Players to Watch:
Luke Barinaga, Fruitland
Tyler Capps, Fruitland
Jaxon Dines, Homedale
Mason Strong, Homedale
Tate Ova, McCall-Donnelly
Peyton Johnson, Parma
Jaydin Morin-Bishop, Payette
Malakye Scott, Weiser
Written by: Keller Sherman
Teams around the Snake River Valley Conference can breathe a sigh of relief knowing McCall-Donnelly star player DJ Green is gone. Homedale and Fruitland seem to be among the teams most capable of capitalizing on what could be a down year for the Vandals, but any of the other three teams in this league could also step up and surprise.
McCall-Donnelly has been on the cusp of a state championship their first two seasons at the 3A classification. In 2021, they fell just short against Marsh Valley while Kimberly denied the Vandals last season. There could be some struggles on the horizon however as McCall lost three seniors that did a lot for the team. Conference and state player of the year DJ Green, first team all conference and second team all state selection Ethan Tinney, and second team all conference honoree Carter Johnson have all graduated. New players will have to step up if the Vandals hope to remain among the top teams in the league.
The biggest change in Fruitland is that the head coaching duo of Willie Lake and Mark Van Weerdhuizen is no more. Weerdhuizen is now solo as the head coach of the Grizzlies. In his eyes, all returning players will be important, but three starters do return. These are Eddie Rodriguez, Luke Barinaga, and Tyler Capps with the latter two being all-conference honorable mention players last year. Fruitland lost four seniors that saw significant playing time last season, two of which were named to all-conference teams. Nolan Bower was a 1st team selection at the conference level and a 2nd team honoree at the state level. Jacob Hamman brought home 2nd team honors at the conference level. Tucker Snyder and Nate Harris are additional players that will be missed this season.
On offense, Fruitland will look to get great play both inside and outside the perimeter. That includes improving shooting at the perimeter as well as working on spacing and ball movement. The defense expects to put a lot of pressure on teams and have a healthy rotation ready to face down the man and full-court defenses the Grizzlies will deal with this season.
Closing out games while continuing to improve on creating pressure to draw traveling violations which in turn lead to turnovers are areas Fruitland will look to improve on with the defense. Weerdhuizen is excited for his players that have worked hard to get lots of varsity playing time to finally see that work pay off. From the returning starters to players who stepped up off the bench to old and new faces alike, the Grizzlies could have the most talented top to bottom roster in the conference. However, size is lacking for this team and how they respond to this challenge will go a long way in determining how successful they are.
Homedale returns a significant amount of talent that is highlighted by two all-state players. Jaxon Dines and Mason Strong were 1st team and 2nd team all-state honorees last season respectively with both being named to the 1st team at the conference level as well as four year starters for the Trojans. Alijah Joyner, Trenton Fisher, Sigmund Goode, Omar Rios, and Elijah Renteria are other key players returning this season. Danny Lomeli, Luke Henry, and Breken Frank will look to learn from a senior heavy roster and earn some playing time to help fill in a big hole. Hayden Kincheloe may be more famous for his role on the Trojans’ football team, but on the hardwood, he was the team’s leading rebounder and also played a significant role all-around and his work helped him bring home 2nd team all-conference honors.
Cam Long enters his 4th season as Homedale’s head coach and on offense, he believes a big advantage for the Trojans is each player’s ability to play different positions on different nights as well as having deeper shooting depth than ever before. Free throw shooting cost Homedale dearly last season, especially in overtime games which the Trojans lost five of. A majority of those games saw Homedale hold leads late, but blow them because of the inability to have success at the charity stripe.
The defense is fast, physical, and smart. However, the Trojans lack in height and as a result, defensive rebounding is an area that Long’s teak struggles with. Now that he has been in charge for four seasons, this year’s senior class is the first that Long has been able to coach entirely and has seen their growth first hand. He is excited to see how far they can take the team on their last ride with the program. Staying healthy and holding on to those leads that Homedale blew far too often last season will be key to the Trojans having success this year.
Payette is ready to surprise this season. Mike Boudreau’s Pirates return a strong starting five that includes Jaydin Morin-Bishop, Collin Hysell, Abraham Rodriguez, Colin Wolf, and Martin Ceballos. Morin-Bishop was the only one of those to be named to an all-conference team receiving second team honors at that level. Two additional players received honorable mentions in Zander Allen and Cace Lewis, but both have graduated.
The chemistry in the Pirates’ program is as strong as it ever was before and Wolf will have a strong role in the starting five. Running the floor is where Payette will look to find its stride on offense, but running plays and controlling the tempo of the game will also be a part of the Pirates’ offensive scheme. The defense will thrive playing as one unit using smart communication and changing up defensive sets on a core that will also focus on running the floor. Mindset is an area that Boudreau wants to see his team improve on both sides of the ball.
This could be a special season for Payette. Team chemistry, mindset, seasoned veterans, basketball IQ, a run scheme that can be executed to perfection, and overall growth as a unit bring together all the pieces for the Pirates to go on a surprising run at the conference title. If they can put it all together, watch out.
Weiser lost a significant piece. Brett Spencer, a first team all-conference honoree, was the quarterback of Weiser football’s state championship team in 2021, but also put in hard work on the basketball court. Several other players from that championship team also played on the hardwood and similar to the graduation exodus the football team experienced, the basketball team will feel the sting of not having some of its best players as well. How the Wolverines respond to this adversity will be telling of how successful they can be this season.
Parma will welcome a new head coach this season. Trevor DeBuhr comes to Parma after four seasons coaching at Compass Charter. He’ll inherit a roster with a decent amount of talent on it. 2nd team all conference selection Peyton Johnson highlights the returning core that also features Braxton Hefffelfinger, Luke Redmond, Sean Powers, and Noah Krohn. The Panthers bring in Noah Stingle, Travis Stocket, and Ethan Leavitt as DeBuhr begins his rebuild of a Parma program that won a state title in 2016. DeBuhr is not focused on the past and instead looks forward to the future, and as such, he is more focused on getting the players he does have ready to play.
The interior of the offense will have size and shooting. DeBuhr plans to build his team’s offensive identity upon playing fast and physically. Team defense will be key. Learning to play together and build trust within one another while utilizing the size and speed the team has to its full potential will help this defense go far. Once Parma has built that trust, DeBuhr is excited to see how far this team can go. That trust will be the x-factor to the Panthers having success. All eyes will be on the future in DeBuhr’s first season. He has no interest in looking back at the past and is ready to have Parma competitive in the conference landscape again.
Homedale and Fruitland might be the favorites to come out on top in what should be one of the most exciting conference races in the state, but Payette has some pieces there to take the league by storm and shock everyone. McCall will look to hang tough without some of its best players in recent years and keep the Pirates from knocking them out of the top half of the conference. Meanwhile, Weiser and Parma will look to stay competitive in a deep league that could see any one of the four teams expected to be above them come out of the league.