The Mountain View Bruins, for good reason, are ranked No. 1 heading into the 2000-01 season.
They finished 19-5 and made it to the semifinals last year.
Their program as a whole is 107-39 over the past six seasons, with back-to-back 5A championships in 1998 and 1999. But coach Rob Cuff said all his team has done so far this year is win two games.
"We haven't done anything yet. (The ranking) is based on the past," he said. "Hopefully, we'll keep getting better."
Bingham, Orem, Northridge and Copper Hills round out the classification's Top 5.
As for the Bruins, Dan Henry (12.1 points per game, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists) is the lone returning starter, but 6-foot-7-inch senior Karl Riding and senior Steve Jackson (2.9 ppg, 2 apg) saw considerable minutes last season and have moved into the starting lineup, as has Derek Murdock.
Seniors Chad Olson and Matt Nelson will be key personnel off the bench. But Cuff believes his team's success will be determined by the play of the "juniors by committee," especially with Jackson being out a least another month with a broken hand.
"Those guys are going to have to step in and take some roles, and how fast that comes is yet to be seen," he said. "Once we get some chemistry and the seniors allow the juniors to play, and they have done that to this point, they (the juniors) are only going to get better with experience."
Here's a region-by-region look at Class 5A:
Region 1
1. Clearfield: The Falcons have one of the best guards in the state in Jared Moultrie, who averaged 12 points per game, five assists and four rebounds. "We've got a good combination of shooting and height," coach Brett Higgins said. "We should be pretty balanced."
2. Viewmont: The Vikings will look to be as up-tempo as possible and utilize their perimeter shooters. Jason Palmer, James Muirbrook, Tanner Frey, Nate Holiday and Jon Jensen are key seniors for coach Jeff Emery.
3. Cottonwood: The Colts will be guard-oriented with no player over 6-foot-3-inches. Jared Watts averaged 14 a game last year, while Adam Watts and Darnell Jones averaged 10 points each for the 19-3 club.
4. Davis: Things should be better for the 3-17 Darts. They are returning four starters in Bracken Ricketts (7.7 ppg), Tim Sargent (5.3 ppg), Jordan Brown (4.1 ppg) and Lance Heath (3.6 ppg).
5. Layton: Coach Scott Applegate said his team has limited varsity experience, but they will have good quickness and depth. Jason Deelstra will be tough at guard, and other seniors Brett Egan, Jon Adams, Tyler Unsicker and Kris Chenowith could be contributors.
6. Northridge: Junior Jase McCormick was the only Knight to see much varsity time in 1999. Coach C.K. Hansen also will count on juniors Matt Emadi and Brad Barrett.
7. Skyline: Brandon Wright (6 ppg) and Matt Ciaramella (5 ppg) are the only retuning starters for the Eagles. They should get help from Jared Bell, Tom Heath and Chris Herbert as they look to better their 10-10 mark from a year ago.
Region 2
1. Bingham: The Miners have been struck by the injury bug, with two players out for the year and two more due back soon. Coach John Bosco said the transition from Copper Hills to replace legendary George Sluga has been good. Look for big years from Isaac Holdaway and Josh Newbold, if he can overcome ailments.
2. West Jordan: The Jags are small but hope to combat their size with quickness. "We hope to improve and compete as the season moves along," coach Scott Briggs said. Stephon Mills, Scott Judd, Bret Baldwin and Joel Carter will be keys for the Jags.
3. Copper Hills: The state champions boast one of the best players in the state in Jared Deardon. Bruce Hansen (7 ppg, 7 rpg), Brad Hudson (5 ppg, 5 apg), Scott Kemp (6 ppg, 4 rpg, 2 spg) and Brandon Jolley (10 ppg, 5 rpg) will fuel the title defense.
4. Riverton: They graduated two players that combined for 30 points a game. Captains Mitch Young (6-foot-6-inches, 10.4 ppg, 6 rpg) and Brock White (3 ppg, 3 rpg) will be looked on to fill those voids, along with Tye Stauffer and McCade Olsen.
5. Taylorsville: "(We are a) team with no stars but capable of being successful when they play well together," coach John Bowman said. Casey Iverson, Greg Swanson and Adam Tripp all saw varsity time in 1999.
6. Granger: The Lancers will rely heavily on post player Austin Christensen (6-foot-5-inches, 15 ppg and 11 rpg) in 1999, along with Brian Erickson (10 ppg) and Eric Ball (6 ppg, 5 apg).
7. Kearns: Chris Preece, Spencer Wright and Matt Thornton will be looked upon to help the Cougars improve on their 4-16 record and sixth-place region finish in 1999.
8. Hunter: The Wolverines didn't win a contest in 1999, but they have a lot of returning players that don't want that to happen again. Brandon Meredith averaged 15 points last year. Juniors Tarrell Richards, John Madsen and Dustin White are expected to contribute.
Region 3
1. Mountain View: With only one starter back, the Bruins will rely heavily on four or five juniors to take them to the state tournament.
2. Orem: The Tigers will have good team depth, but they return just one starter in Jonny Harline, who averaged just under six points a game as the Tigers finished fifth in the region. Joe Shurtz, Chet Cusicle, Pat Thomas, D.J. Conner and Steve Stewart will be keys.
3. Alta: The Hawks don't return any notable experience, but they have a good pool of young talent. Keep an eye on Jeff Chidester, Ben Williams and J.J. Peterson.
4. Timpanogos: The senior-heavy Thunderbirds will be led by Alan Bartholomew, who scored just under 11 points a game and pulled down just under six boards. Devan Partridgde, Blake Lloyd and Randy Balick should provide some senior help.
5. Brighton: This is a very young team with Andrew Smart (6 ppg) the only player with any varsity experience. Four juniors and one sophomore will be playing solid minutes. "They will have to grow up in a hurry," coach Len Moncur said.
6. Jordan: Chad Broadhead is the lone starter back from 1999, but he will get help from Kyle Witherspoon; Weston Bell, who has already had a couple of big games in 2000.
7. Hillcrest: The Huskies didn't win a game in 1999, but coach Brad Tingey said they will be much improved over last season. Brad Leggat (10 ppg) and Greg Newman will provide the spark for the Huskies.
E-MAIL: jhinton@desnews.com