5 Key Questions from Burley vs Century

On Tuesday December 11 the Burley Bobcats traveled down to Pocatello to play the Century Diamondbacks. These two teams haven't faced each other since the semifinal game of the state tournament last year in which Burley defeated Century. The game began with Max Rogers (2019) hitting a 3 pointer for Century. A couple plays later Jace Whiting (2020) answered with a deep 3 pointer of his own. The first quarter was filled with each coach making a lot of substitutions and neither team shooting very well from the field. At the end of the first quarter it was tied at 9-9. Things picked up in the second quarter and at the half it was Century 26 and Burley 19.

Burley being smaller tried to use their speed to their advantage. But in the end Century having three players over 6’3” on the court at the same time most of the game was more than Burley could overcome. With 5:43 remaining in the third quarter Burley pulled within 2 points after Jace Whiting completed an and-one making the score 26-24. Century ended up pulling away and winning the game 51-37. 

 Can you stop Jace Whiting (2020)?

Jace Whiting (2020) is our #1 ranked junior in the state for good reason. Whiting is lightning quick with the ball going either direction and can get a shot off in traffic. Even with smothering defense all game long by Harwell, Whiting still ended up with 21 points to lead all scorers. He is one of those players you won’t shut down you just hope to slow down.

 What is Century's ceiling?

Century has a very good team. Harwell (2019), Rogers (2019), Gunter (2020), and Zink (2020) are all very good players and pose various mismatches each night for opposing teams. They work well together keeping the defense from keying on just one of them. If Century continues to improve they will be a very tough team to beat at the state tournament.

What level of prospect is Max Rogers (2019)?

 At 6’7” Max Rogers (2019) is very athletic and can score in multiple ways. He has great hands, a wide wing span, and is a good shot from the outside. In the first half of this game Rogers (2019) had the ball outside the key facing the basket, he took one dribble to the middle of the floor and then spun back to the baseline past the defender for a layup. He would make a great addition to any program on the next level.

How good will the games between Century and Preston be?

Century and Preston will play in Preston on December 21, 2018 and then again on January 25, 2019 at Century. These should be really competitive games. It will be fun to watch the match ups between Harwell (2019) and Smellie (2020); Rogers (2019) and Hyde (2020);  Gunter (2020) and Hobson (2020). These will be fun to watch.

Who will win the 4A Great Basin Conference?

The pre-season coaches poll picked Twin Falls as 1 with Century 2, and Preston 3. The way Century is playing they will be a hard team to beat. Preston lost at Twin Falls on Dec 7 making the games against Century even more interesting and important for Preston. It also makes the Twin Falls @ Century game on January 3 an important game to help sort out who is number one.