High school sports: Expanded stats available at Deseret News

When Larry Krystkowiak took over as men's head basketball coach at the University of Utah, everyone knew he was inheriting a big rebuilding project.

Getting West Jordan forward Jordan Loveridge to commit to the Utes was a big step in the right direction. Loveridge is averaging 22.0 points and 13.8 rebounds for the No. 2 Jaguars this season.

Several underclassmen are on the Utes' recruiting radar as well, not to mention other colleges around the state.

Weber High point guard Hayden Schenck is averaging 19.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.4 steals. East guard Parker Van Dyke is averaging 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals to go along with his 25.1 points. Brighton guard Brandon Miller is having a great season as well, averaging 22.7 points and 2.3 assists.

Those various stats mentioned above are the result of a big push by the Deseret News to broaden its statistical database for boys basketball, like the newspaper does with football.

In years past, we've only kept track of individual stats for scoring and 3-pointers, information that is easily tallied from the prep basketball box scores that appear in the newspaper each day. This year, though, we've worked closely with boys basketball coaches around the state and encouraged them to also submit individual statistics for rebounds, steals and assists.

The time frame that coaches submit these secondary stats varies, but with the regular season coming to a close in the next couple weeks, roughly 80 percent of the boys coaches in the state have been regularly sending in their stats each week.

This cooperation helps us create relatively accurate statistical leaders, which are displayed on the redesigned website at www.deseretnews.com/sports/high-school/sport/leaders/1/boys-basketball for boys hoops and www.deseretnews.com/sports/high-school/sport/leaders/1/girls-basketball for girls hoops.

In 5A, 20 of 24 schools regularly submit their rebounds, steals and assists stats. In both 4A and 3A, 23 of the each classification's 26 coaches submit their stats, while 16 of 20 2A coaches regularly submit their stats. The coaches in 1A have been the slowest to jump on board with only 13 of 30 schools regularly submitting their stats.

Email: jedward@desnews.com