2021 6A Preview: Mountain Valley Conference

<p>The season is about to start and without a true state championship, much of the pride in 2021 will ride on who brings home the league titles. The Mountain Valley Conference will be different than most leagues as the teams in Bend will mostly stay in Central Oregon while the Salem-area schools will duke things out with each other along with Albany/Corvallis area 5A squads - almost a reunion of the old Valley League. So since it would be tough to truly have a league champ, here’s a look at how we think a regular league title may have worked out.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>League Predictions</strong></span></p> <p>1. Summit<br /> 2. McNary<br /> 3. Sprague<br /> 4. South Salem<br /> 5. West Salem<br /> 6. Mountain View<br /> 7. Bend<br /> 8. McKay</p> <p><strong>Player of the Year</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="855926" first="Nathan" last="Meithof"], McNary</p> <p><strong>All-League Predictions</strong>: Meithof; [player_tooltip player_id="964539" first="Julian" last="Mora"], Summit; [player_tooltip player_id="857342" first="Dallon" last="Morgan"], Sprague; [player_tooltip player_id="1069453" first="Jasper" last="Phipps"], South Salem</p> <p><strong>Top Sleeper/Newcomer</strong>: Caden Harris, Summit</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Analysis</strong></span><br /> This could be the year that Summit ascends to the top - and maybe even a year ahead of schedule. Head coach Jon Frazier has a young but very talented group that is sure to wreak havoc on the rest of the Mountain Valley these next two years. [player_tooltip player_id="964539" first="Julian" last="Mora"] (10.8 ppg, 3.5 apg) will push the ball up the floor alongside guys like Truman Teuber (5.4 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id="1079540" first="Carson" last="Cox"] (2.1 ppg). Two varsity newcomers will be critical players - juniors Caden Harris and [player_tooltip player_id="1079543" first="Shane" last="Arnold"]. The 6-foot-4 Harris has already attracted attention with his athleticism and shooting stroke and earned his first scholarship offer form Western Oregon. McNary was looking at a tough year but then the Celtics and head coach Ryan Kirch got the news they wanted to hear - [player_tooltip player_id="855926" first="Nathan" last="Meithof"] (22.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg) had returned home from prep school in California and was eligible to play. The senior is a threat to lead the state in scoring and will be near impossible to defend with traditional defenses. Sprague has their own star in the making in [player_tooltip player_id="857342" first="Dallon" last="Morgan"] (12.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .565 fg%) and the big man will be ready to step up now that the Olympians will be looking to him more offensively. Head coach Jordan Graneto has some other returnees that should step into bigger roles. There’s massive turnover at South Salem for head coach Travis Brown but [player_tooltip player_id="1069453" first="Jasper" last="Phipps"] (5.9 ppg, .439 3pt%) is back and is ready to take on a heavy load. He’ll get help from out-of-state transfer Nate Kindred, who impressed playing with the Oregon Prospects over the summer and fall.</p> <p>West Salem lost a key cog when it was known that Jackson Lowery (15.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg) wouldn’t return due to injury. Head coach Travis Myers will have 6-foot-4 seniors [player_tooltip player_id="855964" first="Holden" last="Whipple"] (8.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Alec Dyson (11.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.7 apg) returning though and will be bolstered by 6-foot-5 transfer [player_tooltip player_id="964553" first="Brooks" last="Ferguson"] (0.8 bpg at Central) giving the Titans one of the larger lineups in the league. Head coach Bob Townsend has continually had Mountain View in the playoff conversation and he will be working with a young group with no seniors. 6-foot-10 [player_tooltip player_id="1079534" first="Tane" last="Prictor"] is a big man with a high ceiling worth watching. Bend will be young and head coach Aaron Johnson will use this year to develop his players and McKay continues to rebuild under head coach Keista McCrae.</p>