Favorites: 4A Southwest

Jordan Augustine

September 27, 2018 @ 03:57 PM

The 4A Southwest Region will look fairly similar to how it looked last year with Buckeye and Estrella Foothills leading the way. However, the gap between Buckeye and the rest of the region has widened greatly. In fact, Buckeye is one of a few teams in state who has a legitimate chance to compete with Shadow Mountain.

1. Buckeye

While it is unlikely that anyone will knockoff Shadow Mountain for the state title, Buckeye is a serious contender with plenty of talent. This group has three prospects who will have a chance to play at the NCAA Division-I level between Tay Boothman Tay Boothman 6'0" | PG Buckeye | 2020 State AZ , Otis Frazier, and Isaiah Marin.

Boothman is one of the top scoring combo guards in the state. He is able to score it from all three levels. Moreover, Frazier provides the team with one of the top athletes in 4A. He also has a high basketball IQ which enables him to make a huge impact on both ends of the floor. Marin, just picked up his first official D1 offer. He is a lengthy guard whom provides a lot of intrigue to next level coaches.

In addition to these three, Adam Hamilton provides the group with a big man who can finish around the rim off of either shoulder. He has good footwork and a soft touch. Hamilton will make a huge impact for the group.

Buckeye is extremely talented. Last season, they were upset in the semifinals by Salpointe. It would not be surprising to see them in the semifinals against Shadow or Salpointe as a means of competing to get to the title game. Their ability to have success prior to Marin being eligible will be important as well.

2. Estrella Foothills

Foothills will have to figure out life without Grant Greabell. He provided the team with someone who could score at will and from deep. In trying to figure out life without Greabell, it will aid the group greatly to have a post presence like Shaun Wahlstrom.

Wahlstrom has improved his ability to shoot as well as his overall skill set. He has high expectations for himself as he believes that he is capable of averaging over 20 and 10 rebounds per game. If he is able to accomplish that, Estrella Foothills will have a lot of success this upcoming season.

Foothills will also have Dean Grant and Regan Jenkins to play support roles for the team. Both of these two played varsity minutes last year but did not have huge impacts. Expect that to be different this year as Foothills will have quite a bit of youth on their roster.

3. Gila Ridge

While Gila Ridge did not have a lot of success last year, they did play a lot of youthful talent. Moreover, this region will not be as deep as it was last year. This is a great opportunity for Gila Ridge to make a huge leap and find their way into the top three in this region as well as potentially earn the opportunity to play in the state tournament.

Sam Miner scored the basketball at a high level for the team last year. He will need to do that and more in order for this team to move to the next level. Having him back will aid them in putting points on the board.

Miner will also have help from Jamison Kay Jamison Kay 6'5" | SF Gila Ridge | 2021 State AZ . Despite his youth, Kay was second in scoring and assists last year. These two should provide the group with offensive firepower that will aid them in staying relevant in the postseason discussions.