.

Lone Peak would just assume everyone stay cold in its quest tomake history this week. The Knights are looking to claim theirfourth state title in the past five years, a feat that hasn't beendone since Jordan won four of five from 1951 to 1955.

Now a senior, Tyler Haws led Lone Peak to titles in 2007 and2008, whereas it was Jackson Emery that led the school to a title in2005.

Ironically enough, Jordan is Lone Peak's first-round opponenttoday at 5:50 p.m. in the opening round of the 5A boys basketballstate tournament at the E Center. Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewisbelieves there's circumstances are much different for his team thisyear.

"There's a much different feel than there was last year. Lastyear it felt the only thing we could do was lose. There was justsuch a high expectation last year, but this year we really don'tfeel like we've been in the spotlight that much this year," saidLewis. "We've had our own roller coaster for the first month and ahalf of the season."

The festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. with Skyline taking onPleasant Grove in the first of eight first-round games. Skyline andPleasant Grove are each in the discussion of potential Lone Peakslayers along with Davis, West Jordan, Riverton, Alta and Bingham,but one of the two won't even make out of the first round.

With most of the first round games including at least one teamhovering around .500, Skyline and Pleasant Grove probably feel a bitunfortunate to be meeting in the first round with a combined 33-9record.

There are several uncertainties for both teams. Pleasant Grovesenior C.J. Wilcox is one of the best players in the state, but hiscareer first round record with the Vikings is 0-2 -- and his careerrecord against Lone Peak is 0-6. Skyline, meanwhile, has big injuryconcerns to over half its starting line-up.

The good news for the winner, it wouldn't meet Lone Peak untilthe championship game assuming both parties are fortunate enough towin their first three games.

Skyline vs. Pleasant Grove, Copper Hills vs. Davis, Viewmont vs.West Jordan and Lehi vs. Brighton are all upper bracket games today.The bottom bracket features Riverton vs. Clearfield, Jordan vs. LonePeak, Weber vs. Alta and Northridge vs. Bingham.

With Skyline's injury concerns, Pleasant Grove's poor tourneytrack record and Davis playing in such a weak region, West Jordan isa slight favorite to emerge from the upper bracket. The talentedJaguars are playing their best basketball of the season with recentwins over Bingham and Riverton, and they'll surely get huge crowdssupporting them at the E Center.

In the bottom bracket, the most interesting match-up isClearfield-Riverton at 4:10 p.m. Clearfield leads the state inscoring defense and has won several games despite only scoring inthe 30s. Riverton is another team that likes it low scoring, eventhough the 'Wolves have a much more potent offense than Clearfield.Every possession figures to be a battle in this game, and theoutcome might come down to the final possession.

The last time the 5A state tournament was at the E Center back in2006, Riverton advanced to the championship game and lost at thebuzzer to rival Bingham. Both teams are hoping for a similar runthis year, but Lone Peak is a daunting obstacle for both.

Assuming Riverton even beats Clearfield, it would likely faceLone Peak in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Bingham would face LonePeak in Friday's semifinals if it's fortunate enough to get there,but actually beating the Knights is a major mental hurdle. Lone Peakhas eliminated Bingham in each of the past two state tournaments.

Lone Peak's coach is really trying to grill into his players notto look past today.

"I do feel like there's more depth in 5A this year. I told mykids there's 16 teams in the tournament and each of the 16 arecapable of winning one game," said Lewis. "For a No. 1 seed we havean awfully tough draw."

Perhaps the team flying under the radar more than anyone else isRegion 2 champion Alta. Back in mid-December Alta lost at Lone Peak53-48, a game that with better free throw shooting the Hawksprobably would've won. While most teams might be intimidated to playLone Peak, Alta already knows it matches up favorably.

E-MAIL: jedward@desnews.com

Lone Peak is team to beat

WEST VALLEY CITY -- Basketball pundits have raved all seasonabout the overall quality of basketball in Class 5A.

Yes, two-time defending champion Lone Peak is still the teameveryone is gunning for, but unlike last year when Davis was theonly team with a realistic hope of beating the Knights, this yearthere appears to be seven or eight teams capable of knocking off thechamps.

Pegging down who the top contenders are among that group isvirtually impossible. Beginning back in late November, they've alltaken turns looking like the top challenger at various points thisseason, each enduring hot and cold spells.

Lone Peak would just assume everyone stay cold in its quest tomake history this week. The Knights are looking to claim theirfourth state title in the past five years, a feat that hasn't beendone since Jordan won four of five from 1951 to 1955.

Now a senior, Tyler Haws led Lone Peak to titles in 2007 and2008, whereas it was Jackson Emery that led the school to a title in2005.

Ironically enough, Jordan is Lone Peak's first-round opponenttoday at 5:50 p.m. in the opening round of the 5A boys basketballstate tournament at the E Center. Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewisbelieves there's circumstances are much different for his team thisyear.

"There's a much different feel than there was last year. Lastyear it felt the only thing we could do was lose. There was justsuch a high expectation last year, but this year we really don'tfeel like we've been in the spotlight that much this year," saidLewis. "We've had our own roller coaster for the first month and ahalf of the season."

The festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. with Skyline taking onPleasant Grove in the first of eight first-round games. Skyline andPleasant Grove are each in the discussion of potential Lone Peakslayers along with Davis, West Jordan, Riverton, Alta and Bingham,but one of the two won't even make out of the first round.

With most of the first round games including at least one teamhovering around .500, Skyline and Pleasant Grove probably feel a bitunfortunate to be meeting in the first round with a combined 33-9record.

There are several uncertainties for both teams. Pleasant Grovesenior C.J. Wilcox is one of the best players in the state, but hiscareer first round record with the Vikings is 0-2 -- and his careerrecord against Lone Peak is 0-6. Skyline, meanwhile, has big injuryconcerns to over half its starting line-up.

The good news for the winner, it wouldn't meet Lone Peak untilthe championship game assuming both parties are fortunate enough towin their first three games.

Skyline vs. Pleasant Grove, Copper Hills vs. Davis, Viewmont vs.West Jordan and Lehi vs. Brighton are all upper bracket games today.The bottom bracket features Riverton vs. Clearfield, Jordan vs. LonePeak, Weber vs. Alta and Northridge vs. Bingham.

With Skyline's injury concerns, Pleasant Grove's poor tourneytrack record and Davis playing in such a weak region, West Jordan isa slight favorite to emerge from the upper bracket. The talentedJaguars are playing their best basketball of the season with recentwins over Bingham and Riverton, and they'll surely get huge crowdssupporting them at the E Center.

In the bottom bracket, the most interesting match-up isClearfield-Riverton at 4:10 p.m. Clearfield leads the state inscoring defense and has won several games despite only scoring inthe 30s. Riverton is another team that likes it low scoring, eventhough the 'Wolves have a much more potent offense than Clearfield.Every possession figures to be a battle in this game, and theoutcome might come down to the final possession.

The last time the 5A state tournament was at the E Center back in2006, Riverton advanced to the championship game and lost at thebuzzer to rival Bingham. Both teams are hoping for a similar runthis year, but Lone Peak is a daunting obstacle for both.

Assuming Riverton even beats Clearfield, it would likely faceLone Peak in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Bingham would face LonePeak in Friday's semifinals if it's fortunate enough to get there,but actually beating the Knights is a major mental hurdle. Lone Peakhas eliminated Bingham in each of the past two state tournaments.

Lone Peak's coach is really trying to grill into his players notto look past today.

"I do feel like there's more depth in 5A this year. I told mykids there's 16 teams in the tournament and each of the 16 arecapable of winning one game," said Lewis. "For a No. 1 seed we havean awfully tough draw."

Perhaps the team flying under the radar more than anyone else isRegion 2 champion Alta. Back in mid-December Alta lost at Lone Peak53-48, a game that with better free throw shooting the Hawksprobably would've won. While most teams might be intimidated to playLone Peak, Alta already knows it matches up favorably.

E-MAIL: jedward@desnews.com