'Gym rats' boost Bingham High

SOUTH JORDAN — To those who know them, it wouldn't be too surprising if Sloan Baker and Brett Sommerville placed a couple of twin beds, a dresser, a dirty-clothes hamper and a few posters of their favorite basketball players in the Bingham High gymnasium.

Not to forget the home-sweet-home sign.

Actually, the two gym rats — as Bingham coach Mark Dubach describes them — have already done that in a sense.

"They both just live in the gym," their coach said.

And they can't get enough of their homework (playing hoops) or their chores (cleaning up opponents).

Their devotion to the sport — not to forget their talent and their teammates — helped them lead the Miners to the Region 3 championship and into a position as a favorite going into next week's 5A tournament. Bingham is ranked fourth but it owns the best point-differential in the state, outscoring opponents by 14.8 a contest.

Dubach laughs about how the play of Baker and Sommerville "makes me look like a very good basketball coach."

And the pair has been making coaches look like Mensa members since the fourth grade when they first began playing together.

"They feed off of each other," Dubach said. "They make each other better. They're a great 1-2 combo."

Along with being team leaders, each has vital roles they've assumed for the Miners.

Sommerville, a solid 6-0 senior who was the league MVP last season despite playing with painful bone chips in his knee, is Bingham's point guard and Mr. Do-It-All. Heading into Wednesday's regular-season finale, he averaged 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals a game. He's also Bingham's leader on the team's plus-minus chart, accounting for the aforementioned statistics and things like hustle points.

But stats don't account for everything when evaluating Sommerville's contributions to the Miners.

"He does things you can't even describe," Dubach said.

"He does all the little things you don't see. We expect a lot and get a tremendous amount from him."

Same could be said of Baker, who helped spearhead the Miners' come-from-behind championship clinching win at Riverton last Friday night with 11 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Dubach offered some praise about Baker and simple advice to opponents: "He's an unbelievable scorer. It's a huge mistake to leave him open."