Conference Predictions: 4A Mountain Northeast
The start of the high school basketball season is quickly approaching. The collection of talent in this state is extremely stacked. The race for who will establish their dominance in each conference will be an interesting debate for months to…
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Continue ReadingThe start of the high school basketball season is quickly approaching. The collection of talent in this state is extremely stacked. The race for who will establish their dominance in each conference will be an interesting debate for months to come. In this article I will be taking a look at the 4A Mountain Northeast Conference. These are my early front runners for MVP and All-Conference team selections predictions are based off last seasons production and this season’s potential.
Conference Champs: Desert Pines – DP ran the table last season as they went an impressive 12-0 in conference play. This is a team that also has plenty of big game experience as they made it as far as the state quarter finals a season ago. This is a program that is used to winning and I don’t see why that will change in 2020. They return mostly all their key members from a year ago. The team is led in large part by Milos Uzan (#3 2022), Anthony Swift (#5,2021), Dayshawn Wiley (#10,2021). This team is so loaded I could list their players for days.
MVP: Milos Uzan 6’3 G Desert Pines (#3 2022)- Uzan has all the as DJ Khaled would say “major keys” to be the best PG in the state. He’s the engine of the Desert Pines machine. Being on a team stacked with so much talent. It is important for its PG to be a willing passer and on schedule Uzan is all that and more. He highlights every strength of the team and is a huge reason for their success.
Top Unsigned Senior: Alexander Spaight 6’0 PG Canyon Springs 2020 (#15) – Spaight is one of the more underrated scorers in the state. He can score with anyone he is a legit player of the year candidate. He reminds me a lot of former Celtics guard Isiah Thomas a little guard with tremendous heart that can score at will. The college teams that seem the most interested are Utah St, UNLV and Portland.
Top Underclassman: Glenn Taylor 6’5 F Cheyenne (#5 2021)- Taylor is another dynamic scorer he was second in conference a year ago averaging 17.3 ppg. He has great size and can score anywhere with either hand. He burst on the scene a season ago and this year he will look too build on that success
Sleeper: Emmanuel “Mooch” Austin 6’0 SG 2021 (PHN #16 2021) – I would define Austin as a rhythm player out of all the players on this list he knows how to pick and choose is shot the best. I once had a coach tell me “You will never go broke taking a profit.” Austin profit is his mid-range game. He is an intelligent scorer who understands how to navigate the court think “Rip” Hamilton. A season ago he was Legacy second leading scorer averaging 11.8 ppg.
Sleeper Team: Canyon Springs: They are a well coached team through and through by local legend Freddie Banks. A year ago they went 9-4 this team will be lead in large part by senior guard Alexander Spaight. This team is built well all around they have a triple threat duo with Spaight, Jhadon Banks 6’5 SF 2020 (#31PHN 2020) and Zarius Benson Moore 6’4 SG 2020(#30PHN 2020). The scary part about this trio is that they haven’t reached their full potential as a group. Last season two of their young men didn’t fully play. Banks had transfer issues and Benson Moore was a transfer from Georgia. Now that Canyon Springs full roster is intact they are in full sleeper mode. When I say sleeper I mean they can win their conference.
1rst Team
Milos Uzan 6’3 G Desert Pines 2022 (#3 2022)
Anthony Swift 6’6 SF Desert Pines 2021 (#5 2021)
Glenn Taylor 6’5 G Cheyenne 2021 (#5 2021)
Alexander Spaight 6’0 PG Canyon Springs 2020 (#15 2020)
Darnell Washington 6’8 C Canyon Springs 2020 (#13 2020)
2nd Team
Andrew Garcia 5’11 G Legacy 2021 (#20 2021)
Chancelor Johnson 6’2 G Desert Pines 2021 (#12 2021)
Dayshawn Wiley 6’3 G Desert Pines 2021 (#10 2021)
Emmanuel “Mooch” Austin Legacy 6’0 G 2021 (#16 2021)
Jhadon Banks 6’5 SF 2020 (#31 2020)