Hillcrest hoops at a crossroads

The Hillcrest Huskies have two basketball programs at a crossroads. The boys team has enjoyed tremendous success over the last couple seasons while the girls are looking to build back up to competing. With seemingly nowhere to go but down for the boys program, and only room to rise for the girls, this season could be one where the teams meet somewhere nearer the middle.

BOYS: Coming off back-to-back Region 2 championships, the boys team needs to find a new identity. The Huskies lost much of the firepower from those title-winning teams. The departure has left a team fighting to gain a cohesion, and many players are still getting used to playing a vital role in varsity games.

"We have a lot of seniors we are going to rely on, but most of them don't have a lot of experience at this level," said coach Brad Tingey. "It has taken us a bit to really start to understand what it takes to uphold the strong tradition of those guys that came before them."

The Huskies have struggled to a 2-7 start on the season, but there is still room for optimism.

"We have played a really tough preseason schedule, and that is on purpose," added Tingey. "I like to schedule it tough to get them ready for how hard it is going to be in our region. You have to be ready to play every night in our region or it is going to be tough."

Another thing making things hard on the Huskies besides just having some tough teams to deal with is the playoff scheduling. With the alternating format for 5A, it is Region 2's year to qualify only three teams for the tournament. The consensus among the region's coaches was that Brighton and Alta almost certainly will take two of those spots, leaving just one for the remaining four teams.

If Hillcrest wants to find that playoff spot, it will do so because of a core of seven seniors and one very talented junior. Kyle Maughan started last season as a sophomore and is the only starter back from last season's team. His coach calls him a great athlete and a team leader.

The seniors leading the team are Brady Johnson, Sarjin Kolverot, Steve Schicker, Scott Oliphant. Paydon Dallimore, Zach Dastrup and Jameson Meiling. That group has been a part of the success over the past two years, even if in limited roles. They know what it takes to succeed, and the type of work it will need to put in to continue the trend.

The early-season struggles for the team have come mainly because of the team's ability to put the ball in the basket.