Hillcrest basketball fortunes have not been notable this year, but team leader Kyle Maughan remains positive and believes the Huskies are a good team that will eventually put things together.
"We have played well," he said. "We just haven't been able to finish games."
Maughan, a junior, realizes his own game needs work also. He is adept at going to the basket but conceded, "my three-point shot needs a lot of work."
His coach, Brad Tingey, praises him for his all-around play and for his offcourt accomplishments.
"He is a 4.0 student," said Tingey, "and he has been a big part of our program since the ninth grade."
"He is a quiet kid who best leads by example," Tingey continued. "We ask him to handle the ball and run our offense, and then we ask him to guard the other team's best player."
At 6-3, Maughan has the size to play point guard in college and by all accounts he is an outstanding defensive player. But Maughan believes he has to work on his 12-point average to attract recruiters' attention.
On the other hand, maybe Maughan's goals will point him in a direction away from basketball.
"I want to be a doctor," he said, "an orthopedic surgeon."
Maughan surely inherited his positive demeanor from his parents, who have never missed a game, he said.
"They are never negative," he said, "and they never force me to anything."
He played on club teams, which travel extensively and play in many out-of-state locations. His parents, he said, go on those trips, too.
Maughan plays on the Hillcrest golf team but says he is a bad golfer. Basketball is the sport he loves.
"This is my favorite thing to do," he said, "and I like to do the best I can in everything I do."
So who knows what college holds. Maybe the 16-year-old can do both — play basketball and become an orthopedic surgeon. But if he is going to become a doctor, he better work on his golf game.
Photo by Deseret Morning News
