Prep boys' basketball: A beautifully ugly game
I thought the West Jordan-Bingham boys' basketball game was one of the best-contested games that I've seen so far this season.
I say this because of the twists, the turns, the momentum shifts and the strategy that it took for the two teams to play the game. I had one observer say to me that the coaching was bad on both sides because it seemed that neither side was making adjustments as the game wore on.
I couldn't disagree more. It's tough to adjust when the other side knows every play you're going to run, every screen, every clearout, everything. That's what happened Friday night. When two league foes, who happen to be rivals, get together, knock-down drag-out basketball games happen. Everything is contested and that's the way basketball should be at this stage of the season.
That being said, I thought Reyes Gallegos was the best player on the floor Friday night, along with West Jordan's Tanner Connors. So why didn't the Jaguars win? They simply didn't play well in the first half, and they fell behind by a sizable margin. They were able to make it up in the third quarter, actually taking the lead at one point. But when you expend that much energy making a comeback, there's often not enough in the tank to finish the game.
Another thought: Bingham's Ben Clifford is going to be a good one. A sophomore, he's a legit 6-foot-7 and he's skinny, which means he's probably got another growth spurt or two left. If he gets to, say, about 6-10, he could develop into a mid-high major Division I prospect. He's aggressive, he has good footwork and he can rebound the ball. I haven't seen Provo's Brandon Davies, another super-soph, but Clifford has definite upside.
-- Tony Jones
I say this because of the twists, the turns, the momentum shifts and the strategy that it took for the two teams to play the game. I had one observer say to me that the coaching was bad on both sides because it seemed that neither side was making adjustments as the game wore on.
I couldn't disagree more. It's tough to adjust when the other side knows every play you're going to run, every screen, every clearout, everything. That's what happened Friday night. When two league foes, who happen to be rivals, get together, knock-down drag-out basketball games happen. Everything is contested and that's the way basketball should be at this stage of the season.
That being said, I thought Reyes Gallegos was the best player on the floor Friday night, along with West Jordan's Tanner Connors. So why didn't the Jaguars win? They simply didn't play well in the first half, and they fell behind by a sizable margin. They were able to make it up in the third quarter, actually taking the lead at one point. But when you expend that much energy making a comeback, there's often not enough in the tank to finish the game.
Another thought: Bingham's Ben Clifford is going to be a good one. A sophomore, he's a legit 6-foot-7 and he's skinny, which means he's probably got another growth spurt or two left. If he gets to, say, about 6-10, he could develop into a mid-high major Division I prospect. He's aggressive, he has good footwork and he can rebound the ball. I haven't seen Provo's Brandon Davies, another super-soph, but Clifford has definite upside.
-- Tony Jones
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