The 6-foot-8 Lancer center scored seven points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked nine shots, according to stats provided through MaxPreps, to help fuel a defensive effort that turned what was anticipated to be a Region 1 knockdown, dragout fight into a total laugher as Layton emerged victorious with a 66-43 thrashing.

“There was a point where I was like, ‘Oh, they’re going to keep shooting these, and I can block these,'” Checketts said.

Checketts said he eventually started abandoning his guy to go and block a shot, and his teammates were encouraging it.

“And then going into the fourth, (head coach Kelby) Miller was like, ‘You block every shot.’ And it’s like, ‘Oh. Yes, sir,'” Checketts said.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Not that such a demand would be a problem for Checketts, who said the effort is what makes him enjoy defense more than offense.

“Defense seems like a lot more hustle than skill, compared to offense,” Checketts said. “It seems like offense, you have to be able to shoot. You have to be able to be shifty with the ball. Defense is just, ‘I’m going to stay in front of you,’ or ‘I’m going to go block that shot,’ and I like that because it’s a lot more accountability, almost.”

On offense, Checketts explained, a bad night can simply be chalked up to shots not falling. On defense, however, a bad night is reflective of not being “in it.”

Checketts cited words from his grandfather as motivation.

“He’ll call sometimes after games and won’t ask ‘How’d you do? How’d the team do?’ He’ll just say, ‘Did you sweat?'” Checketts said. “And he’s solely interested in did you work hard, because if you didn’t, he doesn’t care if you won.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

According to Miller, Checketts “did a great job of playing to his potential” against Davis.

“With Josh, our focus is on him controlling the paint, both defensively and rebounding-wise, and so for him to step up in the big moments has been key for us,” Miller said. “Obviously, (against Davis), he just kind of dominated the paint, dominated the glass, did what we need him to do for us to be successful.”

For someone who stands as tall as Checketts, it might be assumed that basketball has just come naturally for his entire life.

Not exactly.

“I’ll be completely honest with you. It started with mostly my brothers being like, ‘Let’s go outside. Let’s go shoot. Let’s go play 21.’ And I was like, ‘Fine, whatever,'” Checketts said. “And then I got put in with Layton’s youth program … and I just was not very good, and it wasn’t very fun, and I had to go each week, and there weren’t orange slices.”

JARED LLOYD, Daily Herald

Ironically, a turning point for Checketts came by way of Justin Atwater, the father of Davis High’s current top scorer, Coleman Atwater; the latter is averaging 20.9 points per game this season, according to MaxPreps.

“(Justin Atwater) came and got me on his traveling team, and that was with super, super good players like Coleman, and just pulled from all of northern Utah,” Checketts said. “And I was like, ‘Wait, you want me?’ And I just showed up and got grilled in every practice, and it was awful. … And then as we kept going on, I realized I’m getting better. And then we started playing games and I’m like, ‘Wait, this is fun. It’s fun to go and play and beat people.'”

Checketts said Justin Atwater delivered some high praise, invoking the name of Ethan Potter in talking about Checketts’ potential. Potter was the Standard-Examiner All-Area Boys Basketball Most Valuable Player for the 2020-21 season and his name is plastered on banners inside the Layton High gymnasium in recognition of his achievements.

“And I don’t think I’m Ethan Potter by any means, but to have someone believe in me that much … I think that was another turning point, just to be like, ‘Wait, you think me? You think that?'”

Checketts became a starter his junior year at Layton but his season took a disappointing turn when, during a late December contest, an opposing player fell into his left knee, completely tearing his MCL, partially tearing his ACL and doing other damage as well. The fact that his ACL was only partially torn proved to be a tremendous blessing, however, as it allowed him to avoid surgery and recover with just physical therapy and a knee brace.

Checketts returned to the lineup toward the end of region play, but Layton’s 24-win season came to a shocking end on a 29-point blowout to Corner Canyon in the 6A semifinals.

With a scoring average, according to MaxPreps, of 7.7 points per game, Checketts may not consistently fill up the stat sheet with points, but he’s proven capable. Against Syracuse on Jan. 10, he scored 19 points and, on Jan. 17 against Farmington, he produced a 17-point effort.

But with 2.1 blocks and 6.1 rebounds per game, he’s proven a critical component of Layton’s success.

Lancers senior Jonah Fullmer has seen Checketts come a long way.

“When he started playing, he couldn’t catch the ball. He couldn’t do anything,” Fullmer said. “But now, he’s blocking shots, finishing on anyone.”

Fullmer said Lancer guards know if they get beat they have Checketts behind them to help. As a shooting guard, Fullmer knows what opposing guards must feel like trying to drive into the lane against Checketts.

“If there’s a rim protector, you don’t want to go in there,” Fullmer said. “You don’t want to go and try and finish because (getting blocked is) embarrassing. If you get blocked once, you don’t want to go again.”

Round two between Layton (16-3, 6-0 Region 1) and Davis (16-3, 5-1) is Tuesday night in Kaysville, and Checketts expects a fired-up Davis team.

“We’ve been talking about it. We’re like, ‘These guys want it.’ We came in and we kind of hurt their feelings, for lack of better terms. … We know that they want this,” Checketts said. “And I think they want it more than they did before because of last time, so they’ve got something to prove. We’ve got a target on our backs.”

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.