High school teams seeking benefits from December tournaments
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- Skyridge head coach Jeff Gardner watches the action during the Falcon Classic game against Farmington at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Westlake players warm up at halftime during their Falcon Classic game against Brighton at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Skyridge junior Jordan Kohler goes up for a shot during the Falcon Classic game against Farmington at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Westlake junior Symon Sua shoots a 3-pointer during the Falcon Classic game against Brighton at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Westlake players cheer after a good play during the Falcon Classic game against Brighton at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Skyridge players prepare to take the floor before the Falcon Classic game against Farmington at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Westlake senior guard Jace Adams drives to the basket during the Falcon Classic game against Brighton at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Skyridge and Farmington players battle for the jump ball during the Falcon Classic game at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Skyridge senior Cohen Fountaine goes up for a layup during the Falcon Classic game against Farmington at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Westlake and Brighton players shake hands after the Falcon Classic game at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Skyridge sophomore Ryder Gentry shoots a 3-pointer during the Falcon Classic game against Farmington at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
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- Westlake head coach Nate Carling talks to his players during the Falcon Classic game against Brighton at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Walk through the halls near the gyms at Skyridge High School on Thursday, Friday or Saturday this week and you’ll likely hear the pounding of bouncing basketballs, the squeak of sneakers and the shrill call of whistles.
Skyridge is hosting the three-day Falcon Classic for the fourth consecutive year, one of the many local and national high school basketball tournaments that take place in the month of December.
Some are enormous while others are more modest in scope. Some feature teams from many different states while others focus on gathering squads from nearby.
The Falcon Classic, for example, has just eight varsity, junior varsity and sophomore teams from Utah: Skyridge, Westlake, Brighton, Farmington, Crimson Cliffs, Copper Hills, Dixie and Herriman.
Falcon head coach Jeff Gardner said getting programs like those to come is a key to any good tournament.
“The biggest things is getting good teams,” Gardner said. “Once you are here, I think it is a great experience for your kids to play three games in a row against quality teams. It’s fun to have different schools. It’s a weekend we look forward to.”
One of the reasons the tournament has focused on in-state teams because it’s easier to ensure everyone can keep their commitment to competing in the event.
“We’ve never had a team back out, and I know that’s happened with teams from out of state,” Gardner said. “We focused on bringing in the best in-state schools we can and it’s worked well for us that way.”
Thunder head coach Nate Carling said one reason he likes participating in the Falcon Classic is because he can be confident that there will be good opponents.
“It’s more complicated with the RPI,” Carling said. “With how games are weighted, you don’t know how it will affect your RPI. You don’t want to go to one where you lose all your games, but you don’t want to go to one where the competition hurts your RPI.”
He also said he prefers the smaller tournaments like the Falcon Classic to the enormous ones because he likes the ambiance. He also likes having a tiered tournament.
“I like it when the high school and they take pride in it,” Carling said. “I do like the style because you end up getting the right caliber game eventually. If you’re really good and you’re winning, you’re going to play a really good team at the end of the day. I do tend to go toward the smaller ones but a lot of guys like the flash of the big tournaments.”
The bottom line for all of the coaches is they want their players to benefit.
“We’ve got to get 13 preseason games before January 10, so you do the math and you’ve got to get some games together,” Gardner said. “This weekend we’re going to get three good games against three good opponents, which will give us a good baseline of film and analysis of where we’re at and what things we got to work on.”
The players have to focus, since with so many games in a short period of time there isn’t much time for changing things up between contests.
“We had an hour shootaround where we worked through some of the things for today,” Gardner said. “You don’t win these by scouting. It’s about kids who’ve got to be ready to play and go. I like the fact that you have to battle fatigue and the little injuries. It definitely tests the toughness of your team. I look forward to that.”
Carling said his Westlake team, which is young this year and hadn’t won a game, did make some adjustments before facing Brighton in the second game on Friday afternoon.
“We went back to just some basic things that we have been really good at over the years,” Carling said “We actually simplified and I think that our guys played in a little more of a comfort zone today. I think we need to keep building it but we had to find a way to be successful today.
“You just have to get one in that win column eventually and take that weight off. I thought our guys played more together and more connected with that. We had a lot more assists than we’ve had in the past and so we were just more comfortable and in a better rhythm.”
The Thunder built a double-digit lead and held on to defeat the Bengals to get their first victory in 2023-24. Carling said it was a benefit to play a game quickly after losing to Dixie in the first round.
The December tournaments are also a great opportunity for people who just love to watch a lot of basketball.
“Yesterday we had four games and they were good basketball games, fun to watch the kids compete and battle,” Gardner said. “It’s a really fun weekend for us. Also, as coaches, we build relationships and so it’s fun to catch up with the coaches.”
The Falcon Classic will conclude with the final day of action at Skyridge High School on Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
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