2A

Firth Cougars
Record: 20-2
Head coach: Scott Adams (4th year)
Road to state: Beat Butte County 68-27 in first round of the District 6 playoffs; beat Ririe 73-49 in the semifinal round; beat West Jefferson 63-33 in the championship game.
Players to watch: Colter Reeves, F, jr. (14 ppg, 5 rpg); Jordan Bartlett, G, sr. (12 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.7 spg); Taylor Hopkins, G, sr. (10.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg).
Notes: The defending 2A state champs look poised to make another run at the crown. With a skilled senior backcourt of Taylor Hopkins and Jordan Bartlett running the floor, the Cougars lost just twice this season. Along with a talented backcourt that averages a combined 22 points a game, the Cougars feature fast, athletic posts like Colter Reeves, who’s averaging 14 points a game. As dynamic as the Firth offense is, the Cougars’ pride is their defense. They have allowed an average of 30 points a game over their final 15 games of the season, including district playoffs. The recent emergence of 6-foot-9 post Jesse Sorensen, coupled with Hopkins and 6-foot-5 Sean Williams, makes it nearly impossible to opposing posts to score down on the blocks. Just ask the defending 3A state champion Shelley Russets.

Orofino Maniacs
Record: 15-7
Head coach: Tony Snyder (sixth year)
Road to state: Defeated Potlatch 63-43 in first round of 2A District II tournament, defeated Grangeville 54-53 in championship game.
Players to watch: D.J. Wright, 6-4, sr., forward (20.2 ppg); Joey Witzczak, sr., 5-1, guard.
Notes, quotes: Orofino is at state for the first time since 1988. Wright is clearly their most important offensive cog, and usually gets the ball at crunch time. The Maniacs advanced to the 2A football title game in the fall, losing to West Jefferson 20-6.

Wendell Trojans
Record: 15-8
Coach: Ryon Jarvis, second year
Road to state: Defeated Valley in District IV quarterfinals, defeated Glenns Ferry in semifinals and championship.
Players to watch: G Devin Hosack (sr.), G Jordan Lancaster (jr.), C Reuben Cortez (sr.), F Justin Brandsma (sr.)
Notes: The Trojans aren’t terribly deep but they have a good bit of talent. They have a solid interior game fueled by the 6-2 Cortez and 6-3 Brandsma. On the guard line, Hosack is the team’s leading scorer. Experience, or lack thereof, is the big potential pitfall for Wendell, as neither Jarvis nor his players have much experience at this level. Wendell did win the state crown in 2004 and returned to state in 2005 and 2006 before struggling last season.

Soda Springs Cardinals
Record: 15-10
Head coach: Greg Berholm (5th year)
Road to state: Beat Malad, 80-68, in first round of Fifth District tournament; lost to Aberdeen, 63-44, in second round; beat Malad, 69-60, in loser-out game; beat Aberdeen, 76-65, in second-place game; beat Melba, 62-55, in state play-in.
Players to watch: Jordan McMurray, G, Sr. (17.1 ppg); Ethan Gilman, G, Sr. (16.6 ppg); Adam Hart, G, Sr. (11.5 ppg).
Notes: No Fifth District team save 1A Sho-Ban averaged more points than the Cardinals (66.4), but then, they allowed more points (62.1) on average than anyone else, too. The Cardinals are 7-1 when they score more than 70 points but 4-4 when finishing in the 60s. Below that threshhold, their record drops again. So yes, defense is going to be the key for Soda Springs. Bergholm said he’s seen a transformation on that end during the team’s playoff run. He’s also confident the loaded Fifth District — which has produced three of the last five 2A champions, including a Grace team he coached in 2003 — has the Cardinals seasoned for state.

West Side Pirates
Record: 16-4
Head coach: Tyler Brown (4th year)
Road to state: Beat Grace, 67-34, in first round of Fifth District tournament; beat Aberdeen, 54-47, in district title game.
Players to watch: David Bingham, F, Sr. (11.7 ppg); Jace Austin, G, Sr. (10.9 ppg); Mitch Beckstead, F, Sr. (10.0 ppg).
Notes: The Pirates would like nothing better than to be anonymous like they were last year, but that’s not going to happen with their 16-4 record and their district championship in a challenging conference. That’s especially true considering they handed defending champion Firth one of its two losses this season. Quietly confident, West Side wins games with its unpredictability. No one averages more than 12 points per game, and almost everyone on the roster has recorded double-digits in scoring in at least a game or two.

Nampa Christian Trojans
Record: 13-12
Head coach: Brad Adolfson (1st year)
Road to state: Beat Cole Valley 49-32 in first round of district tournament; lost to New Plymouth 74-65 in semifinal; beat Marsing 70-42 in consolation semifinal; beat Parma 37-31 for third place; beat Kamiah 33-19 in state play-in game
Players to watch: Marcus Lee (8.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg); Matt Arendse (9.2 ppg, 5 rpg); Matt McDonald (8.2 ppg, 5 rpg)
Notes, quotes: The Trojans won nine of their last 12 games going into a state play-in game. Adolfson stresses “team” with his ballclub; eight players each have scored 14 or more points in a game this season.
“We’re very well balanced,” Adolfson said. “How well we play on defense will determine how far we go.”

New Plymouth Pilgrims
Record: 15-7
Head coach: Tyler Gaston (1st year)
Road to state: Defeated Nampa Christian 74-63 in the semifinals of the District III tournament; beat Melba 55-48 in championship game
Players to watch: Jaimie Brown, senior guard; Wes Hooten, senior guard
Notes, quotes: New Plymouth is no stranger to the state tournament, having qualified every year this decade. The Pilgrims return five lettermen from last year’s team that lost to West Jefferson in the consolation championship. Brown is not only a prolific scorer for the Pilgrims, but an accomplished rebounder. The 6-foot-4 senior, who was a first-team all state selection as a junior, grabbed a school-record 30 rebounds in a regular-season game against Marsing. He also added 23 points and five assists in the win.

West Jefferson Panthers
Record: 13-10
Head coach: John Tucker (4th year)
Road to state: Beat North Fremont 76-57 in the first round of the District 6 tournament; lost to Ririe 46-29 in second round; beat North Fremont 85-58 in an elimination game; beat Ririe 39-38 in a winner-to-state, loser-out game; lost to Firth 63-33 in the championship game.
Players to watch: Colby Ward, sr., guard (13.3 ppg, 6.9 reb, 35.5 percent 3-point shooter), Tyson Hansen, sr., guard (13.2 ppg, 2.8 ass, 2.5 stl), Ty McDonald, sr., post (10.2 ppg, 6.9 reb).
Notes: The West Jefferson offensive philosophy is simple: Live by the three, die by the three. Senior guard Colby Ward has no problem jacking up more than 10 3-pointers in any game. Open for him is six inches. Tyson Hansen sent his team to state with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Ririe. When the shots are falling, West Jefferson can put up shots in a hurry. It’s scored more than 80 points six times this season. When they’re not, its lack of inside scoring shows.