Sleeper time

I’m wondering if Davis, Bingham, Brighton, Timpview and Mountain Crest feel like the Rodney Dangerfields of Utah prep basketball right now, or if they like the lack of respect they’re getting?
As I’m hearing people discuss which teams will be the 4A and 5A champions come Saturday night, I’m not hearing anyone picking one of these teams.
My bet is the players and their parents feel a little slighted when they hear this talk, or read comments posted on stories that give their teams little respect. But I know the coaches don’t care because they learned long ago that rankings and prognostication means nothing. Everyone has an opinion, but what happens on the court and the final numbers on the scoreboard always trumps those opinions. Coaches love to stay off the radar and always prefer the underdog role. It’s less pressure on the players.
Davis’ situation is one of the most unusual basketball stories I can ever remember. A team that is 22-0 is a huge underdog to everyone I’ve talked to to win today. Have you ever heard of a bigger lack-of-respect case? Well, the time is finally here when we all get to see this great debate settled on the field of battle. I’m just wondering if Davis feels more pressure to try to get that respect that it feels it deserves, or if Lone Peak feels more pressure to fulfill the enormous expectations?
The Bingham/Brighton game could end up being the best game to watch in the entire tournament. Both are playing great basketball right now, and most look at this game as a coin flip. I just know that both feel that if they can get to Saturday’s title game, that they can beat any team.
I’ve told others that I honestly think no team in 4A is dominant and that any team can be beat. Even though most expect a Provo/Bountiful final, including me, I still think Timpview and Mountain Crest can get to Saturday’s title game.
Many times we’ve seen teams get hot in the tournament and carry that roll to a state title, even though their regular-season record wasn’t all that impressive. Well, both the T-Birds and Mustangs are playing that way right now. Today we’ll see if it continues or if Provo and Bountiful prove that they are indeed the two best 4A teams.
Even Provo coach Craig Drury said the other day that “league play is league play and you have to leave it there.” Last year he told me that every team that reaches the final four is really a state champion, because just reaching that point is quite the accomplishment. That tells me that even he knows that any of the four remaining teams in 4A can win it all, regardless of what they’ve done earlier this season.
Many might say “may the best team win.” I say, may the teams that play the best win. I just hope that over the next two days that we do see each team’s best.