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Show t n I I y For every horror movie that hits it big, theres always a pleasant one that comes along too. For every bad game youve played, theres always bright hopes that tomorrow will make for a better day. Why Not Reid For The Head Post At BYU? Lately Ive dreamed and night about this opportunity, AT BRIGHAM Young University, its been the combination of both a bad horror movie and a terrible game as of late, but theres got to be better things ahead. The resignation of Frank Arnold as the head basketball coach left a coaching void that must be filled in the next few weeks. That was the storm. THE CALM could be the choice of former Clearfield High coach, Roger Reid as Arnolds successor. Reid, like the rest of us, will know the answer sometime later this month when the decision is made. Among Reids running mates for the BYU head position include the present Dixie College coach, Neil Roberts. REID, MHO compiled a 60-2-4 record while the head coach at Clearfield High, wants the head job at BYU more than you and I could commentarykeith dun can imagine. From the day he was hired on as a student assistant, his only dream has been to lead the Cougars someday. laid awake at said Reid, "In fact its something that I've always dreamed about. OF COURSE that doesnt indicate all the hard work and drive the former Falcon coach has dedicated himself to over the past five seasons as Arnolds assistant. When Ive laid awake in the sleepless nights over the past five years, my thoughts go back to Clearfield High to the six oclock morning practices and all of the great young men that worked so hard for me, kids that I have such a tremendous love for, said Reid. AND JUST as he loves the former high school players he led at Clearfield and Payson, Reid has developed the same respect and devotion for the BYU players that now line the Cougar roster. But true devotion and love isnt a d thing. The players at BYU respect Reid too. one-side- BRIAN TAYLOR, the freshman guard who played three impressive seasons at Davis High, acted as a spokesman for the BYU players in saying that everyone likes Coach Reid. I sure hope Coach Taylor commented, Reid gets the job. Everyone likes him. In my ow n opinion, if Reid doesnt get it, it would be robbery. We all know he turned down the Wyoming head job which was offering twice as much money at the time. BUT EVEN though Taylor was quick to talk about Reid, he was hesitant After all that has happened over the past while, we as players cant voice what we think, too loud. If we did, people would suggest that we are now trying to pick our own coach. Coach Arnolds departure wasnt just because of us, but theres still a lot of people who dont know the situation that go on believing we had everything to do with it, said Taylor. Coach Reid summed it up, The players have taken a lot of abuse and thats not right. What happened with the players was just a small fraction of all the things that have been building up over the past eight years. IT HAD TO do w ith a wide range of things; from public relations to being an ambassador for the church away from home. The players have been used as a scapegoat and its not right. About Coach Arnold, Reid thought very positively that hed be back in coaching someday. I hope he does come back, said Reid. BUT ASIDE from the Arnold episode, Taylor and his teammates couldnt be more excited about next season. Were already 1 talking about it. Were already talking Top 20, said really feel that we can be up there, Taylor. We know w hat we can do w ithin ourselves. I really dont think we need to bring an outsider in to get us back on top, he said. none-the-les- s. LETS HOPE the storm has passed along its course and gone out to sea. With Reid at the helm and the support players like Taylor say they have for him, much brighter more sunny days wait ahead. Clearfield guard." Wilson easily was scoring over 20 points per game in the early going and posted a 35 point outburst against Weber in Clearfield's first league game. For the season, Wilson averaged just over 16 points per game. Wilsons freethrow accuracy was worth mention. ,His uncanny ability at hitting the foul shots was a key in Clearfield's attack all season. During the first Weber game, Wilson hit on 17 of 18 from the line. Davis Countys Best Were Also States Best WILSON, A senior, was the sparkplug of the Falcon offense through most of the year. Though the team won only one league game, Wilson summed it up best, We were the team in the state. best Woods Cross and Bountiful, the two clubs that met for the state 4A championship a couple of weeks ago, each placed three players on the Davis County Clipper basketball team for 1983. LAYTON, MHO won the consolation title in that same state tournament had two selected to the elite team while Viewmont, Davis and Clearfield each had one. This club is the envy of any high school basketball coach, in fact these 1 1 players could probably cause some havoc in the junior college ranks as well. Give me those 1 for a couple of years and Id win some ballgames noted one junior college coach who is in the process of recruiting many of these athletes. IN SELECTING the squad the Clipper elected to go with one Most Valuable Player and ten first team selections. Those selected to the second team werent that far behind the first team selections and they too should be proud of their accomplishments. These 1 1 athletes are the main reason for the outstanding basketball season that the Davis County fans enjoyed. Consider the fact that three trophies are given at the state tournament and all three of them now reside in the county. Woods Cross took the first place, Bountiful the second and Layton the consolation. TODD ROBINSON The second Wildcat on the squad is forward Todd Robinson, a 63 bull who plays a physical game with finesse. Todd was termed a surprise by several Salt Lake coaches but not to those in this area that had seen him play before. At first he was considered the Cats secret but as time went on the other teams and coaches became more than aware of him. 1 ON THE YEAR Todd averaged 16 points for the Cats, along with 6 rebounds and five assists each time he took the floor. Todd has tremendous jumping ability and deceptive speed or quickness. His game was to sink a couple of long range jumpers and then drive around his man with a power move to the basket. Robinson is getting a lot of attention from the junior college ranks in the state and hell be a big asset to whichever one he attends. Todd has also been selected to play in the upcoming 4A vs. 3A All-Stgame. RACE MCCLEERY Race McCIeery is the other Cat player to be honored for his play which was very detrimental to their success. A 64 guard Race was the floor leader for Woods Cross, when someone had to handle the ball the team seemed to look for Race. McCLEERY WAS one of the top outside shooters in the area and he found himself open time after time that teams would try to block Houskeeper in the middle. His shooting, he averaged 1 1 points per game, kept the defenses honest. He also pulled down four rebounds and dished out five assists each game he played. Race is just a coachs dream as a guard. He has good court sense, handles the ball well and passes with the best of them. A definite college prospect Race is currently deciding between the junior colleges in Utah. Whichever one gets his services for the next two years is getting a quality player. MVP GREG HOUSKEEPER Heading the list then is our MVP who just happens to be Greg Houskeeper of Woods Cross. In past years picking the MVP player has been a tough assignment but this year Greg made the selection process easier with his play. As Bountiful High coach Mike Hall expressed, Woods Cross has some GARY SELJAAS The Bountiful High trio is led by senior Gary Seljaas, a slender 67 swingman. As it turned out Gary led the Braves in scoring for the season with a 13.1 average, was third in rebounds with 6 per game, and second in assists with 4.4 each game. One stat that might come as a surprise for a big forward like Gary is that he also led the Braves in steals with 42 on the year. GARY WAS A main cog in the state title the Braves won a year ago and he was a big factor in their second place effort this season. He likes the outside game, and he's good at it. Gary has a great shooting eye and touch from 18 feet on in, and he handles the ball well. Nevada-Ren- o has shown some interest in Gary along with all the junior colleges in the area. Right now though he has a busy schedule with all star games. Gary is slated to play in the 4A-3battle in a couple of weeks and then hell play for the Utah team in the BCI senior tournament in Phoenix later this month. Davis County placed three high schools in the top six spots in this years state basketball tournament Leading those teams were, Blake Izatt, Greg Houskeeper, Gary Brad Merrill, Race McCIeery, Steve Hibbert, Ryan Smith, Kevin Smith, Jeff Moon, Mark Wilson and Todd Robinson. Sel-jaa- Grog Houskeeper s, all-st- ar great players. Take several of their key personnel away and they would struggle, take Houskeeper away and they wouldnt win. INDEED GREG had a great season. He averaged 20.2 points per game, pulled down 9 rebounds each outing and blocked three shots each game he participated in. He was one of the most improved players from a year ago and his play was a big reason for the Cats claiming their first state crown. Greg is now scheduled to play for Utah in the BCI senior tournaat ment in Arizona, and then in the 4A against 3A Hillcrest High. At 6'9 Greg is easily noticed on the floor and he hasnt gone unnoticed by the college scouts. Wyoming and Utah appear to be at the top of his list as far as four year schools are concerned, along with just about every junior college one can name. through. Take for instance Laytons two meetings against Roys Reid Newey. Newey was averaging 30 points per game prior to those games but it was Merrill that frustrated the talented Royal and both times prevented him from reaching his average. MERRILL was also extremely valuable in the Lancers rebounding scheme. Brad averaged at least 7.5 rebounds per game. All-Sta- rs BRAD MERRILL Any coach likes a player that plays with guts and not his mouth. That happened to fit the role of Laytons Brad Merrill perfectly. IT WAS A superb state tournament performance by Merrill that helped Layton to three consecutive tourney victories and the right to take home the 1983 consolation championship . trophy. averOn offense Merrill usually maintained a solid but it too, assists three or game his two per age and usually got was on defense that had his coach and talking. WE ALWAYS give Merrill the toughest defensive assignment, said Doug Moon, the coach and he always came RYAN SMITH What could be more fitting than to have Davis Ryan Smith named to the first team parade of of the Davis County school basketball high players. all-sta- rs SMITH, THE only junior to be named to the first team, is representative of what was a young and truly inexperienced Davis High team. Smith was a solid link in the Darts attack all year. Then guard ended up as the leading and most consistent scorer for Mike Gardners squad all year. Besides that, his defense wasnt all the bad either. 0, JEFF MOON It was just a plain gut it up effort by Laytons Jeff Moon that enabled the Lancers to make the state playoffs and excell all the way to the consolation championship of the 1983 state playoffs. MOON HAD averaged a mere 10 or 11 points per game before the teams top scorer, Keith Williams, left the club. After the departure. Moon simply took over and averaged 16 to 17 points per contest and more importantly became the cohesive piece that kept things together. Moon had a brilliant state tournament, averaging 17 points performance against Skyline. per game including a Moon also averaged 4 assists per game and at least 4 rebounds per game. IT WAS JEFFS playmaking ability that kept the ballclub sometogether, said Jeff's father, the coach, We needed left. He Keith when surpassed even body like him to pick up our of the wildest expectations. BLAKE IZATT The second Brave on the squad is guard Blake Izatt who has been a starter at Bountiful all three years he attended. For his senior year Blake averaged 10.9 points and dished out a team high 126 assists, which averages out to just over five per game. 160-pou- WHEN STACKING up genuine basketball talent, dont bet on Smith being very close to the top when talking about this team. But its nearly for sure that no one would count out Smith when it comes to true grit and determined hustle. Smith will be back for another year to help Gardner try to bring Davis basketball back into the playoff picture. BLAKE IS extremely quick and handles the ball well but he earned his reputation in the state tournament with his long range shooting. He lit up the scoreboard with some long shots on opening night and just continued to do the same thing right through the entire tournament. His efforts didnt go unnoticed either as he was selected to game at Hillcrest in a couple of play in the 4A-3weeks and the junior college coaches are knocking on his door. Blake hasnt made a decision on where to play next year but hell play somewhere. MARK WILSON STEVE HIBBERT all-st- ar Without any question, Clearfields Mark Wilson was a clear-c1983 Davis County All-Stgathering. sharp-shootin- nsive-minded ut g and defeselection to the WILSON BEGAN the 1982-8- 3 season in very admirable fashion, in fact so impressive that his coach, Craig Hansen, called Wilsons efforts one of the finest starts ever for a A all-st- The third choice from Bountiful is 67 Steve Hibbert w ho his own coach calls one of the most improved players hes had at Bountiful. Indeed the improvement Steve showed from his sophomore year until now has been terrific. continued on page 2 |