Preseason Coaches Poll:
1. Jerome
2. Minico
3. Burley
4. Mountain Home
5. Twin Falls
6. Canyon Ridge
7. Wood River
Players to Watch:
Brevin Trenkle, Minico
Brandon Bethel, Mountain Home
Zach Ball, Twin Falls
Adam Kloepfer, Burley
Stockton Page, Burley
Sam Lupumba, Canyon Ridge
JJ Funk, Canyon Ridge
Korbin Heitzman, Wood River
Mikey Lloyd, Jerome
Scott Cook, Jerome
Gavin Capps, Jerome
Written by: Keller Sherman
Each season is full of surprises and disappointments and the Great Basin Conference was chock full of those in 2020-21. As the conference enters its second season as a 7-team league, cases can be made for just about each team to either win the conference or finish in the top half of the standings. Minico head coach Brady Trenkle acknowledges this when he states, “Everyone has very good returners and good coaching. Every team has a chance.”
Look for an exciting race to unfold in the Great Basin Conference in 2021-22.
After winning the conference in 2020-21 and earning a fourth place finish at state, about the only forward progress Jerome can make is having a better showing in Boise on the first weekend of March. The Tigers return several key players from last year’s team, including three all-conference selections, highlighted by the conference player of the year and 2nd team all-state selection in Mikey Lloyd. Scott Cook and Gavin Capps also return after bringing home 1st team all-conference selections from last year’s campaign.
Jerome only lost one key player from last year’s team in Alfredo Ortiz whom head coach Joe Messick describes as a “great defensive player.” While Messick expects a wide-open Great Basin Conference this season which brings excitement to every conference game, a non-conference date with Bishop Kelly in the first week of the season has his attention the most.
Even with the successes of last season’s campaign, Messick still knows full well that his team has room for improvement. “With a strong nucleus returning from last season our focus is to continue to get better and improve each day” he says. Just like any other team strives to do, “staying healthy and avoiding injuries throughout the season” will be a focus for Messick this season.
Losing to Twin Falls in the district tournament last season cost Minico a trip to state, but head coach Brady Trenkle leads his Spartans squad into the 2021-22 campaign with high hopes that they can get there this season.
Brevin Trenkle returns after being a 1st team all conference selection last season and as a junior, still has two more years to have a major impact at Minico. Klayton Wilson also returns along with several others. Kent Merrill is the only notable loss from last season. “We will miss his leadership, experience and daily work ethic,” Trenkle said of Merrill.
If Minico is to achieve the big goal this season and make it to state, Trenkle feels every game will dictate his team’s success in the Magic Valley. Progress was also made in all areas as Trenkle states, “They kept getting better as we got into the season. Never took steps backwards, only forwards.” Trenkle says offense will be an area of focus for the Spartans this season: “(We need more) consistency on the offensive end and have better production from more than two guys.”
Burley finished right in the middle of the conference last season splitting the regular season series with Twin Falls. They both finished with identical conference records, but the Bobcats had the worse overall record between the two.
Burley still has a long ways to go for its first state title since 2008, but two all conference selections are back for the Bobcats in Adam Kloepfer and Stockton Page, as well as other key returners and new varsity players in Ramsey Trevino, Stockton Sheets, and Gage Ontiveros.
They will all look to fill in holes left behind by Conner Judd and Jarrett Orthman. “They shot the ball well for us and were vocal team leaders,” head coach Mac Stannard said of the losses from last year’s team. Additionally, just like any other team, “staying healthy and avoiding injuries throughout the season” will be important to Jerome’s success this year.
If Burley is to climb its way to the top of the conference, they’ll have to find a way to beat Jerome. The Tigers swept the regular season series with the Bobcats and also defeated them in district tournament play as well. The games with Jerome are highly anticipated among Stannard and his players as he states, “We went 0-3 against them last season and have been waiting for another chance at them.”
The team also takes pride in a defensive identity and will look to continue that this season. However, even with all the positives on defense, scoring has been a glaring issue for the Bobcats. Stannard is confident his team can take some steps forward in this area with some new additions as he states, “We have a few new playmakers who can get others a shot as well as themselves.” Shooting will also remain a focus for Burley, but Stannard feels his team is “much improved in that department.”
Mountain Home may have finished 6th in the conference last season only ahead of Wood River, but there are plenty of reasons to believe the Tigers can make some noise this season. All conference selections Brandon Bethel, a first teamer, and CJ Mann, a third teamer, return in addition to Zavion Parker and Jon Tetrault. Hyrum Wright is a player from last season that the Tigers will miss dearly. “His size and athletic ability will be missed,” head coach Brion Bethel said of his departure.
A non-conference date with an old conference foe and defending state champions in Middleton is the regular season matchup that Bethel is most looking forward to. “They are the defending state champs and will help us gauge where we’re at,” he said of the matchup.
If you played Mountain Home last season, it was likely a low scoring affair as Bethel’s team “played great defense last year.” He also states, “Guys really work hard at getting stops and keeping scores low.” Despite these major areas of strength on the defensive side of the ball, Bethel knows there are plenty of areas for his team to improve on. He states, “We didn’t shoot the ball well last year. Our shooting percentage was pretty low and we’ve improved on that greatly.”
If you’re caught sleeping, Twin Falls will make you pay for it. Examples of such can be found in a 63-38 rout of Minico during the regular season and victories over Minico and Burley in the district tournament. The Bruins could not keep it going once they made it to state, however, as they went two and out. Mountain Home head coach praises the Bruins as a potential surprise team as he states, “They have a lot of young players that are very skilled and they are very well coached.” Center Zach Ball will be a player to keep an eye on.
Just down the road at Canyon Ridge, the Riverhawks are also receiving plenty of praise from around the conference as another team capable of surprising. Burley head coach Mac Stannard knows that they have the “size and talent” to be competitive. JJ Funk and Sam Lupumba are notable returns for Canyon Ridge.
Not much of anything could go right for Wood River as COVID complications not only limited the time the Wolverines saw the court, but when they did play, they failed to notch even a single win going 0-14 overall. Korbin Heitzman will be a key player for Wood River this season if they are to get out of the conference’s basement.