Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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Jason Wilson coached in the state high school basketball tournament twice in the late 1990s in his initial years on the Las Vegas High staff.
Those great Las Vegas teams led by the likes of Aaron Gray and Ronnie Jones lost in the 1998 championship game to Valley. The following year, the Wildcats fell in the state semifinals.
It took until 2022 for them to return to the tournament, and Wilson — the head coach the past 23 years — is making sure his players cherish the moment.
Las Vegas plays Spring Valley in the class 4A state semifinals at 5:20 p.m. today at Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. Mojave and Cimarron-Memorial, at 8:40 p.m., are in the other semifinal. The championship game is 7:10 p.m. Saturday.
“We are trying to keep it as normal as possible, but the kids know it’s not normal,” Wilson said. “The kids aren’t going to feel the pressure because we’ve played in some competitive games this year. The gym was packed for the rivalry game with Valley.”
Las Vegas has arguably the tournament’s top player in senior guard Taviontae Jackson, who is averaging 26.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.8 steals per game. Only two other Las Vegas players — TJ Brown and Tayshaun Jackson — are averaging in double figures, meaning stopping Taviontae Jackson will be priority No. 1 for Spring Valley, Grizzles’ coach Paul Blair said.
“He’s a full-blown problem,” Blair said. “If you don’t pay attention to him early, he can light you up for 40 (points).”
Spring Valley also has a standout guard in sophomore Alijah Adem, who is averaging 25.9 points and 7.8 assists per game. The Grizzlies have an edge on the interior with three players standing 6-foot-6, including sophomore Pharaoh Compton. Compton averaged 12.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game.
“We have the one thing everyone doesn’t have — three bigs,” Blair said. “Our three bigs are really good.”
Blair loaded his schedule with class 5A opponents, knowing that competing against a higher level of competition would prepare his players for the postseason. Spring Valley posted wins against Centennial, Faith Lutheran and Palo Verde, and then — as expected — went undefeated in league play.
“At the end of the day, we play,” Blair said. “These kids have been playing year around. They won’t be rattled.”
While the initial semifinal game features arguably the best team (Spring Valley) and player (Las Vegas’ Taviontae Jackson), both coaches insist Mojave and Cimarron-Memorial in the other semifinal are equally dangerous.
Mojave has one of the classification’s top players in CJ Shaw, who scored 16.5 points per game. And the Rattlers split its season series against Las Vegas, with each game being decided on the final possession.
Cimarron-Memorial went undefeated in league games and has the tournament’s most accomplished coach in Daryl Branham, who in 2011 led Canyon Springs to the large-school classification championship.
“We’ve said all season that there are five or six teams who could be playing in the last game,” Wilson said. “It good for the kids on all of the teams. The kids know whoever shows up is going to win (the championship).”
The class 4A girls tournament should also be close as three of the four participants went undefeated in league play during the regular season. Desert Pines and Las Vegas play in the first semifinal at 3:40 p.m. today, while Clark and Arbor View follow at 7 p.m. The championship is 5:20 p.m. Saturday.
Clark is led by Tiairra Brown, a Utah State commit who was named the most valuable player of the Desert League after averaging 15 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. The girls tournament will also feature players of the year from the Las Vegas area’s other leagues in Arielle Davis of Desert Pines and Camryn Harris of Arbor View from the Mountain Division, and Sky League co-MVPs Kayla Terry and Layla Faught from Las Vegas High.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students. All ticketing is paperless and available here.
