PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Austin Arave, Blackfoot
Kasen Sorensen, Blackfoot
Carter Bowen, Bonneville
Tyler Jordan, Bonneville
Tate Prince, Hillcrest
Tyson Sweetwood, Hillcrest
Makai Ferguson, Idaho Falls
Trey Hafer, Idaho Falls
Alex Beck, Shelley
Brett Crandall, Shelley
Spencer Greene, Skyline
Taylor Taylor, Skyline
Written by: Marlowe Hereford
The road to the 5A (formerly 4A) boys basketball state title has run through eastern Idaho for 13 of the last 15 years.
More recently, the last four state titles in the classification have been won by District 6’s Hillcrest or District 5’s Pocatello or Preston. Last season, it came down to Preston and Hillcrest on state championship Saturday at the Ford Idaho Center, with Preston prevailing 64-47. Hillcrest went to state having won its fourth consecutive district title, dropping one conference game all season (Blackfoot).
The 5A District 6 tournament was as competitive as ever, with fifth seeded-Skyline defeating sixth-seeded rival Idaho Falls in overtime, second-seeded Blackfoot defeating fourth-seeded Shelley by one point and third-seeded Bonneville giving second-seeded Blackfoot all it had en route to winning a winner-to-state elimination game.
The early consensus among 5A District 6 coaches is that the district will be as competitive as ever, and varsity athletes will need to embrace their roles upon the graduation of 31 total seniors from last year’s teams.
HILLCREST
The Knights went 20-6 overall and 9-1 in 5A District 6 last year, reaching its fourth consecutive state title game.
Hillcrest graduated seven from that team, including leading scorer, three-year starter and All-Conference Player of the Year Titan Larsen, First Team All-Conference point guard Gage Blakeslee and Honorable Mention All-Conference selections Britton Lords and Mason Saunders.
Returning for the Knights is Second Team All-Conference senior wing/post Tyson Sweetwood, senior forward Dax Sargent and senior guard Tate Prince. Joining Hillcrest on varsity this season are senior guard Creiden Nield, sophomore guard Ethan Saunders, junior wing River Ball and freshman guard Dieter Kesler.
“I’m most excited to see what our young guys can do,” Hillcrest head coach Mat Barber said. “I know that my seniors will be great leaders and do exactly what the program needs. We return one player with real experience, so I’m excited for everyone else to have the chance to contribute at a high level.”
Barber, who is starting his second season as head coach, said the Knights will strive to utilize their athleticism and the X factor this season will be having willingness to rebound and defend.
“We have rebounded at a high percentage both offensively and defensively the last few years,” Barber said. “I’m hopeful that our group will take pride in these less glamorous parts of the game.”
Offensively, Barber said the Knights are aiming to increase their assist-turnover ratio.
“Our assist-turnover ratio was 1.05 last year,” Barber said. “It is vital that we reduce our turnover percentage and increase our assist-turnover ratio.”
Defensively, rebounding and taking more charges are areas Barber said the Knights would like to improve on from last season.
“We are athletic and will attempt to pressure opponents without fouling,” Barber said. “We will predominantly be a man team while mixing in some zone looks. We have to be willing to give multiple efforts. We are not a shot blocking team, so we need to look to limit straight line drives and look to take more charges.”
BONNEVILLE
The Bees went 16-12 overall and 6-4 in conference play in head coach Cortland Hengel’s first season, their first winning season since 2016-17. Bonneville also reached the state tournament for the first time since 2017, making it to the third place game. This turnaround occurred a year after the Bees finished last in the conference.
Eight players graduated, including First Team All-Conference point guard Dallin Jardine, Second Team All-Conference shooting guard Ryan Egbert, Honorable Mention All-Conference forward/center Kayden Carson and Honorable Mention All-Conference forward/center Boston Jardine.
Junior forward/center Carter Fontes, senior shooting guard Kade Littlewood and first Team All-Conference shooting guard Tyler Jordan (senior) return for the Bees on varsity, while senior shooting guard/forward Carter Bowen, sophomore point guard Grayson Temple and junior forward/center Hayden Moffat join varsity this season.
Hengel acknowledged that the experience of eight seniors is a lot to lose at once, and the X Factor will be the varsity athletes buying in and gaining experience.
“We need to buy in to what we are trying to accomplish together and not let early failures or successes deter us from growing and attacking every day to get better,” Hengel said. “The season is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to be playing our best basketball in February, which is always the case, but we need to be focused on what’s in front of us, not behind us.”
Hengel added that he looks forward to seeing how the team meshes together, especially adding in the newcomers. Bonneville’s freshmen boys team went 21-0 last season and those players, along with the JV moving up to varsity, will need to acclimate to varsity, Hengel said.
Defensively, Hengel said all four of his returning varsity players have their strengths. Offensively, the Bees will strive to spread the ball around.
“Our program goal is to play fast in transition correctly and when necessary, execute in the half court to the best of our ability,” Hengel said. “Everyone needs to be a threat, just like last year.”
BLACKFOOT
The Broncos went 11-12 overall and 7-3 in conference play last season. Blackfoot did not have any seniors on that team and as such, was the only 5A District 6 team to not have any graduating varsity players.
The returning varsity players include senior forward Kasen Sorensen, junior forward Chett Hyde and senior guard and First Team All-Conference selection Austin Arave. The Broncos also add senior guard Ryker Williams to varsity this season.
Head coach Clint Arave said the Broncos, who had six sophomores on varsity last season, return more experienced and prepared from how last season ended in districts.
“We return every player we had from last season,” Coach Arave said. “We ended up losing to tough, senior heavy Hillcrest and Bonneville teams to go to state. But players like Chett Hyde, Ledger Baldwin, Carter Ethington and Lawrence Cousineau will all be much more prepared as varsity players and have had tough district experience that will pay off this year.”
These returning varsity players will have big roles both offensively and defensively for Blackfoot.
“We have both size and speed so offensively we can play in multiple ways,” coach Arave said. “Our strengths will depend on the personnel on the floor but we have the ability to score points and have one of the best duos in the state with Austin Arave and Kasen Sorensen. Carter Ethington, Ryker Williams, and Dainian Martinez are defensive and rebounding specialists that can create a lot of extra opportunities for our team.”
SHELLEY
The Russets went 11-14 overall last season and 4-6 in conference play. Shelley graduated three—Eli Heath, Jet Lott and leading scorer and First Team All-Conference guard Chase Ricks—from that team.
Among the returning varsity athletes for the Russets are senior guard and three-year starter Brett Crandall (Second Team All-Conference), senior wing Con Bennett, senior wing Kael Remington, senior guard Landen Smith, junior wing Alex Beck (Honorable Mention All-Conference) and junior post Bridger Brunson. Shelley also adds 6-foot-8 sophomore post Kam Cook to varsity.
“He's not a skinny 6-8, so he'll be able to hold his own at the varsity level,” Shelley head coach Keegan Keller said. “We're hoping that he can block or alter a lot of shots and control the boards for us.”
Keller described the Russets as a balanced scoring team, and he also anticipates the rebounding to improve this season.
“Overall, we return 75 percent of our scoring from last year, and we do a good job of being able to spread the floor, attack the paint, and find open shooters,” Keller said. “We weren't very big last year, so we weren't able to get a lot of second-chance points. With our returners and adding a couple of other players, we're hopeful we can control the glass a little bit more this year.”
Keller added that defense has been a big strongpoint for the Russets in recent seasons, and he expects it to remain a strength again this season.
“With our experience returning this year, we should be able to have multiple different coverages and be able to disrupt and get in passing lanes a little bit more,” Keller said.
Keller said depth will be the X factor for Shelley this season, particularly the ability to adjust to who they play and how they play. He added that the Russets will benefit from having several returning experienced varsity players.
“We think that that's going to be able to carry us and help us have a good season,” Keller said. “We're hoping for some kids to take steps forward and be leaders, but overall we're hoping that our chemistry and our athletic ability will be able to help us compete for a district championship.”
SKYLINE
The Grizzlies went 5-19 and 2-8 in conference play last season. Skyline graduated seven from that team.
The Grizzlies also have a new head coach in Garrett Jones, who was previously a Skyline assistant coach for six years.
Skyline did lose two returning varsity starters to injury during
the offseason, senior forward Boston Hugues and junior shooting guard and Second Team All-Conference selection Cooper Thomas.
Returning on varsity for the Grizzlies are senior point guard Taylor Taylor, junior small forward Dillon Herzog, senior small forward Spencer Greene (Honorable Mention All-Conference), junior small forward Taleai Molifua and senior small forward Zyan Crockett. Sophomore power forward Duncan Howell and sophomore Brycen Burnside join Skyline’s varsity this season.
Jones said even though starters Hugues and Thomas are out with injury, the Grizzlies have considerable depth.
“Our goal is to create good/great shots from our offense using multiple ball screens, non-ball screens and motion to create mismatches, which we will utilize to shoot and make high percentage shots,” Jones said. “All of our players are inside/outside players and will play any of the five positions in the half-court.”
On defense, Jones said the Grizzlies will strive to rebound every missed shot and contest every shot.
“We will incorporate a variety of man-to-man defensive looks to help us create turnovers (soft, aggressive, trapping full-court, three quarter court and half court),” Jones said. “We will use those turnovers to attack the rim for easy buckets. We have great shot blockers and great help-side defenders at every position.”
Jones added that he has been impressed with how much work his athletes put in during the offseason, and that it will show this winter.
“They enjoy playing the game and they practice well, working on skills and working hard,” Jones said. “I think you will see many high fives, chest bumps and smiles this season.”
IDAHO FALLS
The Tigers went 4-19 overall and 2-8 in conference play last season. Idaho Falls graduated six from that team, including Second Team All-Conference selection Bradley Elison.
Makai Ferguson and Daniel Hillam both received Honorable Mention All-Conference last season as a junior and sophomore, respectively.
Bonneville head coach Cortland Hengel said the Tigers are a team to keep an eye on this year with how well they played at districts last season.
“Their JV last year had some size and depth,” Hengel said. “When they moved up some of their now-juniors for districts and other late games, they took it to Shelley and Blackfoot. Even gave us trouble for a half in the first round of districts as well. If they put it together, they could be dangerous.”
Shelley head coach Keegan Keller also tabbed the Tigers as a team to watch.
“They have a lot of good juniors that have won a lot of basketball and played and got some good experience last year on the varsity level,” Keller said.