Small Ball: Chiverton making most of second chance at Salt Lake Community College

TAYLORSVILLE — Spending one year at St. Mary's was all it took to convince Colin Chiverton that he was better off developing his basketball talents elsewhere.

After redshirting a season with Gaels, the Salt Lake Community College forward eventually realized he was not going to play much of a role in the long term plans of head coach Randy Bennett. So Chiverton approached Bennett and asked to be released from the team.

Bennett agreed to the transfer and worked to find the best situation for him.

"We came up with the best scenario possible so I could transfer and be successful and not have to sit," Chiverton said. "I had already redshirted at St. Mary's and I didn't want to sit another year transferring somewhere else."

Coming to SLCC offered the redshirt freshman a chance to play right away. Making the move to Salt Lake has paid dividends for both Chiverton and the Bruins.

In 30 games this season, Chiverton is averaging 14.8 points while playing in just 20 minutes per game. He brings a brand of aggressiveness to the offense that makes him completely dangerous and hard to stop once he finds a rhythm.

"He's a guy, when he's on the floor, you've got to be afraid of him," SLCC coach Norm Parrish said.

Parrish has worked to make Chiverton a threat beyond just his ability to score. He moved him from shooting guard to small forward when Chiverton joined the Bruins. Since that time, Parrish has made a point of emphasizing to Chiverton the importance of using rebounding and sound defense to compliment his natural scoring abilities.

Chiverton appreciates the effort Parrish has made to shape him into a multidimensional player. He said he has never had another coach push him to reach a higher level so effectively.

And Chiverton has noticed his game evolve over the season.

"The biggest thing it has done is make me a lot tougher as a player," Chiverton said. "Defensively. Offensively. Grinding it out and getting the best shots. Making the most plays I can. Coach Parrish always pushes me to be the best. He wants the best out of me."

Perhaps that's because Parrish knows that the best from Chiverton leads to the best results for the Bruins.

"He's as talented as we have athletically," Parrish said. "He should be a force in every part of the game. When he wants to be, he is."