4A

Skyview Hawks
Record: 17-6
Head coach: Sean Yeager (1st year)
Key players: Kyle Dranginis, freshman guard (stats not provided); Abraham Burns, senior wing (stats not provided)
Road to state: Beat Nampa 69-41 in first round of the district III tournament; beat Columbia 65-55 in semifinals; beat Emmett 64-62 for district championship
Notes, quotes: The Hawks once again are champions in District III-4A, and they hope to improve on their runner-up finish in last year’s state tournament. The Hawks had won two consecutive 4A titles before last year’s loss to Burley. They drew the top seed from the District III thanks to Dranginis, whose running jumper with 3 seconds left against Emmett was the difference in the district final.

Century Diamondbacks
Record: 17-8
Head coach: Cody Shelley (9th year)
Road to state: Beat Pocatello, 69-60, in Fifth District tournament opener; lost to Pocatello, 79-75 (OT), in second round; lost to Pocatello, 55-53, in loser-out game; beat Blackfoot, 65-36, in state play-in game; beat Minico, 52-39, in final state play-in game.
Players to watch: Kyle Miller, W, Sr. (16.4 ppg); Cody Witt, F, Sr. (12.6 ppg); Tyson Guthrie, G, Sr. (9.8 ppg).
Notes: For the first time in their eight-year run of state tournament appearances, Century had to reach the Treasure Valley via the long, play-in route. But here the Diamondbacks are, a bit tired but high on momentum. They held Blackfoot and Minico to less than 40 points in their play-in contests, furthering the point that if Century is to succeed, it will come down to defense. Aside from Miller, the D’Backs haven’t gotten consistent shooting or offense — and even he’s had low-scoring games when teams choose to double him. But the coaching experience of Cody Shelley is perhaps Century’s greatest asset.

Bonneville Bees
Record: 16-7
Head coach: Tim Hooten (10th year)
Road to state: Beat Hillcrest 58-47 in the first round of the District 6 tournament; beat Blackfoot 32-30 in the semifinal; beat Blackfoot 48-47 in the championship game.
Players to watch: Jon Wilson, sr., forward; Thomas Long, sr., guard; Logan Black, sr., wing
Notes: It’s never pretty, but it works. Bonneville turns every game into a knock-down, drag-out, possession-to-possession fight. Without a consistent scoring threat, Bonneville turns to its defense to win games. When it gives up more than 50 points, it’s 3-7. When it allows less than 50 points, it’s 13-0. Bonneville has won 11 of its last 12 games, but it will find the competition at the state tournament much tougher than its conference opponents.

Middleton Vikings
Record: 13-11
Head coach: Brian Deatherage (4th year)
Road to state: lost to Columbia 75-74 in three overtimes in first round of district tournament; beat Nampa 48-37 in district consolation quarterfinal; beat Mountain Home 45-42 in district consolation semifinal; beat Kuna 50-47 in overtime for third place in district
Key players: Dylan Brown, senior guard (14 ppg); Dillon Laan, senior guard (10 ppg); Dillon Wortman, senior guard (10 ppg)
Notes, quotes: This is Middleton’s second consecutive appearance in the state tournament, and the Vikings are here after four overtime periods total in districts. It’s not the overtimes, though, that have geared them for this point.
“I think it’s the 55 practices you put in all year long in addition to 24 games,” Deatherage said. “Practice is so big because you practice these (clutch) situations.”

Moscow Bears
Record: 8-13
Head coach: Tracy Donaldson (first year)
Road to state: Defeated Sandpoint 67-43 in first round of 4A District I-II tournament, lost to Lakeland 63-47 in first title game, defeated Lakeland 61- 39 in if-necessary title game.
Players to watch: Anthony Williams, 6-2, sr., wing; Mac Stannard, 6-2, soph., guard; Andrew Weaver, 6-5, sr., post.
Notes, quotes: None of the three teams in the 4A District I-II tournament had a winning record. So the Bears, who are making their third consecutive trip to state, are longshots. Like previous Moscow clubs, this team does its best work on defense.

Pocatello Indians
Record: 13-13
Head coach: Lee Ralphs (3rd year)
Road to state: Beat Preston, 70-53, in first round of Fifth District tournament; lost to Century, 69-60, in second round; beat Preston, 57-50, in elimination game; beat Century, 79-75 (OT) to force another game; beat Century, 55-53, in district title game; lost to Burley, 62-52, in state seeding game.
Players to watch: Alex Drecksel, F, Jr. (15.3 ppg), Jordan Steele, F, Sr. (12.5 ppg), Justin Sands, PG, Sr. (7.4 ppg).
Notes: More than a year ago, with a drastically less refined team, the Indians handed Burley a loss. In the 43 games since, the Bobcats haven’t lost. So yes, Pocatello possesses the talent necessary for a title run. It just needs to put it all together like it did during the district tournament. On back-to-back nights, the Indians beat rival and perennial power Century to get the district’s top seed. Drecksel and Steele can control games with their slashing and shooting, respectively, and Sands is arguably the best on-ball defender in the Fifth District.

Burley Bobcats (defending champion)
Record: 24-0
Coach: Jack Bagley (sixth year)
Road to state: Defeated Wood River in District IV quarterfinals, beat Minico in semifinals and championship. Defeated Pocatello in District IV-V crossover game.
Players to watch: PG Colton Moon (sr.), G Ben Searle (sr.), F Jordan Hosteen (sr.)
Notes: Owners of a 43-game winning streak, the champs are back to defend their crown and one thing stands out: This team is absolutely loaded. Whether Moon and Searle get hot from outside or Hosteen and company get busy on the interior, it’s difficult to see a way to beat the Bobcats unless they beat themselves. With nine wins against the other four teams in the final media poll, Burley is clearly the closest thing to a lock to win the tournament.

Emmett Huskies
Record: 17-6
Coach: Cliff Lyter, third season
Road to state: Beat Bishop Kelly 63-59 in first round of District Three tournament, beat Mountain Home 63-48 in semifinals, lost to Skyview 64-62 in championship.
Players to watch: Nick Hovda, sr., guard (21 points, 5 rebounds, 40 percent 3-point); Jordan Taylor, sr., guard (12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 35 percent 3-point); Cory Holm, soph., guard (8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds)
Notes: This is Emmett’s first time back at the state tournament after qualifying in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Huskies lone state title came in 1965 under the direction of coach Ray Mullins in the 3A classification.