Region 5 Preview
Photo Credit: Standard-Examiner
Region 5 Preview
Region 5 in the 4A classification is headlined by last years region champ Woods Cross High School. Woods Cross dominated the region last year in route to making the semi-finals of state. The rest of the region will be a toss up for the remaining three playoff spots. Here is our predicted order of how Region 5 will finish.
- Woods Cross: The Wildcats will be lead by the University of California commit, Trevin Knell. The 6’5 senior guard averaged over 20 points per game last season and is the #3 ranked player in the state of Utah. Senior Sharpshooter Cameron Allen will also return which will make for one of the best shooting duos in the state.
- Highland: After taking second in region 5 and making the state semi-finals last season, the Rams will have to rely on an inexperienced group to step up. The Rams will lose all five starters from last years team. The 6’2 guard Elijah Shelton had an impressive summer for UBC and should be Highlands top player.
- East: The Leopards will have to learn how to succeed without former star guard Dacien Spotted Elk who is currently playing for Western Wyoming Community College. The Leopards will be lead by 6’8 junior Mikey Frazier. Although he didn’t play much as a sophomore, Mikey had a nice summer playing with Utah Exum Elite.
- Bountiful: The Braves will try to bounce back from a down year where they missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They will be led by 6’2 Sophomore guard Brig Willard, who is the only double digit scorer that returns for the Braves.
- Box Elder: The Bees will try to make it back to the playoffs again as last year they made the playoffs with a 4th place finish in Region 5. Max Watson will try to build on a sophomore campaign the included a 17 ppg average. The Bees will rely heavily on Watson to keep them in games versus more talented teams.
- Ogden: The Tigers look to have their best team in years and compete for a playoff spot. Hunter Clarke the 6’4 guard who averaged 16 ppg returns for his senior year and twin brother Jaxon Clarke is also back with his 13 ppg, which will create a nice scoring duo. The Clarke brothers will need their supporting cast to step up for tigers to make the playoffs.
- Bonneville: The Lakers will have a lot of new faces suiting up for them this season. Many guys that played JV last year will have a chance to play varsity. The Lakers will try to be competitive in a very good Region 5.