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Post by gopokes1 on Sept 16, 2024 10:48:15 GMT -6
1. Dale
2. Pocola
Who else is any good?
Anyone else have a real chance?
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Post by C3PO on Sept 16, 2024 14:23:12 GMT -6
1. Dale 2. Pocola Who else is any good? Anyone else have a real chance? There are always teams with lots of experience who come together, building throughout the year to make a playoff run, but when projecting forward at this point, I consider program success and talent on hand. By those measures, four teams stand apart in two distinct tiers. Tier 1: Dale & Pocola. Without a doubt Dale and Pocola deserve to be the favorites. #1--Dale (30-2 & 2A State Champs) is senior-laden and talented. Although they have to replace Deken Jones and Dayton Forsythe, they have more than enough talent and experience to be the favorites again. Denton Forsythe (6'2"; JR) is ready to step into the starting lineup and carry a much bigger scoring burden. It will be fun to watch him build his own legacy as a star player. He will be one of the headliners in 2A. He will partner with seniors Easton Edmondson (5'9"; SR) and Levi Kelly (5'11"; SR) to form likely the best backcourt in 2A. In the front court, Trayden Chambers (6'6"; SR) and Jet Higdon (6'3"; SR) are proven players with size who play well on both ends of the court. Off the bench, Keldan Meely (6'5"; SO) brings an intriguing mix of skill, athleticism, and size to their squad and should be a key part of the rotation. Depth is not as proven heading into this season, but Dale has done a really good job of building their program from junior high on up. They have something truly special going on with the quality of depth in their program. The hallmark of Dale basketball is that you have to beat them as they will not beat themselves. Teams will have to be solid inside & out to have an opportunity, and quite simply there are only a 3-4 in 2A that have the personnel to give it a legitimate go. #2--Pocola (28-2 and State Runners Up) boasts Dakotah Terrell (6'7"; SR) who may well be the best overall athlete in class 2A. He has much of the Power 5 football world after his signature for football. Although he spends most of his time inside, he has the ability to play facing the basket with above averaging shooting. Expect to see more of his offensive game this year. Few teams in 2A can match-up with his size or at least make up for it elsewhere on the court. The Indians are going to miss Austin Hardwick and Garrett Scott more than some realize. Those two made so many clutch plays over the past two seasons. Undoubtedly, they will look to Pouteau transfer Heustin Stroops (6'4"; JR) to help replace some of Garrett Scott's offensive production, but it remains to be seen who can play as well as those two graduates in clutch moments. AJ Lyons-Jerrell (6'1"; SR) and Brayden Hardwick (5'10"; JR) return as starters, given some additional experience. I think Hooker and Rejoice are clearly the next pair in line to challenge for the top in 2A. They have the size to battle with the top two teams and backcourt talent that can make plays. #3--Hooker won 27 games last year, losing to Pocola in the State Semi-Finals. They return something like 4 starters and 6 seniors, including their most productive players. Keilan Robinson (6'2"; JR) is an excellent combo guard with length on the perimeter. Nate Hidalgo (6'7"; SR) and Slade Stalder (6'5"; SR) give them a lot of height/size up front. The Robinson/Hidalgo pairing will be featured in a ton of 2-man action (pick & roll), and most 2A squads will have difficulty defending that play, especially since Hooker has multiple guys that can knock down kick-out jump shots. Kleat Martens is a scrappy glue-guy that does all the blue-collar stuff that helps teams win. They have a pretty good stable of guys off the bench that can fill roles. This is definitely a state qualifier team. #4--Rejoice returns to 2A this year after a few .500 seasons in 3A. They won the 2A championship in 2019 and were among the favorites in 2020 when state was cancelled due to Covid. Reportedly they have been waiting for this season for a long time with all the talent in the junior and freshman classes. Their top 3 players are really good. Xavier Okwufulueze (JR) is college prospect in both football and basketball. At 6'5" with incredibly quick feet, he gives Rejoice an anchor inside on both ends of the floor. Point Guard David Price (5'8"; JR) is one of the best undersized guards in the state regardless of class. He has elite handles and is a legit playmaker. Freshman wing, Kameion Nero (6'1") enters high school with a lot of fanfare from AAU ball the past several years. Rejoice will round out their rotation with multiple guys that can shoot from the perimeter. Their team lacks the same senior leadership of the other top schools, but they do return 4 starters: Okwufulueze, Price, Zach Blake (6'1"; JR), and Noah Catron (6'0"; SR). This is without question a state qualifier team. They may need one more year to win a championship. In 2025-26 they could be preseason #1.
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Post by gopokes1 on Sept 17, 2024 12:08:10 GMT -6
What about fairland? Does anyone know what they return I know they were pretty solid last year just weren’t good enough in the end but were young. Did they have people move or return the same players?
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Post by ballislife on Sept 17, 2024 12:25:19 GMT -6
Saw CHA this summer and they will be tough, didn't see Riverside but heard that they had a couple new guys that can play. Both of these teams will be teams to look out for!
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Post by chief32 on Sept 17, 2024 18:35:47 GMT -6
Does Preston have enough firepower or are they not going to go to state this year? I think those guys deserve another state title if you ask me.
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c3po
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Post by c3po on Sept 18, 2024 11:23:16 GMT -6
What about fairland? Does anyone know what they return I know they were pretty solid last year just weren’t good enough in the end but were young. Did they have people move or return the same players? Fairland would be another favorite to make noise at area and get to state, but they are a notch below those top 4 teams. The inside-out duo of Carson Schertz (6'4" JR) and Markeen Webb (5'10" SR) will give them a fighting chance in every game. Carson Schertz is an athletic big man who can step outside and hit perimeter shots. He plays with a lot of energy and effort and could average 20 points per game. Markeen Webb is a very good ball handler who can attack defenses off the bounce and get to the rim. He is very good at jumping passing lanes out of their 2-3 zone, particularly on ball reversals, to get into open court transition. The coach's son, Gabe Callison (5'11" SO), is a consistent perimeter shooter. They will likely round out the starting lineup with returning starter Colt Kinsey (6'2" JR) and likely Blake Murry (JR). Fairland did not go very deep into its bench last year, and that will again be the case. They probably have two guys off the bench that can be counted on as rotation players. This team is a top 8 team in 2A with some upside. Fairland was a young team last year. They lost 1 starter, Cason Rentfrow (PG). He was a solid player, but they will be able to replace him with the growth and added maturity of their returning underclassmen.
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Post by gopokes1 on Sept 18, 2024 13:34:05 GMT -6
What about fairland? Does anyone know what they return I know they were pretty solid last year just weren’t good enough in the end but were young. Did they have people move or return the same players? Fairland would be another favorite to make noise at area and get to state, but they are a notch below those top 4 teams. The inside-out duo of Carson Schertz (6'4" JR) and Markeen Webb (5'10" SR) will give them a fighting chance in every game. Carson Schertz is an athletic big man who can step outside and hit perimeter shots. He plays with a lot of energy and effort and could average 20 points per game. Markeen Webb is a very good ball handler who can attack defenses off the bounce and get to the rim. He is very good at jumping passing lanes out of their 2-3 zone, particularly on ball reversals, to get into open court transition. The coach's son, Gabe Callison (5'11" SO), is a consistent perimeter shooter. They will likely round out the starting lineup with returning starter Colt Kinsey (6'2" JR) and likely Blake Murry (JR). Fairland did not go very deep into its bench last year, and that will again be the case. They probably have two guys off the bench that can be counted on as rotation players. This team is a top 8 team in 2A with some upside. Fairland was a young team last year. They lost 1 starter, Cason Rentfrow (PG). He was a solid player, but they will be able to replace him with the growth and added maturity of their returning underclassmen. I watched the Fairland vs Howe game, and I certainly agree that they will probably top 8 but not quite the top 4.
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c3po
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Post by c3po on Sept 18, 2024 14:04:26 GMT -6
Saw CHA this summer and they will be tough, didn't see Riverside but heard that they had a couple new guys that can play. Both of these teams will be teams to look out for! Obviously, playoff pairings go a long way towards figuring out which teams have the best opportunity to get to state. At this point in time, that third tier of teams consists of schools that have enough talent, depth, and experience to possibly make it to state. As mentioned earlier, I think Fairland is securely in that group and CHA is as well. CHA lost two starters: Trevin Ezell (point guard) & Hayden Henry (wing) to graduation and one to a transfer. Replacing Ezell's quickness, adept ball handling, pick & roll execution, and on ball defense is going to be a bit challenging. CHA had quite a few guards on the roster last season that could fill parts of his role, but no one who could replace most/all of it. Their ceiling as a tea may be directly tied to how well they can replace his on-court presence. Returnee Tate Campbell (6'2"; SR) should be able to pick up some of the scoring production lost with Henry's graduation. He is a versatile player on both ends of the floor. Sam Sherrer and Jackson Dunham are poised to step into starting roles after playing key rotation spots last season. I believe the big man, Dash Wilson (6'3"; SR), returns to anchor everything. He is a physical defender, rebounder, and screener who excels in the pick and roll. His size and physicality gives CHA advantages inside against many 2A opponents. The Crusaders have potential, and it will be interesting to see things come together for them.
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c3po
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Post by c3po on Sept 18, 2024 14:33:05 GMT -6
Does Preston have enough firepower or are they not going to go to state this year? I think those guys deserve another state title if you ask me. This is a bad time for schools in 2A craving a basketball championship. The Forsythe era of Dale basketball has raised the bar significantly for 2A basketball. Dale has not just been a great 2A team, but one of the elite teams in Oklahoma regardless of class. They stood toe to toe with future 6A champ Owasso in the TOC last year, and it was not a fluke. Dale has done a very good job of building their program. Their boys growing up playing competitive basketball together from a young age, utilizing many of the same basic concepts. This combined with the advantage of earlier starts to the season and more games afforded to them as a school that does not play football provides a nice built in advantage. Preston has a lot of athletes. Losing both guards from last season is a significant blow to their chances of getting to state. Jervais Goree and Giorgio Dunn-Spencer were the heart and soul of last year's team. It is going to be very difficult to replace them. There is talent on hand. Phoenix Finch and Jayden Smith provide a good frontcourt nucleus with size and athleticism. They are solid defenders and rebounders who were not asked to carry much of a scoring load, although Smith flashed the potential to do more. Tanner Young returns as a wing combo guard, and he is going to have to increase his scoring output. Ethan Moore will probably slide into a starting role as a wing while Kent Rice should join the starting lineup. Rice has good ball handling skills and will be asked to pick up some playmaking and initiating to go with his solid catch and shoot game. Preston has not gone deep into its bench for the past few seasons, often playing only 5 or perhaps 6 guys in competitive games, so the lack of experienced talent on the bench may not prove to be an issue. This team should be solid defensively. The questions for them are going to be how they will generate enough points to win against quality opponents. When they outman teams with athleticism, they should be just fine.
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Post by chief32 on Sept 18, 2024 14:38:00 GMT -6
Does Preston have enough firepower or are they not going to go to state this year? I think those guys deserve another state title if you ask me. This is a bad time for schools in 2A craving a basketball championship. The Forsythe era of Dale basketball has raised the bar significantly for 2A basketball. Dale has not just been a great 2A team, but one of the elite teams in Oklahoma regardless of class. They stood toe to toe with future 6A champ Owasso in the TOC last year, and it was not a fluke. Dale has done a very good job of building their program. Their boys growing up playing competitive basketball together from a young age, utilizing many of the same basic concepts. This combined with the advantage of earlier starts to the season and more games afforded to them as a school that does not play football provides a nice built in advantage. Preston has a lot of athletes. Losing both guards from last season is a significant blow to their chances of getting to state. Jervais Goree and Giorgio Dunn-Spencer were the heart and soul of last year's team. It is going to be very difficult to replace them. There is talent on hand. Phoenix Finch and Jayden Smith provide a good frontcourt nucleus with size and athleticism. They are solid defenders and rebounders who were not asked to carry much of a scoring load, although Smith flashed the potential to do more. Tanner Young returns as a wing combo guard, and he is going to have to increase his scoring output. Ethan Moore will probably slide into a starting role as a wing while Kent Rice should join the starting lineup. Rice has good ball handling skills and will be asked to pick up some playmaking and initiating to go with his solid catch and shoot game. Preston has not gone deep into its bench for the past few seasons, often playing only 5 or perhaps 6 guys in competitive games, so the lack of experienced talent on the bench may not prove to be an issue. This team should be solid defensively. The questions for them are going to be how they will generate enough points to win against quality opponents. When they outman teams with athleticism, they should be just fine. Thank you for the explanation! I'm excited to see how Preston will do in 2A boys basketball this year.
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