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2024 Bishop Manogue Miners Boys / Girls Basketball Season Preview

2024 Bishop Manogue Miners Boys Basketball Season Preview

By: J. Ray Dockter

Head coach: Luke Babbitt, 3rd Season as head coach at Bishop Manogue

Key Returners: Kaden Rowe, Senior (Second Team All League); Liam Sorenson, Junior (Honorable Mention All League)

Key Losses: James Williams, Junior (Second Team All League)

2023 Record: 11-16 overall, 8-8 league; 29-29 overall, 20-12 league in two seasons at Bishop Manogue

Luke Babbitt (Third Season)

(11-16 Overall, 8-8 League in 2023-24)

(18-13 Overall, 12-4 League in 2022-2023)

(29-29 Overall, 20-12 League in Two Seasons)

A year after winning the regional championship in his rookie season at the helm Coach Luke Babbitt and the Miners once again made it to the Northern Regional 'Final Four' surprising the Cougars, 60-57, on the road in the first round of the playoffs last season.

As we begin this season The Miners will once again look to make their mark in the regional playoffs. They will have to rely largely on Kaden Rowe, Jamahl Jackson and Liam Sorenson to get this accomplished.

Head Coach Luke Babbitt will be tasked with taking this relatively inexperienced, young squad through the season for his third year at the helm. He has proven that he has the 'chops' to be a successful coach in our area after back-to-back successful seasons with the Miners.

Bishop Manogue returns five players from last season and will hang their hat on an up-tempo, fast paced offense to get teams out of rhythm this winter while playing great man-to-man defense on the other end.

Look for the aforementioned Rowe, Jackson, and Sorenson to carry the bulk of the scoring for the Miners this season as they saw Junior-to-be James Williams transfer to Utah this offseason. They will be flanked by Pele Masina and Veo Dizon in the starting lineup this season.

Once again, I expect the Miners to be in the mix for a Regional Championship this year. An appearance in the Northern Regional's 'Final Four' should be the minimum expectation for the Miners this season.

Without further ado, here are Coach Luke Babbitt's answers to our questions we asked him last month.

What can we expect from your team this season?

Offense - Dribble drive, spacing, drive and kick and Three point shooting.

Defense - Man to man, ball pressure.

Style of Play - Up-tempo.

How many years have you coached for your current team?

Third season leading Bishop Manogue.

What year are you entering with your team?

Third season leading Bishop Manogue.

What is the key to your team's success this season?

The key to our success this season will be our ability to adapt, persevere, and rally together as a team. As with every season, there will be highs and lows and it will be how we respond to adversity that ultimately defines our year. If we are able to come together as a group, with individuals putting the team first, we will accomplish our goals.

What was your team's record last season?

11-16 overall, 8-8 league

What is the best part about coaching high school athletics?

The best part of coaching high school athletics is being able to be a part of a student-athlete's growth on and off the court. It's gratifying to help play a role in a player's individual success as well as share and instill valuable lessons of teamwork, cooperation and leadership that are essential to being part of a winning team. At Bishop Manogue I get to work with a very driven group of student-athletes that make coaching them very rewarding.

Who do you feel are the teams to beat in the North?

Anyone can win the North this season, it should be very competitive but Spanish Springs and Reno return a lot of size/skill and are well coached.

Give us some key players or any projected starters to watch this season and also include class, position, stats (if applicable):

Senior Kaden Rowe (Second Team All League last season), Junior Liam Sorenson (Honorable Mention All League last season), Sophomore Jamahl Jackson (Averaged 6.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.3 BPG as a Freshman last season), and Sophomore Veo Dizon (Returning defensive guard who averaged 1.3 assists and one steal per game as a Freshman last season).

Bishop Manogue's League Schedule:

12/3 at Reed

12/10 at Galena

12/19 vs. Damonte Ranch

12/20 vs. Douglas

1/3 at McQueen

1/6 vs. Spanish Springs

1/8 vs. Reno

1/10 at Carson

1/15 vs. Reed

1/17 vs. Galena

1/20 at Damonte Ranch

1/22 at Douglas

1/24 vs. McQueen

1/28 at Spanish Springs

1/31 at Reno

2/4 vs. Carson

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2024 Bishop Manogue Miners Girls Basketball Season Preview

Head coach: Jason Westphal (First season as Bishop Manogue HC)

2023 Record: 26-1 overall, 16-0 league; 4A Northern Region and State Champions

Key Losses: Taua Puloka (Northern 4A Player of the Year) to Reed; Jaileen Yarrow (First Team All League / Northern 5A Player of the Year), Anjuli Gosal, Milasarai Tau (First Team All League), Mata Peaua (First Team All League), Gianna Brunetti (Honorable Mention All League), Violet Gordon (Honorable Mention All League) to Reno.

Overview: A season ago the Miners were Senior-laden and the most talented team in the entire state at the 4A level. They only lost one time (to Fernley) on their way to the school’s first girls basketball championship in over two decades. It was a long time coming for the school and former coach Sara Schopper.

For as quickly as the celebration began for the Lady Miners it came to a screeching halt as the Miners program was undone by a controversy that we won’t revisit in this space. As the kids say “IYKYK” and most of us in the Hoops community know what happened. The fallout that ensued has led to the transfer of Junior PG Taua Puloka, who was named Player of The Year last season, as she is playing for Reed HS and Sophomore Violet Gordon, who transferred to Reno, now as well as the hiring of new HC Jason Westphal to lead the Miners into the future.

That was then and this is now as Josie Williamson (Fr.), Annabella Sullivan (Jr.), Jilly Foster (Jr.), and Mia Hall (Fr.) will be looked upon to lead the Miners into the future. The Lady Miners are young this season as they have four freshman, two sophomores and five juniors that make up their squad for this season. In fact, they only returned 4.3 PPG from last season, a season that saw them average 62.8 PPG as a team.

I’d expect the Miners to compete for the opportunity to host a home playoff game once again this season with an eye towards the future.

Without further ado, here are Coach Westphal’s answers to our questions we asked him last month.

What can we expect from your team this season?

Offense - Fast paced offense with lots of movement.

Defense - Man to man full court.

Style of Play - Look to push the ball ahead and score in transition.

How many years have you coached for your current team?

This is my first year coaching at Manogue.

What year are you entering with your team?

This is my first year coaching at Manogue.

What is the key to your team's success this season?

Play hard, work well as a team and play solid defense.

What was your team's record last season?

Team won State and only lost one game.