5A Region Preview: Southern
The Southern region looks to be quite balanced with multiple solid teams that could end up making a run for the title. With that said, the top two teams at this point appear to be teams that had success last…
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Continue ReadingThe Southern region looks to be quite balanced with multiple solid teams that could end up making a run for the title. With that said, the top two teams at this point appear to be teams that had success last season and return multiple key players. Keep watch on this region to see which role players step up into key roles.
Southern Top 3
Buena High School
Buena High School looks poised to follow up a strong 19-9 season with a couple of more good years due to some young talent. Although they will lose their leading scorer from last year, they will return 2018 Dominic Mooney, who had an extremely strong summer in AAU, and 2020 prospects Kino Bellinger and Grant Ward. One of the biggest deficiencies that this group will have to fix is their rebounding. With the graduation of some of their key players, they will lose their two leading rebounders; however, expect Ward and a number of other players to step into leadership roles and assist in cleaning up the glass. Furthermore, this will be one of the top shooting teams in the state with Bellinger returning from hitting over 2 threes per game, Ward averaging almost one per game, and Mooney a little under one. With their ability to extend the court, it will be tough to keep these talented guards out of the painted area. They look to be the early favorite in the Southern region.
Cienega High School
Much like Buena, Cienega will rely heavily on a couple of 2018 prospects to play crucial roles in the teams success. Jordan Green led the team in assists per game as he averaged almost 4. In addition, this high IQ point guard who has extremely good court vision was able to contribute almost 11 points per game. Breven Burnett is another extremely talented 2018 prospect who will be looked to as more of a premier player on this team. Last year, he made a number of appearances and was productive on the glass and shooting the basketball from deep while providing an inside presence. Lastly, Cienega will expect 2017 Andrew Leonard, an extremely talented guard with good athleticism and a good ability to create shots for himself from deep, to provide senior leadership. All three of these young men will extend the court for Cienega due to their shooting abilities. It will most likely be between Cienega and Buena for the Southern region title and the top shooting team in the region.
Sahuaro High School
Brendan Gary will look to fill the stat sheet for Sahuaro again this season as a means of keeping the team in consideration for the Southern region title. Last year, Gary led the team in scoring and steals per game while being the second leading rebounder on the team. Gary will have to have a big year for Sahuaro to keep pace with the other talented teams in the state and in the Southern region. Moreover, although Sahuaro lost a number of crucial players from last years roster, I would expect for 2017 and seniors to be Jordan Kittrell and Deven Gary to play key supporting roles for the team. This group should be highly competitive.
Southern Best of the Rest
Ironwood Ridge – Expect a combined effort from Jack Drescher, Cole Gerken, Drew Mckearney, and Jack Mckerney to assist Ironwood Ridge in being competitive in a tough region.
Southern Players to Watch
Dominic Mooney, Jr. 5’11 PG/SG Buena
Kino Bellinger 5’9 PG/SG 2019 Buena
Grant Ward 6’3 PG/SG 2019 Buena
Andrew Leonard 6’0 SG 2017 Cienga
Jordan Green 6’2 PG 2018 Cienga
Breven Burnett 6’5 SF/PF 2018 Cienga
Brendan Gary 6’4 SG/SF 2017 Sahuaro
Jordan Kittrell 6’5 PF 2017 Sahuaro
Deven Gary 6’0 PG 2017 Sahuaro
Jack Drescher 5’10 PG 2017 Ironwood Ridge
Jack McKerney 6’5 PF 2018 Ironwood Ridge
Drew McKerney 6’5 C 2017 Ironwood Ridge
Cole Gerken 6’3 PG 2017 Ironwood Ridge