The Grand County High School boys basketball team attended a camp and played a tournament against some familiar foes, hosted by South Sevier High School, on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 26 and 27. Grand played four varsity games, two on each day, going 1-3 overall, while the junior varsity played one game each day, going 1-1. The Red Devil varsity consisted of three seniors, three juniors and two sophomores at the tournament, with only the seniors having ever played varsity before. Grand lost 73-40 against Region 15 foe Emery in its first varsity game, followed by a 54-40 loss to Manti, another region opponent. The following day, Grand defeated non-region Piute 60-33 before losing to Region foe South Sevier 75-43 in their final game.
“It’s hard to say how I feel about the tournament,” Grand boys basketball coach Scott Horton said. “We didn’t have our full varsity team. I didn’t see anything that impressed me from the other teams.”
Despite not having enough upperclassmen at the camp to be competitive, Horton said the team still benefited.
“Any basketball is good basketball,” he said. “That’s how I see it.”
Grand’s junior varsity team lost 54-38 to South Sevier on Tuesday, then beat Manti 48-47 on Wednesday. Horton said the younger players gained valuable experience at this camp that will serve them well during the season.
“When the JV guys who played varsity at this camp play JV games during the season, the games won’t be as fast for them,” he said.
Horton said the Red Devils have about a season’s worth of action under their belt from summer camps, which he said will give them an advantage during the season.
“We just played a condensed season in about 15 days,” he said. “When the season comes, we already have 20 games under our belt. It’s very valuable.”
Grand earns valuable experience, especially underclassmen
“Any basketball is good basketball.”
