5 Takeaways: Layton vs. Copper Hills
In this segment of 5 Takeaways, we are looking at the Layton vs. Copper Hills game that took place last night. The first and most important of the 5 Takeaways is Layton is the Real Deal. Layton and Copper Hills have both exceeded the early expectations that were placed in front of them. They are both officially candidates to win their region in finish in the top 10 in the state.
5 Takeaways: Layton vs. Copper Hills
1. Layton is the Real Deal
Layton was overlooked by many early. However, they have made some serious noise that cannot be ignored. In the first game of the season, they beat American Fork. Despite the win, people were waiting for the follow up win that would validate that they are truly a top five team in the state for 6A. They had their opportunities in close loses to Lone Peak and Olympus. However, their two most recent wins, one against Kearns and this one against Copper Hills, validates it. Layton is one of the top 5 teams in 6A and opposing teams need to take them seriously.
2. Scoring Threats
Part of what makes Layton such a tough opponent is that they are balanced. They have four guys who are averaging over 12 points per game. Truman Brown is the most consistent scoring and shoots the basketball with superior accuracy from deep. In addition to Brown, Layton relies on the scoring of Chase Potter, Skyler Turner, and Collin Jeppson. Not only is this extremely hard to scout, if one guys is having a bad game, the rest of these guys are able to pick up the slack.
3. Copper Hills is Battle Tested
Obviously, every team in Copper Hills position would like to have more wins. However, they have gone through the gauntlet early in the season and found a way to win games as well as be in every game. If anyone had any questions about Trevon Allfrey, they should not anymore. He is the real deal and can score the basketball in an array of ways. His lowest scoring output for the season came last night at 13 points. Copper Hills will be prepared for the state tournament and will be just fine.
4. Joseph Wilson = X-Factor
Allfrey is going to score the basketball. For opposing teams, it is not a matter of limiting his scoring. Rather, it is making sure he has to do it in a large volume. With that said, Copper Hills is in need of a consistent secondary scoring threat, which it appears Joseph Wilson is ready to become. He posted his first double double of the season last night and led the team in scoring at 14. In addition to being a secondary scoring threat, he provides Copper Hills another 6’6 body that can compete on the block. As Wilson becomes more and more of a consistent scoring threat, Copper Hills ability to win games will improve substantially.
5. Upcoming Schedules
Both Copper Hills and Layton, while not being unscathed, have survived the toughest part of their schedules as far as top tier teams are concerned. However, as they begin to transition to region play, things will become more difficult from a different perspective. Region games are always a challenge as the teams tend to know each other better and have had more time to acquire game tape to prepare. Here are 3 of the top games left on each of these teams schedules:
Layton: at Davis on Jan. 30, at Weber on Feb. 2, and at Syracuse on Feb. 6
Copper Hills: at Davis on Jan. 2, vs. Bingham on Jan. 5, and at West Jordan on Feb. 16