Boys’ Basketball » Park City seeking better starts as it prepares to head south for postseason opener

By Kyle Goon

| The Salt Lake Tribune

This wasn’t the plan for the Park City boys’ basketball team.

All season, the Miners played with the goal of getting at least one playoff game at home. They were on track for awhile, starting out 4-1 in region play, but they hit a wall as they played Judge Memorial and Wasatch.

Photos

• 
• 
• 

At a glance

—

Park City’s first-round struggles

» This season, the Miners are 11-10 with a 5-5 region record and will have to travel to either Hurricane or Cedar City

» 2011: Went 14-8, lost to Richfield

» 2010: Went 12-10, lost to Cedar

	Join the Discussion
	Post a Comment

Now, Park City is getting ready for that familiar first-round bus ride. The team will leave the friendly confines of home to play about as far south as it can go, either at Cedar City or Hurricane. The Miners aren’t too happy about the trip, but they’ll live with it.

"It’s emotional," says senior Jordan Ruda. "We had a senior meeting, and we just make sure we keep pushing everybody. We might surprise people this year."

Park City stands to be a dark horse as the Class 3A playoffs begin. It has eight seniors, with one at every starting spot. But there’s also plenty of talent to go with that experience.

No one is taller than 6-foot-4, but the Miners have some real athleticism for the 3A level. At their best, they’re a running and gunning team that can rack up points quickly. If other teams allow them to get in transition, they can demolish opponents with frightening efficiency.

"When we’re able to get a stop, we can take a rebound and run," coach Caleb Fine says. "It starts on the defensive end for us — out strength is when we can run the floor."

The issue behind Park City’s struggles this year is it doesn’t always play to its strengths. The Miners haven’t always played consistent defense, lacking effort most notably in the first quarter. When they can’t play to their transition offense, they have to play half court sets, and sometimes they rush through their offense.

The result is not exactly a winning formula.

"We always seem to be down 10 or 15 points in the first half, and we have to fight back," Jono Schettler says. "It’s pretty tough to come back by that much, so we lose by a few points. We have to commit more to defense and get some stops. When we play a full game, we basically can’t be beat."

There’s at least a grain of truth to that claim — Park City has beaten Snow Canyon and Morgan this year, and it played Skyline, Logan and Desert Hills a little bit too close for comfort. It’s clear the Miners can compete with some of the top teams in the state on a game-by-game basis. What does it take to stretch that into a run?

For one thing, several of Park City’s role players feel the need to be more assertive. Ruda, Schettler and Britton Buford all average double figures in scoring, but they comprise about three-fourths of the team’s offense.

Players such as senior Brae Dilley, who before this season was primarily a defensive specialist, know they have to take more shots and be more of a threat offensively.

"It’s a new role for me, and I’m working more into that," he says. "I think some of our big wins have given us a lot of confidence, and I’ve definitely tried to be more aggressive."

But beyond who scores, the Miners know attitude is everything. Ever since this group has played varsity, they have lost first-round road playoff games. They understand that when a team isn’t unified in its cause, that team isn’t bound to get far in the state tournament.

At least they know what it feels like to play on the road.

"We’ve been in that situation before, so fear of the unknown is not something we have to worry about," Fine says. "That doesn’t mean this game is going to be easy, but we’ve played some of the best, and we didn’t feel like they were out of our league."