LeBaronLogic

Scorch still Scorching (Somewhat)

I have had several inquiries about the Scorch Basketball team and status. Well, we have been somewhat on hiatus during the summer, participating in American Fork team camps in June and taking July off except for some open gym time at AF. We did field a hybrid team and participated in the Utah AAU Summer Shootout on Aug 2nd and 3rd as Scorch Black, because of summer conflicts including the start of football. Playing were Tanner LeBaron, Kadan McMurtrey, Nate Ensign and Michael Wells incoming American Fork freshmen from the Scorch. Christopher Melville from Timpanogos (played with us in Dimple Dell and other tourneys) joined us as well as McKay Murdock, Michael Brown and Gavin Jones from Wasatch. With only some brief walk thrus and having some adjustment issues we downed the Swoosh from Bountiful by 11 in the first game. In the second game against the Morgan Panthers we dropped a tough game, due to some cold shooting from us and hot shooting from Morgan (a bad combination). We bounced back to beat a fairly good and athletic team from West Jordan in a cross over game by 16. We played the Jags again for 3rd place and were victorious by 12 in a more competitive game. It was good to be active and involved. We seemed to get better and more comfortable with each game we played.  Fall plans for the team are still pending.

Utah, BYU Team Camp Shorts (as Opposed to Briefs)

U. of Utah Team Camp - third week of June:

The sophomore AF High Cavemen team comprised of mostly freshmen; Nate Ensign, Tyler Flinders, Grey Lund, Kadan McMurtrey, Brett Miller, Alex Ross, Michael Wells, Josh Wilson and Aaron Hill went 8-2 and captured 3^rd place defeating an excellent Skyline team by 4 points. Against the Skyline Eagles,  the Cavemen jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the intense game, maintained that margin until the waning minutes of the game when the lead dwindled to 5. The Cavemen closed out the close game by making free throws and protecting the ball down the stretch. During the camp the team showed improvement from game to game. They defeated 4 different Pine View teams comprised of various skill levels of freshmen and sophomores. The sophomore Cavemen also downed Carbon, Delta (in overtime) and Granger before Skyline in the tournament. They dropped games to Bingham and Delta. "These players know how to win games, especially close ones.”

The JV Cavemen lost 5 games by a total of 8 points, including 3 OT games. The Cavers defeated a strong Snow Canyon team, Pineview and Teton(Driggs, ID) in the tournament for an upper division placement. "The team lost some close ones, but learned a lot playing together." Players consisted of Jake Blackhurst, Taft Christensen, Ryan Evans , Tyler Gardner, Aaron Hill, Tanner LeBaron, Ryker Matthews and Josh Reynolds. All of the boys stayed in the Olympic dorms, and probably didn't get much sleep and enjoyed the buffet style meals in the cafeteria.

BYU Team Camp - 4th week of June:

Cavemen sophomores went 4-2 in this camp, defeating teams from Alta, Bonneville (ID), Springville and Fremont. They were edged by Provo and Orem . This team consisted of Ryan Evans, Brian Vawdry, Michael Wells, Tyler Flinders, Josh Wilson, Robbie Lee, Alex Ross, Jeff Nelson and Taft Christensen. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the tourney defeating Fremont and dropping a game to Orem in the final eight. “ The team competed with a lot of energy and intensity."

The JV Cavemen defeated Logan and competed in other games against Brighton, Orem , Alta, Payson and Timpanogos. Players included Tanner LeBaron, Josh Reynolds, Kadan McMurtrey, Jake Blackhurst, Aaron Hill, Ryker Matthews, Nate Ensign and Casey Caldwell. "We experienced some adverstiy with injuries and some absent players, but still battled and were in each game."

When Silver is Gold

The Cavemen Freshmen basketball team MADE IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME at the UVSC team camp in the sophomore division yesterday!! (and playing and defeating some Junior players). We finished with an overall record of 11-5 (8-4 in league) against the 16 team field, defeating Bountiful, Payson, Tooele, Madison (Rexburg, ID), Malad (ID), Timpanogos, Union (Roosevelt) and Ogden. We dropped games to Viewmont, Grantsville, Woods Cross and PG.  Players included Tanner LeBaron, Taft Christensen, Michael Wells, Alex Ross, Ryker Matthews, Josh Wilson, Nate Ensign (all Scorch players), joined by Tyler Flinders and Austin Waddoups.

Entering tourney play we blew out Juab in the shortened 1/2 game format in the opening round. (18 min. games).

In the qtrs we beat PG by 1 in thrilling fashion. Down 2, R;yker got a steal,  passed to Tanner who drained a trey with 7 seconds to go, then a partially blocked shot and recovered loose ball by Ryker at the buzzer. Whew, what a game!!! This PG team went undefeated in UVSC camp play and won the freshmen winter league in the Alpine School District last year.

In the semis we downed Viewmont by 1 with a three-pointer by Tanner to go up by 2 with 34 seconds left, but wait..... the three was waved off by a phantom 3 second call. (The count was started before the ball was inbounded). After protesting we did get the ball back, but no 3 points. We then got to the line, Ben Beddes made 2 free throws with 15 seconds to go to lead by 1 and made a stop late to advance to the finals.

In the championship game, despite being gassed, we gave Grantsville with their jrs. a good game, but ultimately lost.

It truly was an increased team effort for the entire week, with everyone stepping up at key moments (and of course making some mistakes along the way), but that is how you learn, particularly in the summer.

We won in so many ways for the week, having had HS school coaches coach our games, teach and give some candid feedback. This experience was the equivalent of playing half a season.

Silver really is Gold.

GO CAVEMEN!

AF (Scorch) Basketball Briefs

The 8th grade Scorch Basketball team (aka AF Cavemen) are on hiatus having finished spring play. The team recently participated in the Utah AAU Spring Fling (7 game pool play then bracketed tourney) and was seeded first among 14 teams.  The Cavemen (Scorch) went undefeated in pool play against teams from Cottonwood, Park City, East High, Riverton, Jordan and Rowland Hall. (This despite being somewhat shorthanded with some players playing baseball). The Riverton Silverwolves game was the most contested. The Cavemen got off to a good start, moving the ball and defending well. The halftime score was 24-12 in favor of the Cavemen. In the second half, the Silverwolves staged a run after which the Cavemen pulled away with a 44-29 victory. Leading the way was Tanner LeBaron and Josh Wilson with 13 points each including Tanner with 3 treys. For the Spring Fling, Tanner led the team averaging 13 points per game on 52% shooting, 80% foul shooting and 14 threes. Josh averaged 12 points a game. Michael Wells led in assists and steals. Nate Ensign and Taft Christensen were the leading rebounders, with each also averaging 9 points a game. Ryker Matthews also provided a presence in the post.

Seeded number 1 in bracket play, the Cavemen/Scorch defeated South Davis Jr. High in the opening round by 14 and received a bye in the quarters to reach the semi-finals. In the final four, the Cavers were downed by A-Train (Cottonwood) by 12 in a hard fought game. Summer and particularly June will be busy with a Skills Camp at American Fork High School, team camps at various venues and perhaps some tournaments in July and August.

Scorching Hot in Las Vegas

The Scorch, an American Fork, Utah 8th grade boys AAU basketball team, won their pool at the 2007 Las Vegas Easter Classic tournament this past weekend. The Scorch were among 6 Utah teams participating in the 14U, twenty-eight team tournament and was

the only Utah team to win their pool in the 14U division. Thursday evening, the Scorch first defeated the Las Vegas Rims 65 to 40. The Scorchers jumped out to a 21-0 lead with their pressure defense and up tempo offense. After a short lived run by the Vegas team, the half time score was 36-15. In the end the AF boys outshot the Rims 41% to 25% and caused 17 turnovers. Josh Wilson earned the Spark Award with 15 spark points. The Scorch were led by Tanner LeBaron, who scored 22 points on 8 of 14 field goal shooting, including 2 treys. Brett Miller added 10 and Josh 8 points, 3 assists and 4 blocks. “The boys were very active and pushed the ball in transition, in downing a good Vegas all-star team”, said Coach Shirl LeBaron.

Next to be burned in pool play Friday morning was the High Desert Ballers from Victorville, California . The Scorchmen got off to another good start closing out the first half leading 24 -16. The Scorch also held the Cal team to 25% shooting and outrebounded them 27-21, pulling away for a 47-31 victory. Nate Ensign won the Spark Award with 9 spark points. Tanner tallied 21 points (9/17 fgs) and 2 threes. Kadan McMurtrey added 8 points inc. 2 treys and 3 assists. Taft Christensen had 6 rebounds, Nate had 2 blocks. “We picked right up from the Vegas game continuing our transition offense with some good passes ahead and had some good stops", continued LeBaron.

The Scorch then took on the MVP Flight Blue from Moraga, California Friday evening. In a defensive, physical game, the Scorch took a 22 to 19 halftime lead, with the good play of Brett, Michael Wells and Alex Ross. The Flight Blue edged out to a small lead, made free throws down the stretch and won 42-37. Taft tallied 14 spark points to win the Spark Award. Kadan had 12 scoring points,  with 2 threes; Brett 7 with Taft’s 7 rebounds. “This was a hard fought evenly played game. They made 6 more foul shots than us, which was the difference", stated LeBaron. The Scorch had an overwhelming plus 25 point differential to win their pool and advance to the platinum (top division) championship round.

Entering bracket play Saturday morning, the Scorch were pitted against another formidable pool winner in the Arizona Stars, an all-star team from the Tempe area. The Scorch got off to a slow start, falling behind the quick, athletic Arizona team. Behind 35-16 at half time, the Scorchers kept fighting, closing the gap to 11. Despite outrebounding the Stars by 10, the Stars were too much, eventually winning 61-37. Josh earned the Spark Award with 9 spark points. Tanner had 10 scoring points with 2 three balls, Kadan 8 points, Ryker Matthews 8 points and 6 rebounds and Alex with 3 blocks. “We battled hard, but had difficulty protecting the ball,” said LeBaron, continuing, “To win our pool and advance to the platinum championship round in this tournament was a great accomplishment. We learned a lot playing these highly skilled teams.” The Scorch team also enjoyed the Vegas sights, staying at the Las Vegas Hilton, eating In-n-Out burgers, taking in the Nike outlet store, the Rio buffet, Fremont Experience, Bellagio Water Show and the Manhattan Express at New York, New York. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, except the memories and experiences.

Bracket Bustin' Reset

March Madness continues....... my brackets aren't looking too bad. From the Sweet Sixeen, I was 100% accurate on those advancing to the Elite Eight. However after that, I missed two predicts, the UCLA (2) victory over Kansas (1), and Ohio State (1) eliminating Memphis (2). But not to fret, I did predict two number 1 seeds and two number 2 seeds in the Final Four, just the wrong ones.... Now for the Final Four picks . . . drum roll . . . trumpets sounding .... Florida (1) over UCLA  in one semifinal and Ohio State downing Georgetown (2) in the other; setting up the National Championship game with Troy Smith, the Heisman Winner against . . .oops, wrong sport. But we will see a rematch of the football BCS title game but in hoops (Ohio State v. Florida). Since Kansas got bumped, I have Ohio State exacting some measure of revenge for their esteemed institution (although I am put off by the constant reference to "THE" Ohio State University). Have you noticed that tournament play these days is the "spread 'em" and "take 'em" one-on-one mentality. There is alot of "driving and dishing " going on. Ohio State draining 18-18 foul shots to end their game vs. Memphis was amazing. The Buckeyes have had some championship defining moments on their way. It should be a great weekend of basketball upcoming.

QUERY for the informed: Should BYU ever make it to the Final Four (which slates the national semifinals on the same day as the LDS Church's Saturday afternoon Conference Sessions; with both semifinal games conflicting with the Sat. 2pm General Session and the 6pm Priesthood Session). The question is, would the LDS Church make General Conference scheduling changes in deference to this national scene of hoopdom and the resulting ginormous public relations boom, if BYU were to reach the promised land of Final Four Fanaticism? (The games and times are contractually set by NCAA and CBS). My answer.....the Church is not concerned; because the last NCAA game BYU won was in 1993. The Elite Eight team of Danny Ainge was in 1981. (and if the violation of Ralph Sampson of Virginia slapping/grabbing the backboard in that Elite Eight game, before blocking a late shot were called, the Cougars would have likely played UNC in the Final Four game in 1981), waaa, waaa, waaa.....Dave Rose's passion though is to get the Cougs to a Final Four. It would be a wonderful dilemma to put the Church, University and NCAA in. We can only dream, right?

Bracket Bustin'

Passing for a moment a Scorch basketball report; let's talk NCAA tournament basketball, a great time of year. It is Sweet Sixteen time, when the field of 65 is whittled down to 16 or eight regional semi-final games this Thursday and Friday. So far I have only missed predicting 6 games..... I wrongly picked Arizona (9 seed) over Purdue (8), Gonzaga (10) in an upset over Indiana (7),Virginia Tech (12) upsetting Southern Illinois (5) and of course BYU (8) over Xavier (9) in opening rounds. BYU dropped a great opportunity to break through with their first tourney win since '93, but poor foul shooting, execution, an unfortunate draw in Lexington (85 miles from Cincinnati, Xavier's home) and an unusually quick team in Xavier lead to their undoing. But I digress....I called the Winthrop (11) upset over Notre Dame (6) as well as VCU (11) over Duke (6).

In the second round I missed the Butler (5) Maryland (4) game and thought Texas (4) would prevail over USC (5). I had UNLV (7) sending Wisconsin (2) packing (yea Mountain West Conf). I have Florida (1) coming out of the Midwest, Kansas (1) winning the West, Georgetown (2) from the East and Memphis (2) surviving in the South for the Final Four. Georgetown and Kansas will be in the finals with Kansas winning it all. We will see if my brackets get busted. Click here for updated brackets.

As far as the Scorch, my 8th grade boys basketball team; we finished 33 -11 for the winter season beginning at Thanksgiving. We dropped the title game earlier in the month in the Bantam "A" league (Am. Fork) to Timpview by 9 at Open Court. It was a tie game midway through the 3rd quarter, when the T-birds went on a 7-0 run and we could not get over the hump. That loss broke a string of 13 straight title game wins since 2003 with these players, an amazing run. We laid an egg in the AAU state tournament, finishing 2nd in our pool and losing to Pump n Run in the opening round of bracket play. The highlights were Championships in the '06 Top of Utah Holiday Tournament in Smithfield, Utah and a title in the Idaho Premier Holiday Tournament in Idaho Falls. With our Open Court Fall League title, that gives us 21 league or tournament titles since 5th grade. Finishing 3rd in the highly regarded and most competitive winter league in the state: Dimple Dell Super League was also a plus, finishing behind eventual State AAU finalists Salt Lake Metro and Jammers. Final season stats for Dimple Dell can be found at Download 8th_z_stats_final_071.xls

Scorch/AF Basketball Report

The 8th grade Scorch and AF Bantam basketball teams have been active. In the AAU President's Day Tourney, we finished 2nd in our pool, dropping a hard fought game to Bingham 55-51, but defeated Flight (from Open Court) by 22.

We also concluded the Dimple Dell league, a highly regarded league in Sandy. We finished 3rd among some competitive teams and behind two outstanding teams in SL Metro and Jammers. We matched up with the Bullets (a SL all-star team) in the first round of the tournament. We got behind early by 13, then went on a run in the 2nd quarter to take a 5 point lead in the 3rd. It was a tight game down the wire. With 54 seconds to go in regulation, game tied, we have the ball going for the last shot for a win or overtime .......mental mistakes and poor execution led to our 61-55 demise. A learning experience.

In the Open Court Bantam League, we finished 2nd with a 9-1 record. We play Mountain View in the Quarterfinals this Saturday. The tournament finishes Monday night. Next week, the Utah AAU State Championship Tournament pairings come out, with pool play and bracket play running from Mar 8 through March 21.

American Fork/Scorch Basketball Rewind

As you are probably aware, one of my hobbies/diversions/therapies is coaching the American Fork 8th grade "A" team as well as the club team named Scorch, which is made up of essentially the same team members. The teams are 12-3 for 2007.  We are playing in two leagues this winter as well as some tournaments. In the Salt Lake Dimple Dell Z League (top 8th grade division) we are 4-2  and currently in third place against 8 of the top Utah teams. In the Bantam League at Open Court (in Lehi) we are in second place with an 8-1 record. The Bantam League is a 9 team league with teams chosen by the respective high school coaches. Since 2004 as 5th graders, we are 54 - 3 against teams in our age group in Open Court play. We are playing well, but learning to be tougher, better man to man defenders and to execute better.

Scorch are Idaho Premier Holiday Tourney Champs

This was a bracketed tourney with 16 eighth grade teams from Idaho, Wyoming and Utah.  The Scorch is an 8th grade team from American Fork, Utah.  All of these boys will go to American Fork High School.

Clic on pic for larger pic: front row, left to right, Tanner LeBaron, Michael Wells, Brett Miller and Kadan McMurtrey, 2nd row, left to right, Ryker Matthews, Nate Ensign, Josh Wilson and Taft Christensen. Top row, Coaches Shirl LeBaron and Craig Ensign.

 

Note: The Spark Award is our team "hustle award", given to the player who has the most assists, rebounds, steals, forced turnovers, blocks, deflections, held balls, charges taken, help defense, dives for loose balls and other hustle and efforting plays, less turnovers.

For still photos of the game click here.

Finals - Sat. 12/30 - AF 45  Smithfield UT 31. Tighter game than score. A defensive battle for the most part. 30-25 rebound edge for us. We caused 12 turnovers in 2nd half. Kept lead, made free throws, protected the ball, made clutch baskets and stops late. Brett   won the Spark Award with 19, 13 rebounds, 4 steals/ftos. Tanner 10 spark points along with game-high 12 points, 2 treys, 3 steals; Michael 10 points, 4 assists, Kadan 3 steals/ftos.

Semis - Sat. 12/30 - AF 70  Spanish Fork 21 - A dominating performance offensively and defensively from the get go. Michael a layup, back to back treys and an 8-0 lead within 90 seconds and ended with a 24 -2 first qtr lead. SF had 1 field goal 1st half. We shot 51% for the game and 17 team assists. Kadan won the Spark Award with 16, Michael 13, Ryker 10 spark points, Kadan 6, Michael 5 and Tanner 4 assists. Michael game-high 18 points (16 1st H), 6/8 fgs. Kadan 12, Tanner 11 and Taft 10 points. 

Quarterfinals -Fri. 12/29 - AF 51  Rigby ID 37 - A surprisingly challenging game, low 33% shooting for us and lack of focus, but defense was good. Rigby only had 16 second half points.

16 -6 fourth qtr score. Josh with the Spark Award with 16, Brett 15. Taft 10 spark points. Brett and Josh 10 rebs each. Ryker 8 reb. Kadan 4 assists. Tanner game-high 28 points on 11/22 shooting inc. 5 treys.

First round Fri. 12/29 - American Fork Scorch 66  Idaho Falls 43 - After a slow start in the first half, we had a 26-10 third qtr. We outboarded them 40-21. Held IF to 29% shooting . We had 19 team assists. Tanner and Kadan had 7 assists each. Nate won the Spark Award with 16 spark points inc. 9 reb. 3 steals/ftos, 2 blocks; Kadan 15 spark points. Tanner game-high 18 points, 4 treys. Kadan 10 points, 2 threes. Brett a near double-double with 9 pts/9 reb.

 

Champions - American Fork Scorch. The team also went 14-0 the month of December.

Our cumulative record... 2003: 1-2,  2004: 50-11;  2005: 53-31;  2006: 83-24  total : 187 - 68  for .733 winning percentage.