With 7 out of 10 teams in the Southern Idaho Conference getting their seasons started Tuesday, here’s a preview of each team. At the top of the league, it looks like candidates are Borah, Centennial, Mountain View and Timberline. In the middle will be Eagle, Rocky Mountain and Vallivue. And fighting for that last district tournament berth will be Boise, Capital and Meridian.
But, it’s only the pre-season. And as this conference shows every year, there is no accurate prediction. Teams that should finish near the top suffer a set back while teams that don’t have many expectations prove everyone wrong. The only question is: who is who?
Boise Braves – Boise made big strides last year, improving in conference play. But an unexpected loss to Meridian in the district play in game leaves a bad taste in their mouth. The Braves lose their top three scorers but return Joe Simpson who was fourth in scoring and second in rebounding. Five players from last year are expected to return to action this season.
Borah Lions – easily considered the SIC favorite, Borah returns several experienced players from last year’s team that finished at the top of the conference. Led by sophomore Isaiah Wright and senior Ben Tucakovic, the Lions have the power to produce on offense and slow teams down on defense. They will get solid play from Braden Corpus on the perimeter and Brock Holubetz will alter shots inside. Don’t be surprised to see junior Cody Spjute become a factor as the team’s knock down shooter when Wright and Tucakovic draw most of the attention. Tucakovic finished last season fifth in the league in scoring and Wright finished second in assists.
Capital Eagles – without trying to be overly harsh, the Eagles are expected to struggle this season. They have some athletes on their roster but they are young and inexperienced. And one of the better players that was expected to play this season moved to Kansas. Having said that, the future is very bright for Capital. They always seem to get better as the season moves along and if teams aren’t careful, the Eagles are likely to pull an upset or two down the stretch and potentially throw the SIC playoffs into an unexpected playing field.
Centennial Patriots – Centennial was part of the all SIC title game last year and despite losing their big three (Manning, Huskic and Saras) they return several key players. Among them is Aaron Maffey, Landon Kissinger and Daryl Robertson. Maffey is an all around scorer that can shoot and drive to the pull up. Kissinger saw time last year both off the bench and occasionally as a starter and is best described as a heady player with outside range. Robertson is a lock down type of defender. He’s not as tall as Saras or as ornery, but he is more physical and athletic. Expect them to finish at or near the top of the SIC.
Eagle Mustangs – the Mustangs finished middle of the pack last season but return several players that are athletic and long. Most notably is Braden Shaw, the 6’8 junior that has already committed to BYU. Shaw isn’t the only BYU commit. Tanner Mangum has also committed as a QB. But Mangum and DJ Dean (a Boise State football commit) can also play on the court. Eagle will have a lot of options as to the style they want to play, either up tempo, dump it to Shaw or a combination of both. Teams will have to focus on shutting down Shaw and then see who else will step up for the Mustangs.
Meridian Warriors – Meridian will have a new head coach this year but he will have some players with experience to build around. The Warriors will likely struggle this year. They only won 3 games last year but they showed last season they are capable of stepping up after upsetting #6 Boise in the district play-in game. The team won’t be big. And they will have to quickly develop a culture of finishing off games and winning. Expect Connor Bird to step into the leadership role.
Mountain View Mavericks – you might expect that the defending state champions could be down this year after graduating the SIC Player of the Year and All State player Tyson Percifield. But when you consider that they won the title AFTER Tyson got injured and couldn’t play in the state tournament, you have to believe they are going to be just fine. We watched as a different player stepped up each night and see that at least two of those players are going to be back this season. Tyson’s brother Tanner stepped up big in his absence, taking control from the point and getting everyone involved. And Brandon Luedtke was a beast all last season on defense and on the boards. But the question is, can the guys and the rest of the team perform now that they have a bulls eye on their back?
Rocky Mountain Grizzlies – last year was an up and down season. And now under the coaching of Dane Roy, the Griz will try to steady the ship. They return a bit of experience in seniors David Trompke, Colby Henderson, Bryce Feist, Ben Kotzian and sophomore John Sherle. Trompke and Sherle will likely be the team’s main threats but be ready for newcomer junior Nate Bruneel to make an impact as well. There are so many variables with this team it is tough to tell where they might finish, though we’ve seen enough from these kids to know they will leave it all on the floor.
Timberline Wolves – the Wolves took the next step last season, making it to the state tournament. But after going 0-2 they are hungry to take another step forward. They are laced with talent from the point to the power forward and have the experience to finish near the top of the SIC. Junior Grant Saetrum and senior Jarid Downey make up the back court while seniors Jackson Reed and Jordan Hall along with junior Jack Tate make up the front court.
Vallivue Falcons – now that the players have had a year under Scott Moore’s system, we expect them to make some big strides forward. They showed great signs last year but with only a few seniors on the team you could see the symptoms of a youthful roster down the stretch. This year, with potentially nine players returning, history may not repeat itself. They have an athletic presence in 6’7 senior Gabe Vazquez, whom showed signs this summer of coming out of his shell. And they have a lot of pure shooters that should help keep teams honest.