Week 2 Updated Team Rankings

<p>When we evaluated our Pre-Season Rankings we had a lot of insight and we were able to a lot of players play in the Fall and late Winter at Camps and Showcases. There is an obvious difference in play when it comes to showcases and camps as well as AAU ball. Players that performed at a high level are starting to see that their rosters are not always going to be litered with talent that they cannot leave. The help and players in the lane waiting is more apparent in high school ball. We have seen some players struggle and some players continue to have success but their team is not winning. Either way the talent in Utah continues to develop and improve from the Class of 2024-2021 as we are getting to know some ew names and some old ones that didn’t play a lot this off-season. </p> <p><strong>Pre-Season Rankings</strong></p> <ol> <li>American Fork (6A) 2. Corner Canyon (6A) 3. Lone Peak (6A) 4. Timpview (5A) 5. Layton (6A) 6. Davis (6A) 7. Pleasant Grove (6A) 8. Alta (5A) 9. Bingham (6A) 10. Skyridge (6A) 11. Farmington (5A) 12. Westlake (6A) 13. Weber (6A) 14. Dixie (4A) 15. Provo (5A) 16. Lehi (5A) 17. Bountiful (5A) 18. Juan Diego (4A) 19. Ridgeline (4A) 20. Cedar City (4A) 21. Timpanogos (5A) 22. Olympus (5A) 23. West Jordan (6A) 24. Snow Canyon (4A) 25. Desert Hills</li> </ol> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Week 2 Rankings</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Wasatch Academy:</strong> Well these guys are on another level. They are ranked in some polls as high as number 10. [player_tooltip player_id="611186" first="Nolan" last="Hickman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="933935" first="Richard" last="Isaacs Jr."] are one of the best backourts that have ever played together in Utah. If you have a chance to watch them play out here in the city make sure you go ahead and tune in. </p> <ol> <li><strong>+1 Corner Canyon (6A):</strong> The Chargers have been playing some great basketball. They have played one heck of a schedule as well. With wins over Bingham, Bountiful and Westlake they are a team that just has the right pieces and they have a lot of chemistry. Their inside out combo of Welling and Ross is just a tough cover. Young players like [player_tooltip player_id="934040" first="Max" last="Toombs"] are also making a solid impact as well. </li> <li><strong>-1 American Fork (6A):</strong> AF has one loss and that is to Nationally Ranked Wasatch Academy and they played without their best player in Jaxon Koehler the 6’9 D1 prospect. AF is stacked as well and they will be a tough matchup for anyone at full strength. Their tough pre-season schedule will really have them ready for a fierce Region 4. </li> <li><strong>+9 Westlake (6A):</strong> The Thunder make a huge jump in the rankings moving up 9 spots. Westlake as all the pieces from shooting to grit to defense. They also have a pair of 6’9 players that are tough but the one that sets the tone is [player_tooltip player_id="933802" first="Hunter" last="Phillips"]. To top it of they might hav the best perimeter defender in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="755630" first="Noah" last="McCord"]. Westlake’s only loss is to Corner Canyon at CCHS at their tournament in the Championship game. </li> <li><strong>+3 Pleasant Grove (6A):</strong> PG is a very balanced team. They are one of those take what they give you teams. They currently have 5 players scoring in double-figures, they will likely have 6 shortly. [player_tooltip player_id="934025" first="Jordan" last="Ross"] is solid and so is [player_tooltip player_id="933800" first="Isaac" last="Vaha"] and they really open it up for everyone else. </li> <li><strong>-1 Timpview (5A):</strong> The T-Birds have a shot to really make a statement at the Elite 8. [player_tooltip player_id="755614" first="Jake" last="Wahlin"] and company have the length with a mixture of youth and veteran leadership they can really continue to be tough to beat. </li> <li><strong>-3 Lone Peak (6A):</strong> Although LP dropped a few spots don’t let that fool you from the fact that they’re really good. Loosing to Wasatch Academy shouldn’t have them drop off too far, look for them to bounce back in a big way, especially with more practice time under their belt. The unique thing about Lone Peak is that every player that sets foot on the floor is a threat to score. Look for [player_tooltip player_id="755613" first="Cameron" last="Brimhall"] to really have bounce back game against Provo. </li> <li><strong>+3 Skyridge (6A):</strong> After an impressive game 1 30 piece win you’re going to quickly notice that Skyridge plays the right way and they have a lot of other players that can score besides [player_tooltip player_id="543090" first="Duncan" last="Reid"]. They will be a fun to team to watch. </li> <li><strong>+8 Lehi (5A):</strong> Lehi made.a nice statement at the Corner Canyon Tournament as they nearly knocked of Westlake in game one which Lehi looked a bit sloppy but they still gave themselves a chance, the addition of Peter Amasaku is huge, the 6’4 G can play and he is a great running mate for [player_tooltip player_id="543077" first="Noa" last="Gonsalves"] and Tyler Hawkins, Their next two games will really move the needle for them. </li> <li><strong>+5 Dixie (4A):</strong> The Flyers have been flying high in these two early games. [player_tooltip player_id="933803" first="Isaac" last="Finlinson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="955349" first="Ethan" last="Bennett"] are tough but look fo them to get grounded a bit as their next game will be against Wasatch Academy in the Elite 8. This will be a great chess match to watch because Dixie sure comes up with great game plans.</li> <li><strong>-4 Davis (6A):</strong> Tough game 1 to start the season at PG for the Darts. If they want to remain in the conversation they will need consistent play from [player_tooltip player_id="934473" first="Rex" last="Sunderland"] and Henry Ihrig. Their schedule is not getting easier either. </li> <li><strong>-2 Bingham (6A):</strong> The Miners were victims of two losses to two top 3 programs in Corner Canyon and Westlake. [player_tooltip player_id="543098" first="Jordan" last="Toscano"] has been up and down but a solid game. Bingham has a few players that can just give them buckets but need to get going and that is [player_tooltip player_id="955324" first="Justis" last="Reiser"] and [player_tooltip player_id="968084" first="Kam" last="Dupaix"]. They will have another gut punch when they welcome American Fork to their place next week. </li> <li><strong>+6 Juan Diego (4A):</strong> JD is back and they continue to stifle teams with their patten 2-3 defense that seems to throw teams out of sorts. It doesn’t help that they have one of the fastest kids in the state with the ball in [player_tooltip player_id="755615" first="Talon" last="Valdes"] racking up steals and easy buckets as well. JD is a hard tem to pressure and score against. They should go undefeated till they face Westlake on New Years Eve. </li> <li><strong>Weber (6A):</strong> Weber should be really prepared as they will not play their 1st game till the 15th. Don’t be surprised if Weber wins 10 of 11 and moves up the rankings shortly. </li> <li><strong>+8 Olympus (5A):</strong> One of the most interesting teams to watch this year. The combination of [player_tooltip player_id="755622" first="Ben" last="Krystowiak"] and Jack Wistrcil could be too much for some teams. </li> <li><strong>-4 Farmington (5A):</strong> The Phoenix had a run in with two teams that really challenged them early in Westlake and Lehi. Don’t hold that against them. Keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id="933806" first="Truman" last="Hendry"], who is a solid college prospect and the obvious [player_tooltip player_id="934472" first="Collin" last="Chandler"]. They have a group that run with them that get up and down, defend and they can really shoot the ball at every position. They also have some young pieces that in due time could helo them later on this season. </li> <li><strong>+8 West Jordan (6A):</strong> WJ like to slow things down and they will have a test today against a scrappy Herriman team that has two players that can score. [player_tooltip player_id="934507" first="Logan" last="Prince"] got off to a good start but if WJ really wants to make a run he will need to really pick it up. </li> <li><strong>-11 Layton (6A):</strong> Layton got off to a rough start against a guard heavy Viewmont team. Layton has two young talented guards in<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="1057041" first="KJ" last="Miller"]</strong> and <strong>Makiah Martin</strong> and they’re really going to need to grow up quickly. [player_tooltip player_id="755612" first="Ethan" last="Potter"] had a monster 36. We will see how they fair in their next game against Hurricane. </li> <li><strong>* Kearns (6A):</strong> Kearns gets off to a hot start going 3-0 and they beat three teams they should beat but this could be a really good sign for the Cougars as they were young last year and lost a few games they should’ve won. Kearns is getting some great play from a lot of players on their roster but none better than <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967696" first="Amare" last="Ames"].</strong> </li> <li><strong>+2 Cedar City (4A):</strong> Cedar city was Idle but they got pushed down in the rankings because others were in play. They will be tested  this week, so look for them to find out where they stand. </li> <li><strong>+6 Desert Hills (4A):</strong> Desert Hills has shown some grit especially playing without their best player in [player_tooltip player_id="755651" first="Keegan" last="Munson"] who gives thema different look when he’s on the floor. </li> <li><strong>* Mountain View (5A):</strong> Calvin Gustufson didn’t take too long to make his presence felt. Mountain View should not be taken lightly as they have some guys that can really play and they can play different styles including getting up and down or in the half court. </li> <li><strong>* RSL Academy (2A):</strong> It’s not too early to tell but the small school in Herriman has some big time game and some big time players in the making. [player_tooltip player_id="1046038" first="Adam" last="Stewart"] is tough and a big kid. At 6’10 he is hard to miss and RSL Academy will be fun to watch. </li> <li><strong>-2 Timpanogos (5A):</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="755626" first="Jackson" last="Holcombe"] is prospect that needs to be taken seriously. The kid has size, a handle and can shoot the ball. Timpanogos will continue to get better with time.</li> <li><strong>* Layton Christian (2A):</strong> Tough outing against Wasatch Academy, but they won’t be the only ones to fall victims to them. <strong>Jerehim Elder</strong> and company have some guys that can score and get up and down the floor. </li> <li><strong>-6 Ridgeline (4A):</strong> Tough break to start the season without sharp shooter [player_tooltip player_id="934474" first="Kaden" last="Cox"], but Ridgeline is still tough and has been getting strong play from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="955347" first="Jake" last="Smith"].</strong> Look for them to continue to improve and have other players step up. </li> </ol>