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It's a good year to be young...
West Valley and Central Valley boys hoop teams are coming off excellent
seasons, and the Eagles and Bears look to continue their winning
ways.
WV, CV, East Valley and University tip off the season Saturday at
the All-Valley Jamboree. Boys games are at West Valley High School,
starting at 1p.m. Each game has one 10-minute quarter. CV plays
WV, and it's EV against U-Hi. Then the first-round winners face
each other, as do the first-round losers.
Mead won the GSL boys overall title with a perfect 19-0 mark in
league games last year. WV and CV tied for first in the American
Division with 16-3 marks. EV was 4-15. U-Hi was 8-11 in the National
Division.
Two starters back at WV
As will most of the teams in the GSL, West Valley will be young
in 2003-04.
Sixth-year head coach Jamie Nilles has just two returning starters
- 6-foot-6 senior Jon Jeffreys and 6-0 senior Kyle Arnold. Jeffreys
averaged 14 points and eight rebounds a game last season, while
Arnold netted about 11 points a game and dished out over three assists
a contest.
Other returners are two 6-1 seniors, Gary Jones and Rich King,
along with a pair of 5-10 juniors, Rashad Toussaint and Landon Page.
Nilles said there will be as many as seven sophomores on the varsity
squad. They include 5-9 Arton Toussaint, 6-3 Tyler Hobbs and 6-5
E.J. Richardson.
How the Eagles will fare in the GSL depends on how the league shakes
out, according to Nilles.
"We'll see if we're pushing ourselves to the top of the pack,"
the coach said. "It's a young league.
"It depends on how our youth does. I know we're going to have
some growing pains."
Nilles said WV's strengths are its quickness and inside game.
"Our biggest deficiency is (lack of) experience," the
coach added. "We have a lot of home games. That's going to
help us early."
Nilles said Clarkston returns four starters and Central Valley will
be tough in the American Division.
U-Hi has new coach
Marty Jessett takes over as boys head coach at U-Hi, after coaching
the Cheney varsity girls the previous nine years. Before that, Jessett
coached the St. George's boys for three seasons.
"I'm happy to have the opportunity. I was feeling the need
for a change," Jessett said. "The (U-Hi) guys have really
responded well.
"We had a good summer. They have good attitudes and they work
hard," the coach added.
Jessett has only one returning starter - 6-foot-5 junior Calvin
Jurich. Two seniors - 6-4 Bryne Schindler and 6-2 Ryne Jones - saw
varsity time last season. Senior Cass Laurich suited varsity.
Two other seniors, 6-3 Kulvir Singh and 5-7 Norel Smith, should
also contribute.
Juniors vying for varsity spots are 6-0 Inderbir Gill, 5-11 Matt
Hanna, 5-11 and 5-10 Brady Kenworthy. Jessett indicated that 6-6
sophomore Nate Thompson is athletic and strong but needs seasoning.
"They're very coachable," Jessett said. "We have
good chemistry. We have some kids who are stepping up and providing
good leadership for us."
With so little varsity experience, there are some question marks
about the Titans.
"There are a lot of unknowns when you have that much inexperience,"
Jessett said. "Our goal is to improve and progress."
The coach pointed to three aspects of the game of basketball.
"Defense, decision-making and rebounding. Those are things
you can control," Jessett said.
Jessett said Lewis and Clark could be the team to beat in the National
Division, where U-Hi plays.
EV has young squad
East Valley sixth-year head coach Drew Vanderpool has just one returning
starter to tip off the 2003-04 season, but he's hoping the Knights
can make up for lack of experience with good shooting and speed.
Kenny Zachow, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, is Vanderpool's only starter
who returns. The other returnees who saw varsity action are 6-1
senior Nick Nelson, 5-10 junior Bryce Hoekema and 5-11 sophomore
Jye Lanphere.
Also on this year's varsity are 5-11 senior Brenn Hanley, 6-3 senior
Steve Holmes and 6-4 junior Jared Smith.
"We're very young," Vanderpool said, "and we're
not very tall. We're going to have to work hard on the boards.
"We're going to have to rely on some outside shooting and
some speed ... Everybody is going to contribute," the coach
added. "We can run the ball a little more."
Vanderpool is pleased with how the Knights are approaching the
season.
"Everybody has a great attitude," the coach said.
Look for the Eagles to put some pressure on their opponents.
"We'll mix it up (on defense)," Vanderpool said. "We'll
find out what's effective against different teams."
Vanderpool expects West Valley and Central Valley to be two of
the front-runners in the American Division, and spoke highly of
Ferris in the National Division.
CV was 22-7 last season
Central Valley is coming off a season in which the Bears posted
a 22-7 record and finished fourth in the 4A state tournament. It
was CV's best record in 15 years.
Rick Sloan returns for his eighth year at the helm of the CV program.
Sloan was unavailable for information about this year's team.
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