High school basketball: Nationally ranked Lone Peak the clear favorite in 5A

“He’s explosive and he’s relentless in transition,” said Weber coach Mark Larsen. “We’re going to keep riding him, he’s our leader. And when teams take him away, we’re going to have to have other players step up.”

Layton, which beat Bingham just before the Christmas break, and last year’s Region 1 champion Northridge are both capable of making some noise in Region 1, too.

Like last year, Region 2 appears to be the weakest of the 5A regions. However, region favorite Viewmont, along with Taylorsville, Hunter and Kearns, all appear to be better than they were a year ago.

Kearns big man Dayan Goodman can create match-up problems for any defense as he’s averaging 17.6 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Region 3 could be the most unpredictable of all the 5A regions.

Brighton is the slight favorite, led by returning starters Brandon Miller, Travis Devashrayee and Bryce Callahan, but Alta and Jordan both have the potential to make some noise in Region 3.

“We are very excited about this year’s team. Even though we do not return a single starter, we have a good group of seniors that will lead our team,” said Jordan coach Rob Geertsen, whose team is 9-3 this preseason.

Jordan center Brandon Pasker is averaging 17.9 ppg, and he’s coming off a career-high 35 points against East on New Year’s Eve.

Deseret News 5A region projections

Note: Projections were picked by the Deseret News staff based on observations from the first month of the season.

Region 1

1. Davis

2. Weber

3. Layton

4. Northridge

5. Syracuse

6.Fremont

Region 2

1. Viewmont

2. Kearns

3. Hunter

4. Taylorsville

5. Granger

6. West

Region 3

1. Brighton

2. Alta

3. Jordan

4. Copper Hills

5. West Jordan

6. Cottonwood

Region 4

1. Lone Peak

2. Bingham

3. American Fork

4. Lehi

5. Pleasant Grove

6. Riverton