In most high school basketball regions in the state, you can pick out a team or two that will finish at the top, a team or two that will be at the bottom and three or four that will be somewhere in the middle, but it's not that easy with Region Six.
Of the eight teams, none seems dominant and seven appear capable of winning the region title. Five clubs will earn berths in the 16-team state 3A tournament.Here's a closer look at each team in the predicted order of finish:
Murray: This might be the year for the Spartans, who placed seventh in the state tournament last season. Murray, which ranked fifth in the Deseret News coaches' poll last week, beat a good West team by 12 points on Friday night in their league opener. The Spartans may have the best quickness in the region to go along with a balanced attack. Kevin Carlston is a consistent scorer, but Joey Johnsen, Chad Christensen and Brian Anderson can also put points on the board for coach Gordon Kener's ballclub.
Tooele: While most teams in the region have a go-to guy, Tooele coach Clyde Ahlquist has been blessed with three. Senior swingman Todd Warner can get the job done at crunch time, but if he's not open, junior point guard Marc Lawson can step up. If that doesn't work, the Buffaloes can turn to 6-foot-4 super soph Drew Hansen, who is the team's leading scorer and rebounder thus far. The Buffs finished the preseason with a 5-1 mark then opened region play with an important win over Jordan. Tooele should be at or near the top of the region standings when all is said and done.
Jordan: The Beetdiggers went just 2-4 in the preseason, but that record is deceiving. Jordan coach Hal Hale tries to play as tough a non-league schedule as possible, so it faced a number of 4A powers including Bingham, Timpview and Bonneville. That philosophy may not provide many wins, but it gets the 'Diggers ready for the region wars. Koy Lombardi, a 6-foot-5 center, is Jordan's big gun, while Jarron Pew has also been playing well of late.
West: The Panthers have what Tooele coach Ahlquist calls "as fine an offensive weapon as there is in the state." Chris Stepan, a 6-foot-3 junior, has the capability to score 30-plus points in a given game. But while Stepan is a fine player, he can't do it alone, so his teammates will have to step it up if West is to have a championship-caliber year.
Bountiful: All five of the Braves' starters graduated from last year's team, which resulted in a slow preseason start for Bountiful. But coach Mike Maxwell's squad seems to be coming together just in the nick of time for region play. The Braves beat defending 4A champion Highland just before Christmas and then opened league action with a win over Woods Cross Friday. David Mackay, a forward, and center Roger Adams are the main men, while Mason Jacobs is the only junior who sees much playing time.
Granite: The Farmers opened region play with an important road victory at Judge and should be in the hunt for a one of the five playoff spots from the region. Coach Charlie Whiting has an outstanding all-around player in Pat McGrath with Jeff Simmons and David DeYoung also playing major roles for the Farmers.
Judge: It looked to be a down year for the Bulldogs, but then Ben Melmeth came up from Down Under, and Jim Yerkovich's team should now be able to play with anyone. Melmeth, a 6-9 junior center, is an exchange student from Australia. Judge is just 2-5 but has had some close games go the other way.
Woods Cross: The Wildcats placed fifth in state last year but lost all five starters and are now rebuilding. The Wildcats are 0-7 on the year, but with Matt Cosper, Jamie Coombs and Co., opponents would be foolish to take wins for granted when they play them.