Thanks to a couple of teams from Utah County, the high school hoops world now knows where the Beehive State is on the map.
The boys basketball team from Provo and the Mountain View girls squad more than held their own against some of the best talent in the nation at prestigious tournaments recently.Though their state-record winning streak finally came to an end at 55 on Monday with a 58-52 overtime loss to California's eight-time champion Brea-Olinda High, the Mountain View girls have no reason to hang their heads.
Bouncing back from their first defeat in two-and-a-half years, the Bruins took third place at the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara, Calif., by beating the nation's fifth-ranked team, Berkeley (Calif.) High, 68-61, on Tuesday.
The ninth-ranked Bruins, who are also the No. 1 team in Class 5A, finished the tournament with a 3-1 record and improved to 7-1 overall.
Provo, the No. 1 team in 4A, was so impressive at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii that they are now ranked 18th in the nation and earned top billing in a USA Today story with the headline, "Utah boys team opens eyes in Honolulu."
The Bulldogs went 3-1 in the tourney, with their only loss being a 45-41 setback from the nation's No. 1-ranked team, St. John's at Prospect Hall from Frederick, Md.
Two of Provo's victories were against Top 10 teams from the USA Today's Super 25 - 47-46 over No. 10 St. Joseph Notre Dame of Alameda, Calif., and 67-66 over No. 9 Miami Senior. Eric Jackson led the Bulldogs with 43 points in the two upset wins.
"I think Provo is the high school equivalent of Princeton," said St. John's coach Stu Vetter, whose team crushed Provo in the championship game last year, 80-39. "Watch Princeton play - they're top 25 and Provo deserves to be, too.
"When they (Princeton) play against a North Carolina or Duke, they just play great because they play so smart. This Provo team is a tremendously intelligent team."
Hala Kaufusi, who was born in Laie, Hawaii, topped Provo with 12 points in the championship game. Damien Wilkins, son of the Orlando Magic's Gerald Wilkins, had 23 points to lead St. John's, which also got strong play from prep All-American Jason Capel.