Skyline squads — Girls eye title; boys expect big improvement

Skyline basketball doesn't hold the same tradition as the football program — at least on the boys side. The girls are approaching greatness and expect nothing less than a state championship this year.

As for the boys, last year's 8-11 record is expected to improve this year. Coach Derek Bunting says his team is still young but they are much more experienced.

"But we still may be a year away," he said.

BOYS: Balance is the operative word for the Skyline boys basketball team this year.

"We're not real big," said Bunting, who is beginning his second year at the helm for the Eagles. "We go by the motto that if you're good enough, you're big enough."

Last year's team saw only two players graduate. Brett Binford was a shooting guard and Tanner Adams was a strong inside player whose presence will be missed. Three starters from last year's team will return with considerable experience: Kevin Wagstaff, Ryan Osterloh and Casey Taylor. Andrew Jones is a 6- foot-3 senior forward who saw a lot of playing time last year too.

Wagstaff mans the point guard position and says the team is good at shooting threes. But to make the playoffs he says: "We will have to play solid defense."

There is no go-to-guy on this team. Said Bunting, "The strength of our team is not having just one or two guys that can score. I'd love to have five guys average in double figures."

The same goes for rebounding. "We will be rebounding by committee," said Bunting, "We don't have that luxury (of a big time rebounder.)"

Bunting says his young team might still be a little green and needs more players to do any damage in the playoffs. "We're not real deep," he said, "We'll have to avoid injuries and foul trouble."

But he is not backing down. "We have smart kids and tough kids," he said, "and smart and tough can take you a long way."

GIRLS: Big Time is one way to describe the Skyline girls basketball program. Dynasty might be another term, yet Eagles Coach Deb Bennett has only one state championship to her credit and that was in 2006. Last year the Eagles claimed the runner-up honor, in 2005 they were final four participants, in 2003 the 2nd place trophy went to their trophy case. You get the picture.

And this year Dani Peterson and Jenteal Jackson will lead the team to a similar finish if not the outright title. Peterson and Jackson are already signed sealed and delivered to play at BYU.