Following Up On The College Of Idaho Team Camp With A Couple Of Camp Winners
This past weekend, 100 teams mostly from the Gem state and some from outside of it embarked upon Caldwell, Idaho to take part in the College of Idaho team camp. The camp featured bracket play that ultimately crowned a winner for large varsity and small/medium varsity brackets among others. The event pitted some of the state’s top talents against one another in a tremendous setting and provided onlookers with a glimpse at some of the prospects during their offseason work outside of the prep season and not in their respective grassroots teams.
In the large varsity bracket the final came down to two teams in the Treasure Valley as Meridian and Rocky Mountain Black squared off in what turned out to be a tight game ultimately ending in Rocky Mountain Black’s favor 59-54.
Your 2018 College of Idaho Team Camp Large Varsity division CHAMPIONS… @rocky_hoops
Won a tough battle against Meridian to take the championship. Great playing this weekend fellas!! #LegacyDriven pic.twitter.com/2ycgtasAqh
— College of Idaho MBB (@YotesHoops) June 9, 2018
Prep Hoops Idaho spoke with Briggs Ranstorm (2020), a member of the winning Rocky Mountain Black team about the weekend, “our team didn’t play our best but we found a way to win. I played fairly good, I have a lot of things to work and get better on. I was most proud of our team with how we responded to not making shots. We were forced to make the hustle plays to be able to win games.”
A number of members from this state championship team who repeated as 5A champs this past season were on hand including a rising and notable prospect in the 2021 class Jaden Hansen. The gifted point guard is staking his claim as one of the top guards to keep tabs on and is playing on a high quality team in Rocky Mountain as well as Boise Slam for his grassroots team.
In terms of the small/medium varsity bracket it was Declo who finished on top as they were able to knock off Emmett 52-47. Declo finished third overall in the state tournament this past season, but has certainly made it known they are a force in the small to medium sized schools on the court.
The champions of the Middle/Small Varsity division is Declo High School! Congratulations to Coach Fox and the Hornets! Great playing this week! #LegacyDriven pic.twitter.com/pshDZWqpcy
— College of Idaho MBB (@YotesHoops) June 9, 2018
Prep Hoops Idaho touched base with Keegan Duncan (2019) about his play and his team’s, “I feel like our team played great. There is still a lot of work to do this off season to get where we want to be but for early in the summer I thought we played exceptionally well. I myself am not going to judge how I played. You could ask my coach that question (laughs.) I am proud of how my team battled. We lost our first game and decided then and there that we would win the rest and that is what we did.”
Overall, the camp was a success as many raved about the positive aspects of it over social media and such. Truly a great way to bring together teams to the Treasure Valley at a time in the basketball calendar that is valuable for teams as they prepare for the season ahead.