Players to Watch:
Elias Blackhawk, Century
Luke Panttaja, Century
Julian Bowie, Pocatello
Kessler Vaughan, Pocatello
Cam Hobbs, Preston
Druw Jones, Preston
Written by: Keller Sherman
Pocatello took home the District 5 crown last season and survived 45-44 and 75-72 thrillers against Burley and Jerome in the state tournament before falling in the final to Hillcrest. The Thunder will look to bring home a different colored trophy this year, but before they can even have a shot at that, they will first need to navigate a three-team league full of teams capable of making a run.
Pocatello lost some key players making the task of defending their league crown in a conference that demands talent all the more difficult. The good news is that reigning league player of the year and all-state first teamer Julian Bowie is back along with Krue Hales and Kesler Vaughn, but that is about it. Three key seniors that were named to all-conference teams are gone with first teamers Ryan Payne and Matthew Christensen as well as second teamer Kade Jensen graduated. Repeating as conference champions and getting back to state will not be easy. The returning talent will need to be phenomenal night in and night and incoming players will need to step up and play a role as well.
Crosstown rival Century got the best of Pocatello in the regular season, winning both meetings. However, the tables turned in the district tournament as the Thunder came away with two thrilling two-point victories to advance to state. If the Diamondbacks want to be District 5’s representative this season, they will need to play their best ball when it matters most. Ryan Frost is entering his 6th year as the head coach at Century and knows this to be true.
The Diamondbacks lost a key piece of talent that had multiple collegiate Division I offers as a freshman in Isaiah Harwell, who transferred to Wasatch Academy, a prestigious private school in Utah with a nationally ranked program. Three seniors that showed great leadership graduated leaving Bruin Fleischmann, Jordan Lee, and Nash Harding absent from the roster as well. These four players from being gone will leave big shoes to fill. Luke Panntaja and Elias Blackhawk are the only returning players that were named to all conference teams last season, so Frost will look to his incoming players to make an impact.
Frost names six incoming impact players that will be important to his team’s success this season; Zak Gillespie, Charlie Horrocks, Spencer Payne, Richie Bull, Boston Fitch, and Gabe Newton. While the returning talent will lead the way, Frost believes any of the incoming players are capable of having a big night at any given point. Playing together as a team will be important if Century is to go far this season.
Defense as a whole is where the team thrived last season. Frost hopes this continues this season. With plenty of new faces on the roster, the opportunities are there for players to step up and earn varsity playing time. In a league where Frost believes all three teams are good enough to beat each other on any given night, it will be about the team that is hot at the right time that will be the biggest factor in who takes home the league crown.
Preston will be a team on a mission this season. From 2016 to 2021, the Indians brought home four state titles and made it to the state championship game every year in that span. The two years they didn’t cut down the nets during that run, they were on the losing end of overtime thrillers to Idaho Falls in 2019 and Middleton in 2021. Last season was their first state tournament miss since 2015, but there is no reason to believe that they could have made some noise there if they had the opportunity to go. Such is life when failing to win a deep three-team league that only has one bid to state.
Tyler Jones has shown why he is one of the best active boys basketball coaches in the state with that impressive run of four state titles in six seasons. He brings back three all-conference players. One first team, one second team, and one honorable mention are back for Preston in Druw Jones, Cam Hobbs, and Will Hamblin respectively. Tate Hess is another key player coming back for the Indians. Brecker Knapp and Steven Roberts graduated, but two players that were on the JV roster last season will replace them. Kaden Larson and Cruz Harris both will make their varsity debuts while Hess saw limited minutes last season.
Offensively, Preston expects to be balanced. All-conference guards Hobbs and Jones started every game last season and other key players got significant minutes as well. Pushing the pace and playing well in transition are the main goals for Jones offensively. The size he has on the half court should help his offense be balanced as he wants to see.
Defense has always been a focus for Jones’s teams, especially rebounding. If the defense can thrive at accomplishing their main goals of getting stops and playing one possession at a time, Jones believes this team will go far. Chemistry will be big for Preston. If the players can buy into the team over self mindset and contribute to the team's main goals of defending and rebounding, they will be successful.
Any of the three teams have a great shot at winning this conference. Pocatello may be lacking in some of the talent they had last season, but they are still a well coached team and more than capable of winning the conference again. Century and Preston are just as capable of winning it as well however. The Indians will look to get back on top after having their state tournament appearance streak snapped while the Diamondbacks will look to put it all together for their first state trip since 2019.