5 Big Surprises

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With region play either underway for most teams across the state and Region likely to start rolling next week for everyone we want to highlight 5 positive surprises that caught us off guard. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#1 The Riverton Silver Wolves</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season they only won 7 games. The year before that they only won 11 games but they at least finished .500. The last time they finished above .500 was back in 2018. This year we think that they will hit the 15 win mark in a region that is very unpredictable because teas have been up and down all year. Although the stats might fully tell the entire story Riverton is starting to get production from 6'11 C Christian Henninger. He is putting up very minimal numbers but he has clogged the paint in the middle defensively and it has allowed his teammates to gang rebound. He is moving better and faster up the floor this year. With him being a Class of 2024 project he still has some time to polish the skills he has. In the perimeter you are getting some excellent play from Jaxon Kereks who has had his moments this year. Carter Nixon and [player_tooltip player_id='1116161' first='Stratton' last='Johnson'] have helped with their perimeter shooting. This team is averaging about 60 PPG and if they shoot the ball well they could win a lot of games in Region play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#2 The Olympus Titans</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is not to say that we counted the Reigning 5A State Champions out, it is simple math, they lost almost all contributors from a year ago besides two. Those two have been teaching and instructing their youngsters that have been inserted into play. [player_tooltip player_id='1057020' first='Jordan' last='Barnes'] is the conductor as he is orchestrating the offense with controlled in-and-out dribbles and timely shooting. That ball flies around the horn and often times it finds [player_tooltip player_id='1057034' first='Dutch' last='Dowdell'] somewhere as he is climbing up the scoring charts. Unlike other top scorers his team is winning. Zach Albers and [player_tooltip player_id='1278502' first='Gavin' last='Lowe'] have been fun to watch on this team as well. This team is dangerous. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3 [player_tooltip player_id='1532662' first='JJ' last='Mandaquit'] || RSL Academy || 2025 ||</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have been watching JJ play since he was in 8th grade and a few years later he lands in Utah from Hawaii and he has been better than advertised. JJ is getting serious looks from D1 schools including Stanford. His game is somewhat comparable to Peyton Pritchard who prepped at Oregon and is currently on the Boston Celtics. JJ has a lot of poise and he makes the people around him better, he is a true extension of the coach on the floor. He should have a stellar 2nd half of the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#4 Section 7</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PLEASE</strong> do not surprise us by not taking your team to Section 7 if you have college bound players. 22 Teams we think should be at Section 7:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alta</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Layton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bingham</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Orem</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fremont</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Farmington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dixie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Snow Canyon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>RSL Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cyprus</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olympus</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ALA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wasatch Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Judge Memorial</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sky View</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ridgeline</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Timpview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Springville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cottonwood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Juan Diego</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lone Peak</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Herriman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Parody</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is so much parody this year across the state. In 4A you have a few teams like Ridgeline, Layton Christian, Dixie and Sky View that can all win it. In 5A you have Alta, Cottonwood, Woods Cross, Lehi, Timpview and Olympus just to name a few. 6A every team has looked human at least once. Cyprus, Lone Peak, American Fork and Corner Canyon all have a shot and anything can happen come tournament time. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->