PLAYERS TO WATCH

Eric Barrientos, Clark County
Kooper Mickelsen, Clark County
Logan Friesen, Grace Lutheran
Garrett Grayson, Grace Lutheran
Taylor Ayers, Leadore
Mason Herbst, Leadore
Ruger Nicholls, Mackay
Kaizer Summers, Mackay
Evan O’Brien, North Gem
Gage Setser, North Gem
Abe Held, Rockland
Eli Hendrickson, Rockland
Teague Matthews, Rockland
Teland Brunette, Sho-Ban
Cordell Whatomy, Sho-Ban
Auggie Droegemueller, Taylor’s Crossing
Jackson Aldinger, Watersprings
Elvin Lin, Watersprings

CLARK COUNTY

Written by: Brandon Baney

Trying to forecast the ten-team Rocky Mountain Conference in boys basketball can seem like a daunting task. Some of Idaho’s smallest high schools reside in this league, so it’s hard to predict year-over-year what everyone will look like.

It may be more instructive, then, to look at the league in tiers. That’s how most coaches assessed the league during the preseason, and that’s how we’ll break it down, as well.

Tier one is occupied by Rockland and Watersprings. The two were separated by a single point in our preseason coaches poll, and the Bulldogs and Warriors, last year’s representatives from the league at state, are the overwhelming favorites to return.

Rockland went 23-3 a year ago, and actually defeated Watersprings in the consolation final at state. Coach Shae Neal lost a couple of big pieces to graduation in guard Brigham Permann and post Brandon Neal. “Brigham was an extremely talented guard who did everything from taking care of the ball to defending the best players in the state,” says Neal. “Brandon averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds, and was the motor to the team.”

Forgive opposing coaches for feeling too bad about those losses, though. That’s because 6-foot-5 senior Teague Matthews, the reigning RMC Player of the Year, returns. Senior post Eli Hendrickson is also a returning starter, while senior guard Abe Held was the Bulldogs’ 6th Man a year ago.

“We like to play a couple different styles of ball on offense,” says Neal. “We can play fast but also slow it down and run a lot of quick hitters. With Teague in the middle and guards like Abe on the outside, we are able to versatile with the inside/outside game.”

All of that offensive talent is nice, but the big question every year is: how will the defense shape up? “This is where we pride ourselves,” says Neal. “The last two seasons we have dominated on the defensive end. This is what starts our offense. If we are tough on defense, we produce on offense.”

Neal is also excited about a pair of sophomore guards, Woodrow Lowder and Isaac Held, that will be making their varsity debuts in 2023-24. Overall, Rockland has a nice blend of veterans and newcomers, and coach Neal says team chemistry is at an all-time high. “We struggled last year finding ourselves and who we were,” says Neal. “Pride and jealousy got in the way of the main goal and it showed late in the season. This team is different. This team wants to play for each other, win together and lose together. They can be something special and create those friendships that will last a lifetime.”

Watersprings also has several returning players that starred in key roles a year ago. Senior guard Jackson Aldinger is the only returnee with All-Conference honors attached to his name, but senior guard Elvin Lin, and senior forwards Nate D’Antoni and Luke Mathison all played important roles. They’ll pair with a pair of sophomores, Korban Nelson and Ryan Demkowicz, to try and replace the production lost by the graduated Daniel Canfield, who left Watersprings as the all-time leading scorer in school history.

“We want to play fast and score in transition,” says second-year coach Evan Bindenagel. “We need to get to the rim more and not rely on the three-ball as much.”

The second tier in the Rocky Mountain Conference features North Gem, Mackay, Sho-Ban and Grace Lutheran. All four of these teams have solid players to compete for a bid to state, but they don’t have as much depth as Rockland and Watersprings. How their newcomers develop throughout the year will be key.

North Gem is led by senior forward Evan O’Brien, an All-RMC player a year ago. Junior forward Ryver Hayden and sophomore guard Gage Setser are also key cogs in the Cowboys’ machine. “I am excited to see us take a major step forward,” says coach Tracey Corta. “Last year we were extremely young, with two of our top eight being freshman and the other six all having major role increases from a senior-heavy team the year before.”

Corta knows his team doesn’t have much size, but is hopeful that their quick athletes can get downhill and attack. Corta reiterates that if everyone can improve just a little bit from last year’s production, the sky could be the limit in Bancroft this season. “The x-factor for us will be the ability of all of our new and younger players from a year ago to understand what it takes to be successful as a team and to take that next step forward,” he says. “We are once again down in numbers, so the progress made by our returners will be crucial.”

Mackay returns three All-Conference players from a year ago in senior Kaize Summers and juniors Koden Krosch and Ruger Nicholls. The Miners will be working in a new head coach this year, as will Sho-Ban. Pam Coby takes the reins of the Indians program, and will be led by dynamic guards Teland Brunette and Cordell Whatomy.

“Sho-Ban has two very talented guards that can really score,” says Grace Lutheran coach Jeremy Hess. “Sho-Ban was playing really good basketball down the stretch last season,” adds North Gem coach Tracey Corta.

Speaking of Grace Lutheran, coach Jeremy Hess saw eight seniors, including starters Ben Hess, Matt Moretti, Matt Samuelson and Will Argall, all depart via graduation. Sophomore center Garrett Grayson will slide into the starting lineup, as will guards Logan Friesen (senior) and Ethan Flicker (junior). “We’ve got a little size this year in Garrett Grayson, so we’ll try to feed the ball inside to open up the outside,” says Hess.

“The players are excited and hungry to take ownership of the program,” Hess adds. “I’m excited to see who steps up into leadership roles.”

The third and final tier features teams that are officially operating in “dark horse” mode. Either not much is known about these teams, or depth is perilously low, but no matter what the designation is, any of these teams are capable of springing an upset on any given night.

Leadore has an extremely young roster this year, as eight of the Mustangs’ twelve varsity players are freshmen. Seniors Mason Herbst and Taylor Ayers and juniors Wyatt Foster and Jared Ramsey are the only non-freshmen on this year’s team, and all four will start. The fifth slot will go to one of those freshmen, and it appears that Dane Piippo is among the early leaders in that category.

Taylor’s Crossing brings back Augie Droegemueller, an All-Conference talent from a year ago. But who slides in next to him? And how will the Eagles fare under first-year coach Kolin Sutherland? One comfort for Taylor’s Crossing fans is that six seniors are on this year’s team. There are only nine players in total, though, which is why the Eagles find themselves in the third tier of the Rocky Mountain hierarchy.

The Clark County Bobcats are another team that is always skirting the line between not enough and just enough players to field a basketball team. A somewhat young Bobcats team a year ago welcomes back varsity contributors Hunter Stevens, Sergio Avila, Eric Barrientos and Kooper Mickelsen. Only Mickelsen is a senior, while the rest are juniors.

Finally, American Heritage Charter School is competing in varsity basketball for the first time in school history. They are playing a hybrid varsity-JV schedule in 2023-24.