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The Murray boys' basketball team has some big shoes to fill this season.
After the Spartans lost their top three scorers from last season, there are plenty of points that will need to be accounted for when they open the season next week. As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, Murray's bump into Class 5A won't make wins any easier to come by.
Ken Masic, John Hunt and Markus Duran -- who made the Class 4A All-State second team last year -- averaged about 42 points per game combined, leaving the Spartans' in need of replacements. One possible candidate is David Collette. The 6-foot-7 junior made a lot of progress over the offseason to refine his game and, according to coach Jason Workman, it's paying dividends early in the season.
"We haven't seen 6-7 in quite a few years," said Workman. "He matured quite a bit to where he can bring the ball up on a fast break, lay it in or dunk without having to slow down. Just from coordination and maturation he is a completely different player from last year."
With a bigger center than they're used to, the Spartans will have a good defensive foundation in Collette to work with than in years past as well. On the perimeter, Mitch Tate is Murray's best defender and does the little things well that often go unnoticed. One thing the Spartans are getting back from last year's team will be their leading rebounder, Wyatt Woodard. Woodard gave Murray as physical presence last year and has taken strides in his
It might take the Spartans a few games to find the right chemistry and they may never be as prolific on offense as they were last year, but with most of Region 2 coming into the season with relatively inexperienced rosters, Murray should be deep enough to compete for the region title.
Cottonwood
With tryouts out of the way, the Colts are ready to get down to work.
And, boy, do they have a lot of work to do.
The Colts are coming into the season with one true returning starter in Raymond Chavez. Chavez averaged just over 10 points per game for Cottonwood last season, so expectations will be high for him to increase his contribution early on as the Colts settle into their roster. Jason Lundquist had several starts last year, but didn't get near the amount of minutes he's looking at this year.
As if reconfiguring the roster wasn't enough, Cottonwood is also coming off another long and successful football season that ended in the quarterfinals and many of the players also play basketball. Timmy Glen, Korbin Dooley, Rollin Carter, Arlen Smith, and Lundquist are all still making the transition into basketball.
"We gave them an extra day off, give them a little break between football and basketball," said coach Dave McConnell. "We're trying not to push them too hard and be patient with them. We know it will take awhile for it to come back."
Just how long is the question. Last year, the Colts' football team made it to the 4A final before losing to Timpview, and the fallout was quite visible on the court. The Colts started the season with seven straight losses, and never really found their rhythm. But with the roster getting a clean slate to start the year, McConnell looking forward to some more success.
"We have a great bunch of guys, we've had some good practices. Everyone is optimistic and have really felt good these past few practices."
Skyline
A year removed from one of their best seasons in school history, the Skyline Eagles will have the challenge of following it up with a new coach.
Bernie Graziano owns the task of filling in for former coach, Derek Bunting. Bunting led the Eagles to 11 straight wins to start the season, making them one of the most dynamic and deep teams in the state. With family in mind, Bunting stepped aside at the end of last season to relocate to Oregon.
In the Eagles' first-round loss to Pleasant Grove in the state tournament last season, every minute was played by a senior. That means Graziano will have a completely fresh roster to retool before the season gets started. Not that he doesn't have the experience or know-how to do so, however. Graziano has had success everywhere he has been, which has including head coaching duties at Fremont and Hunter.
His biggest task will be getting the Eagles past the first round, which they have failed to do now for the past three season.
Brighton boys' basketball
Last season, the Bengals had all the makings of a state championship caliber team.
That was before junior and leading scorer Corbin Miller suffered a season-ending shin fracture following the regular season opener.
Luckily, the Bengals also had youth. On most nights, coach Lyndon Johnson had only underclassmen on the floor. As a result, Brighton now has a roster stacked with seniors like Sam Wunderli, Moses Lotulelei, Xan Ricketts and junior Derek Newell, fresh off a successful campaign as the Brighton football team's quarterback.
Newell suffered a football injury last year and missed all of basketball season. No doubt, Newell's loss was a blow to the Bengals last season. But even without him, they carried on to a 12-9 record and a No. 3 seed from their stacked region before hitting a roadblock in Lehi in the first round of the state tournament. Now, with all but three seniors back, Johnson expects to easily eclipse that mark -- that is, if they can dodge the injury bug.
"[Corbin] is at full speed now. His shins are better and he's ready to go," said Johnson. "With him back, we really have a chance at things."
But in a region as tough as the newly realigned Region 4, the Bengals expect to have their work cut out for them.
"There won't be a night that we can show up and not play as well as we need to do, "said Johnson. "There will be no days to relax."
Brighton will kick off its 2009-2010 season against Copper Hills on Dec. 1.
Tuesday is the season opener for many teams around the state, including:
Boys' basketball
Cottonwood at Taylorsville, 7 p.m.
Hillcrest at Riverton, 7 p.m.
Girls' basketball
Taylorsville at Jordan 5:15 p.m.
Maple Mountain at Olympus, 7 p.m.
Orem at Murray, 7 p.m.
Cottonwood at Bingham, 7:15 p.m.
