Nevada high school boys basketball preview: Bishop Gorman leads 5A

Bishop Gorman returns most of its core from last year’s team that won the Class 5A boys basketball state championship.

But Gaels coach Grant Rice said he has reminded his team to not rest on its laurels, especially with how competitive the top of 5A is expected to be.

“Although we won last year, this group hasn’t won anything yet,” Rice said. “We’ve got to go out and do things the right way, stick to the fundamentals and prove ourselves again.”

The boys basketball season began Friday, but most local teams will play their first games this week. Bishop Gorman returns three starters and several role players from last year’s team and is the early favorite to defend its title.

Coronado, last year’s state runner-up, will be right there with the Gaels. The Cougars added guard Mason Abittan, a UNLV commit, to go along with returners Lantz Stephenson and JJ Buchanan, a Utah football commit.

Last year, Gorman, Coronado, Liberty and Arbor View separated themselves from the rest of the league. The four teams are expected to be at the top again this year, with Mojave and Desert Pines also expected to contend in the 12-team, Southern-only division.

“It’s going to be like last year,” Rice said. “It’s going to be extremely competitive.”

Gorman returns starters Nick Jefferson, Ilan Nikolov and Jett Washington and key role players such as Kameron Cooper and Kingston Carmona. Washington, a four-star class of 2026 football recruit, recently rejoined the Gaels after helping the football team win its fourth straight state title.

Washington “brings toughness and athleticism to us,” Rice said. “He’s one of the top safeties in the country, being recruited by everybody. That defensive instinct of his is going to help us on the defensive end, and then he can go out and score. We need him to score, and if he can give us 15, 20 points, it’s going to help us tremendously.”

Rice said he also expects 6-foot-9-inch center Chris Baudreau to be a focal point for the Gaels. Baudreau was in the program his freshman and sophomore years and moved out of state last year before returning to the Gaels this year.

“He’s really extremely athletic and great in transition and blocks shots,” Rice said. “He brings us something we didn’t have last year, an athletic finisher and a rim protector.”

‘Really hungry’

Coronado had Gorman’s number in the regular season last year, with the Cougars winning 74-63 in the Big City Showdown. But the Gaels battled to a 63-60 win at the Thomas &Mack Center to claim the title.

Coach Jeff Kaufman said the Cougars were motivated in the offseason after the “tough” end to the season.

“They didn’t take it lightly, and a lot of them are back and they’ve been going at it pretty hard,” he said. “Our (nonleague) schedule is so difficult that we’re going to see a lot of stuff. We’re going to take some lumps, but it should make us really hungry and really better once we get into the season.”

Abittan was at Coronado his freshman year and then played at Palo Verde his sophomore year and last season at Red Rock Academy. Kaufman said the 6-6 guard’s athleticism and versatility on both ends of the floor help him bring a lot to the team.

“He shoots it from all over the place,” Kaufman said. “He is much more athletic than people give him credit for. He can get to the rim and finish with a dunk. … It gives us a lot of weapons. He just stretches the defense for us.”

The Cougars have to replace center Tee Bartlett, who is now playing with the Overtime Elite league. Kaufman said Stephenson has worked on defense and rebounding to help fill the role Bartlett played.

“We’re really focused on how we’re going to defend people this year, and (Stephenson) is a big part of that,” Kaufman said.

Other classes

In 4A, Sierra Vista is a favorite to defend its title, playing against Northern and Southern schools. The Mountain Lions defeated Damonte Ranch 57-47 in the final last season.

Xavion Staton, a 7-foot center committed to BYU, will lead Sierra Vista, along with returning point guard EJ Dacuma.

The Mountain Lions added some state championship experience with Colton Knoll and Jevon Yapi joining the team. Knoll and Yapi started on Durango’s 2023 5A state title team and played with Red Rock Academy last year.

Democracy Prep and Mater East battled atop 3A last season, and both teams will be leading the classification again this year. Mater East won the Southern Region title over Democracy Prep, but the Blue Knights won a thriller for the state title in Reno.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.