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Preston High School
School Info
Conference: 4A District 5-6 Conference
Classification: 4A
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Head Coach: Tyler Jones
Years as Head Coach: 5th season
Record Last Year: 17-7
State Titles: 1989, 1990, 2001, 2004
Assistant Coaches:
Brent Knapp, Matt Shumway
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Team Preview:
Written by: Sven Alskog
Perhaps the biggest threat to challenge the Century Diamondbacks in the 4A District 5-6 conference comes in the form of Preston.
The Indians return a boatload of talent from their 17-7 team from last year, so filling the stat sheets should be no problem.
Three starters are back led by 6’5” center Kyle Lords, an imposing figure down low who figures to give Preston an advantage on the interior most nights. The big man has two years of experience at the varsity level already under his belt.
Joining Lords will be point guard R.J. Harris, a sparkplug for Head Coach Tyler Jones. The 5’8” Harris is known as an outstanding defender who also put up 10 points per game last season.
To further solidify Preston on the offensive side of things, junior wing Austin Smellie will be asked to continue filling the basket after averaging 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last year.
For Jones, in his fifth season on the sidelines for the Indians, the returning talent should allow his squad to be competitive on any given night again this season.
“Our strengths are we have some experience coming back from last year; we have a lot of people who have played significant minutes,” he said. “We have some depth and we want to use that to our advantage.”
Defensively Preston will need to be strong on the perimeter, sealing off the lane to prevent Lords from getting into foul trouble on the inside.
Harris looks to be the man who will set the tone for the defensive intensity, with a solid group surrounding him to make the Indians a tough bunch to score on. This held true last season with the unit holding teams at or below 50 points on 13 different occasions.
Some new talent will step in to further help Preston compete this season.
Another interior presence, the 6’3” Clayton Jensen, will back up Lords, while Dallin Fryar returns from a broken foot after missing last season. Sawyer Jensen will also receive plenty of playing time on the wing.
The squad will have its work cut out for it this season, having to go against a tough opponent every night, however they appear to be ready for the challenge.
“We play in a tough conference and the league should be really good this year from top to bottom,” said Jones. “Hopefully we can compete and be in the hunt come the end of the season."
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