It’s never too early to start talking basketball.
The first practices are still more than three weeks away but I’m already excited for this upcoming prep season. As usual, there appears to be a lot of great storylines involving our local teams.
A cool website was brought to my attention recently called FiveStarBasketball.com. The site is associated with the national Five Star Basketball academy and camps that started in 1986 and featured youth players like Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
The new website is filled with great content about youth and high school basketball, including a short video documentary about Michael Jordan’s high school playing days. (Did you know Jordan didn’t play varsity until his junior year?)
Anyhow, the website recently ran a “50 States in 50 Days” section, and when it came to Montana, writer Timothy Lockwood pointed out: “There’s no shortage of talent in Big Sky Country.”
The feature highlighted five teams to watch and five players to watch. Atop the teams to watch list was Columbia Falls, the Class A boys defending state champion. Here’s what they had to say:
Columbia Falls – Coach Cary Finberg’s defending Class A champs are poised for a return to dominance. Senior forward Austin Barth leads a seasoned group that includes returning senior standouts Parker Johnson and Anthony Correa. This is a team that knows what it takes to cut down the nets in March
When it came to players, Barth, who has committed to play football at Montana State next fall, was spotlighted along with Flathead senior George Sherwood in the “Five Players to Watch” section. Here’s what they had to say about the local players:
Austin Barth (Columbia Falls) – At 6-7 and 200 pounds, it’s easy to see why Barth is getting Division 1 attention for both football and basketball. The senior forward moonlights as the Wildcats starting quarterback during the fall so he is no stranger to contact. After leading the Northwest A Conference in blocks a season ago, teams know they need to respect the paint when they play Columbia Falls.
George Sherwood (Flathead) – The senior forward, who also stars as a wide receiver on the gridiron, brings athleticism to the low post that teams won’t be able to stop with just a game plan. At 6-4, Sherwood was Flathead’s leading rebounder a year ago, and with the departure of scoring leader and Chicago White Sox draft choice Joe Pistorese, he will become the new focal point of the Braves’ offense.