Basketball: Northern 4A teams prepare for tough league stretch

The final week of December is traditionally the time where basketball teams around the Northern 4A venture out of the area to hammer home important final lessons before launching into the thick of league play.

The first part of January is usually where we see how much they've learned.

Most teams at this point have put 12 to 15 essentially meaningless games under their belts in the first month of play. In the next six weeks, the fate of the entire season will be decided for each squad, as they take the chemistry they've built during non-league play and test it against the rest of the North.

On the boys' side, absolutely no one in the region has made a solid case to be the favorite.

The parity is such that any of 11 different teams could be in the picture for the eight playoff spots, and seven of those could stake a legimate claim on regional title come February.

One gets the sense that it'll come down to whoever gets the hot hand the week of regionals.

After one month of mostly non-conference play, it's the surprise North Valleys Panthers, under the direction of first-year coach and former Nevada Wolf Pack standout Garry Hill-Thomas, who have posted the most overall wins in the region (10).

The Panthers, had the second least wins in the region last year (5), better only than Wooster (2).

Most coaches are still tabbing up-tempo, sharp-shooting Manogue as the team to beat. The Miners, defending champs in the Sierra League, have put together an 8-4 record against a schedule largely made up of teams from out of the area. What remains to be seen is how that translates against local competition.

Carson, which is 6-2, has been strong and Galena has taken on its traditionally high-volume and tough non-conference schedule and posted a 6-9 record.

One darkhorse that has emerged is Damonte Ranch, which narrowly missed the playoffs with a 7-7 season last year. The Mustangs have jumped out to a 6-3 start this year, also featuring an up-tempo style.

Douglas is 6-6 on the year, but has posted quality wins over High Desert favorite McQueen and Southern 4A power Faith Lutheran.

The Tigers have also made a living on its up-tempo game, particularly with its man press defense.

Coach Corey Thacker has said several times that the team will need consistency to get to where it wants to be. That will be tested right off the bat in league play, with trips to Damonte, Galena and Manogue all in the first full week of league play.

While McQueen has emerged as a tentative favorite in the High Desert, North Valleys has been impressive against a somewhat lighter schedule. Perennial power Reno and defending regional champion Hug will be in the playoff picture, as will talented squads from Spanish Springs and Elko.

Reed is 1-7 to start the year, but the going word is that they haven't begun to tap their potential as a team yet. Expect a late charge from the Raiders.

On the girls' side, the regional crown is absolutely Reno's to lose - as in, they would probably have to play themselves to lose it.

The defending regional champs have already posted big wins against closest challengers Galena, Reed and Spanish Springs.

There seems to be a bit of drop-off after those four schools.

Galena is the favorite to win the Sierra while the High Desert will likely leave a high-quality team (i.e. Hug, North Valleys or McQueen) out of the playoffs.

After Galena in the Sierra, though, the picture muddles considerably.

Upstart Fallon picked up a pair of league wins in December and is off to a 6-4 start overall. Carson and Manogue appear to be in an early battle for the No. 2 seed (and home first-round playoff game), but Damonte Ranch and South Tahoe will likely make a bid for the bottom two spots.

Douglas basically started from ground zero in December and has been gradually building ever since. The Tigers had a nice win over Lowry heading into Winter break and picked up a pair of wins at the Lady Bulldog Classic in Las Vegas last week.

Young Tiger teams have a tendency of making late runs in the season as they start to find their rhythm and this season should be no different.

They have been in eight games decided by three points or less this season and have won three of those. That clutch experience is invaluable and nearly impossible to replicate in practice. Expect those games to come into play in the final two weeks of the year with home games against Damonte Ranch, Manogue and South Tahoe on the schedule before a finale trip to Carson.