Forget it. He'll be working on his game.

Daily practices, and even games, aren't enough to satisfy England's basketball fix. He spends most of his evenings at the Magna Fitness and Recreation Center, fine-tuning different aspects of what he can do on the basketball floor, one skill at a time.

It helped him earn a scholarship to play basketball at Utah State.

"He's a rangy athlete, and he likes to do what it takes to be a good player," Aggies coach Stew Morrill said. "He spends a lot of time in the weight room. He's a gym rat."

Being a gym rat has helped England separate himself from others in the Class of 2006, where basketball scholarships have been hard to come by. The gym is where England has gradually built up an impressive arsenal of basketball skills. The first part of his game he developed was his shot, as he spent countless hours working on his long-range accuracy.

"Sometimes if someone can do one thing really well, they have a chance to be a good player," Morrill said. "He can really shoot the basketball."

England, however, wasn't satisfied with being just a gunner. He worked on his passing and his ball-handling. He developed moves so that he could get to the basket. And he knows that guys who can't defend won't get much playing time from Morrill.

"I don't want to go to Utah State and sit the bench," England said.

The bench is unchartered territory for England. He's been a key contributor for the Pirates since his sophomore year. He sparked Cyprus in its first round win over Box Elder in the 2004 state tournament. He has averaged about 15 points per game in both his junior and senior seasons.

"He's gotten better every year," Olympus coach Matt Barnes said.

England's senior season has been somewhat of an adjustment for him, thanks in part to a fortuitous growth spurt. He grew four inches between his junior and senior seasons and now stands at 6-foot-5. He is the Pirates' biggest player and he has had to move from his natural positions at shooting guard/small forward to power forward/center.

"It's been an adjustment for him, but he's getting better at it," Cyprus coach Clyde Ahlquist said.

England said there are advantages and disadvantages to playing out of position.

"It's good to work on stuff that I'm not used to," England said. "It's kind of difficult. A lot of times, I don't know what I'm doing in the paint."

England, who has battled nagging ankle and back injuries this season, may have to wait until he gets to Utah State to show what he can do at his natural positions. But he and his Pirates are starting to get hot. England posted 24 points and 11 rebounds in his team's win over West on Friday night, and Cyprus is in contention for a spot in the state tourney.

"I want to get to state," England said. "We're good enough that we should go. I think we can compete with any team in the state."

Tribune Girls Basketball Power Rankings

Class 5-A

1. Hillcrest 18-1

2. Bingham 14-5

3. Davis 17-2

4. Alta 16-3

5. Riverton 17-2

Class 4-A

1. Provo 16-2

2. Highland 17-1

3. Bountiful 12-6

4. Mountain Crest 14-4

5. Olympus 14-4

Class 3-A

1. Judge Memorial 20-1

2. Juan Diego 18-3

3. Tooele 18-3

4. Logan 16-5

5. Dixie 17-4

Class 2-A

1. Richfield 16-5

2. South Sevier 17-3

3. Enterprise 13-6

4. North Summit 14-6

Class 1-A

5. Grand 16-4

1. Escalante 14-3

2. Tabiona 18-3

3. Layton Christian 11-5

4. Piute 11-6

5. Salt Lake Lutheran 12-2

TAKEN FOR GRANITE

Farmers facing uncertain futures

Granite coach Ron Burnside isn't sure about a lot of things. He doesn't know exactly how many years he's been affiliated with the Farmers' basketball program as both the head coach and an assistant. More importantly, he has no idea where he'll be working next year.

Burnside has been told that he'll still have a job with the Granite School District when Granite High is restructured after the school year and drops all of its sports teams. But he has no guarantees that he'll be coaching anywhere. He'll have to wait until the spring to see if any other coaching positions around the state open up.

"I've still got that passion, that fire burning inside me [to coach]," Burnside said.

His players are in the same uncertain position. The Farmers started four juniors and one sophomore, and those players will have to try and latch on late in their high school careers at schools such as Taylorsville, Olympus and Cottonwood.

"I feel bad for my players," Burnside said. "I'll be fine. I'll land on my feet. Those other schools have their programs and walking into them is going to be a hard thing."

3 Tourneys begin

The postseason is finally here. A couple play-in games will be held tonight to determine the final two Class 3-A tournament berths. The entire first round of the 2-A and 3-A tournaments then tip off Saturday. Class 2-A's first-round games will be played in Delta; the 3-A games will be at home sites.

Les is more

Les Brown's transfer from Judge Memorial to Highland figured to have a greater impact on the Rams' basketball team than the school's football team. That idea is proving to be true now that Brown is in Highland's starting lineup and playing well. "I think I'm starting to jell with this team," Brown said after helping Highland to a win over Olympus on Friday. Interestingly, Brown is contributing without dropping in long-range bombs, one of his strengths at Judge.

Practice? Practice?

Apparently, Davis' Nick Martineau didn't attend the Allen Iverson school of thinking regarding basketball practice. After leading the Darts to a key 59-52 victory over Northridge last Tuesday, Martineau said he couldn't wait to get back on the floor. But not for a game - for practice. "We've still got a lot of work to do," Martineau said. "I can't wait to get back into practice tomorrow and start working hard to help my team get better."

ALVERSON'S DEATH: Last week's games were overshadowed by the death of Tooele coach Gary Alverson on Tuesday morning. Alverson lost a short but painful battle with lung cancer. His funeral was Saturday morning.

Coaches around the state wore gym shoes while coaching last week to try and raise cancer awareness. Many of the state's coaches had either worked with, or against Alverson, who won state titles at Bonneville and Tooele, and was also an assistant at Cottonwood.

Davis coach Jay Welk said his team's win over Northridge, that likely clinched the Region 1 title for the Darts, was "bittersweet" after he learned of Alverson's death. Utah High School Activities Association executive director Evan Excell said he had lost a good friend.

"I went against him many times as a coach," Excell said. "He was always a gentleman, always a competitor. We were always friends after it was over. That says a lot about a coach."