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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Eagles will rely on seniors to sparkle
By CHRIS CHRISTENSENLAYTON -- Perhaps it will come in cycles, but the Layton Christian Academy Eagles boys basketball team might be on their way to another state 2-A championship.
Coach Bobby Porter fielded a young team last year that featured only three seniors that saw any significant time at all. Now, it is the younger class that has emerged and are ready to make some plays and improve on their sixth-place finish last year.
"We have a veteran team coming back with nine seniors that played a decent role on last year's team," Porter said.
"We only kept 13 players total and that number might get to 15 at some point, but our seniors are going to be the leaders and the experienced players that we need to be able to be better than we were last year."
Leading the way for the Eagles will be the likes of Antwan Harvey, who has signficantly improved his game over the summer. He was last year's leading scorer and rebounder and should be there to do the same thing again.
He will get some serious help this year in the form of fellow senior Ryan Jessop, a 6-foot-6 beast in the middle who will provide some serious defense and rebounding as well from his center position.
Mike Valdez, a four-year player and three-year starter for the Eagles, will fill one of the guard positions as will William Beard, who has been asked to step up his game and run the point for coach Porter this year.
Other players that should contribute are Tanner Thompson and Jesse Jensen, both seniors.
"We plan on testing ourselves early this year with game against some of the tougher teams in 3-A and 2-A during a tournament," Porter said. "Juan Diego is that first tough test and that should show us where we are at as a team and a program. I think that we really have a chance to finish near the top of the region, if not the state. North Summit is always tough and we feel like we can compete with those types of teams."
The girls' team is in the midst of rebuilding, but having the chance to build around a player like Jasmine Porter will only make the team better, said first-year coach Chummy Gill.
"We have some young players that have some strengths and that should help," Gill said. "All I want is to make sure that we, as a coaching staff, put the girls in a good position to be successful. We only have three seniors, but they will help us get to where we need to be.
"We have eight freshman that are going to be playing some minutes for us and if anything, I can say that we are going to be exciting, pushing the tempo and then watching them grow."
Gill takes over a program that has had some success in the past as she comes from Viewmont by way of Arlington, Va., where she ran a successful high school team that made it to the state championship game right after she left.
Her skills as a coach have also given her a knack for coaching some very good talent during her coaching days in the AAU program. That savvy should help the young Eagles get to where they need to be.
"We need to get them playing fundamental basketball and we are hoping to see that improvement during the course of the season," Gill said.
Gill is still in the process of learning about her new players, but her enthusiasm and ability to coach are helping to smooth over the transition for the rest of the team.
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