Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Kimberly
2. Filer
3. Buhl
4. Gooding
Players to Watch
Cade DeBoard, Buhl
Kyler Kelley, Buhl
Ryne Kelley, Buhl
Joseph Bertao, Filer
Drake Speirs, Filer
Tegun Tews, Filer
Kurtis Adkinson, Gooding
Cooper Pavkov, Gooding
Gatlin Bair, Kimberly
Jaxon Bair, Kimberly
Jackson Cummins, Kimberly
Written by: Brandon Baney
If you like watching high-flying, uber-athletic, ultra-competitive players bust their tails night in and night out, then the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference may be your cup of tea.
Every single squad in the four-team SCIC is loaded with talented athletes. The question is: which team has the depth to survive this war of attrition?
According to league coaches, it’s defending conference champ Kimberly. The Bulldogs were picked to finish atop the preseason coaches poll, and for good reason. Kimberly lost in the first round at state last year to eventual champion Marsh Valley 38-35, then rebounded to win the consolation final over Fruitland.
Sophomore forward Gatlin Bair is the reigning SCIC Player of the Year, and is joined by seniors Jaxon Bair, Jackson Cummins, Ethan Okelberry and Dylan Hollist.
One of the few losses for Kimberly from last year’s team was 6’5” Trevor Hammond. “He was an inside presence that helped us be an excellent defensive team,” says coach Daren Garey. “We will need to defend teams differently this season because of his loss.”
Kimberly’s defense was the strength of the team last year, but Garey is expecting big things from the Bulldogs offense this year as well. “We would like to score the ball at a higher level,” Garey says. “We hope to increase our pace and have enough shooters around Gatlin to make the defense have to decide on what they will take away.”
Gooding finished second in the regular season standings last year, but it was Filer that found its rhythm at the right time and earned the runner-up slot at districts. The Wildcats eventually fell to Snake River in a state tournament play-in game, and the hunger from falling just short will motivate coach Rob Anderson’s team in 2021.
Three seniors are back after earning All-Conference honors a year ago. Tegun Tews and Drake Speirs will lead the backcourt, while Joseph Bertao will play down low. A man of few words, coach Anderson says Filer’s formula for success in 2021 is simple: “We focus and hang our hat on our defense.”
Gooding was hit hard by player departures. Senior forwards Cooper Pavkov and Kurtis Adkinson will lead the Senators in 2021. Senior guard Colston Loveland, an All-Conference selection a year ago, has verbally committed to Michigan to play football, and it doesn’t appear that he will play basketball in his senior season.
“I think no matter the sport and the level, each player that graduates or leaves is going to have a major impact,” says first-year coach Tanner Baumann. “We lost seniors that had up to 3 years of varsity experience and that is going to make things tough in the start of the season. We lost a player that has been a leader in this upcoming senior class so we will have our work cut out for us. The good news is I have kids that show up each day ready to work and get better.”
After four years as an assistant with the Senators, Baumann is trying to turn Gooding, a school rich in football tradition, into a basketball power as well. “The goal is to bring passion back to basketball within this community,” he says. “One thing that we struggle with each year is getting kids to be passionate about this sport. I think if each player can gain that passion, the community will follow suit.”
Buhl could be the most intriguing team in this year’s conference race. On the one hand, the Indians said goodbye to All-Conference players Drexler Jaynes and Joe Armitage. On the other hand, senior forwards Ryne Kelley (6’4”) and Josh Loveless (6’1”) give the Indians good size. Head coach Dan Winn describes Ryne Kelley as “an electric leaper with scoring skills” and Loveless as the team’s “Swiss Army knife.”
Senior Caden Ray will handle the point guard duties, and Winn says he is a “strong slasher with a high motor.” Sophomore Kyler Kelley will join Ray in the backcourt.
But the biggest X-factor for Buhl and the entire SCIC, is the arrival of transfer Cade DeBoard. DeBoard moved to Buhl over the summer after starring at Utah’s Green Canyon High.
With that in mind, coach Winn has put together a tough schedule, as 12 of their 20 opponents qualified for state a year ago. The schedule includes 4A Jerome, 3A champion Marsh Valley, Fruitland, Snake River, Kimberly and Wendell.