Ok, 3a, 2a, and 1a will all get one article. Mostly because I’m really out of touch with the classifications but that doesn’t mean they aren’t deserving of coverage or don’t have great teams, coaches, and players! All the articles are free to subscribe, share, and read and if there are any issues, shoot me a note at support@utahbasketball.net
3A is three different regions and one shared fact: Morgan just won the state title and then graduated almost everybody who touched the ball. Bracken Saunders went for 23.0, 7.9 and 3.7. Jake Hansen handed out 5.5 assists. Brody Peterson stole the ball 4.2 times a night. Mason Williams pulled 9.9. That group is gone. The classification did not get worse. The favorite just moved.
Region 12 is the north group. Region 13 is Carbon County and Sanpete. Region 14 is the south-central valley. All three send teams that can beat each other in February.
Region 12
Morgan, American Heritage, Ogden, Logan, Grantsville, Ben Lomond.
American Heritage already played Morgan even in a title game. Paora Winitana’s Patriots went 19-8, 9-1 in region, and took the Trojans to a 64-51 final. Jackson Black was a junior in that rotation. Josue Kajinga is a junior forward who played in the middle of a state championship and is a beats in the middle. Heritage scores. They have for years. With Morgan turning the roster over, this is their region until somebody takes it.
Ogden went 15-11 and 5-5 and made the quarterfinals. Trent Porter left but new Coach Corey Doolan has been around the program and kept Ryan Kirkland, a 6-7 junior who already knows that gym, plus Blake Weston and Dallin Eliason. The Tigers were organized last year. They should be organized again. Second in this group is a real basketball team.
Morgan is still Morgan. Scott Hunt does not get 24 wins by accident. Cade Spens already played 27 games and guarded on a title team. Rhett Richardson and Krew Asay were in that locker room every night. The Trojans will be younger. They will not be unprepared. Third here is not an insult. It is what a reload looks like when four first-team pieces leave at once.
Grantsville made the semifinals and lost to Morgan 67-41. Stace Riding’s Cowboys have been in the conversation two winters running. Logan went 5-5 in region even while the overall record lagged — the Grizzlies can play with this group on a good night. Ben Lomond is building. Two wins last year does not mean those kids stopped competing. A couple of nights where the shots fall, and the Scots make somebody uncomfortable on 31st.
How I see Region 12: 1. American Heritage 2. Ogden 3. Morgan 4. Grantsville 5. Logan 6. Ben Lomond
Region 13
Emery, Manti, Union, Carbon, North Sanpete.
Emery won the region at 5-3 and went 15-11. Castle Dale has been the most consistent program in this group. Fifteen wins in a region this tight is the standard. They sit first until Manti or Union proves otherwise.
Manti and Union both finished .500 in region and both can score. Carbon went 4-4 and beat Emery twice in the last two weeks of the season — 64-57 and 58-56. Taylor Brower’s Dinos are right there. North Sanpete won nine games and already showed they can hang 65 on Carbon. This region is four teams within a couple of possessions of each other. That is the fun of it.
How I see Region 13: 1. Emery 2. Union 3. Carbon 4. Manti 5. North Sanpete
Region 14
Richfield, Canyon View, Delta, Juab, Providence Hall.
Rand Janes has been in Richfield for two decades. The Wildcats went 18-8 and 7-1, beat Ogden in the quarters, and played Heritage in the semis. Jorgen Southwick went for 20.3 and is off the board. Trey Yardley, Cord White and Derek Barton already played in that system. Richfield defends. They always have. First in this region is still theirs.
Delta won 15 games and made the quarters. The Rabbits have been a bracket team. Juab went 12-11 with a junior group that includes Kelsen Allred and Wyatt Downard, and sophomores Clayton Pay and Bryson Downard already got varsity run. Canyon View was 13-14 and 5-3 in a hard region — Cedar City always has athletes. Providence Hall went 0-8 in region and still has kids who showed up every night along with a new Coach in Terence Drisdom who knows what it takes to win. Year two and three in 3A are when those minutes start to look like a program.
How I see Region 14: 1. Richfield 2. Delta 3. Juab 4. Providence Hall 5. Canyon View
Players to watch:
Jackson Black, American Heritage
Ryan Kirkland, Ogden
Cade Spens, Morgan
Rhett Richardson, Morgan
Kelsen Allred, Juab
Josue Kajinga (AH)
Blake Weston (Ogden)
Derek Barton (Richfield)
Clayton Pay (Juab)
Saunders, Hansen, Peterson, Williams and Southwick are off the board. 3A still has Heritage, Ogden, Richfield and a Morgan team that knows exactly what the last weekend in February is supposed to feel like. The title just does not automatically go back to the same locker room.