Favorites: 3A Region 15
Region 15 will be tough once again despite the departures of some of the prospects who made a lot of noise for their respective teams during the season and the state tournament this past season. Below are the new faces to look out for in this dangerous region.
1. South Sevier
This will be far from an easy task to stay on top of a region that was as dominant as Region 15 was last year. While South Sevier got to put up a banner, it wasn’t the most prestigious banner that was hung in this region. They did enough to win a region title, but Manti was able to put the ultimate run together that resulted them winning the state championship.
Not only will South Sevier have to survive the top Region in 3A in Region 15, but they will have to do so without a number of key prospects who ran the show for multiple years.
With that said, Kaetz King demonstrated throughout the course of last season that he is able to score the basketball at a high level from deep. King is the most proven scorer returning. However, Tyson Chisholm was vital to the team’s success last year as well as he was a solid distributor.
King and Chisholm will have the advantage of having a third prospect on their team who played meaningful minutes and had success last year as well in Peydon Woods. However, the rest of the team is largely unproven. It will be interesting to see how this team performs this season.
2. Grand County
Like the other teams in this region, Grand will have a lot of new faces in key spots. However, they have the most proven commodity out of any of the teams in this region. Cameron Hoppensteadt was a double-double machine for the team last year. His ability to win the battle on the glass makes this team scary. Further, he will dominate the paint in a way that no other bigs in this region are capable of doing it.
While Hoppensteadt is a huge commodity, good bigs need good guards in order to get them the basketball. The good news for Grand is that Nolan Ramirez proved that he is able to provide that last year. He was 2nd on the team in assists while averaging nearly 6 points per game. Further, he shot the basketball well from deep. Thus, providing Hoppensteadt with a guard who can pass and extend the court.
It would not be surprising to see Grand take this region. However, this is as tough of a region as there is in 3A. Thus, they will have their work cut out for them.
3. Manti
Despite finishing 3rd in this region, Manti made their run to the 3A state championship last year. That run demonstrated just how tough this region is. Manti plays with a toughness and a mentality in which they will not be afraid of any opposing team. This mentality alone makes them hard to play against.
Like the other two teams on this list, there was turnover, but there is enough reason to be optimistic due to their culture and returning talent. Adam Huff will most likely be the go to prospect for the team this upcoming season. Huff was a solid role player for the team last year who scored effectively in the opportunities that he was given.
In addition to Huff, Travis Thompson was a youthful prospect who will be relied upon heavily this season. He played meaningful minutes for the group last year and will be looked to as a means to play a bigger role this year.
It is tough to see Manti repeating as state champs. However, do not sleep on them when it is one and done time!