4A State Playoffs: Larry Brunson Region, Round I

<p>The 4A state playoffs are going to be the most exciting of all of the classes, with the postseason finally starting. There are so many teams that had a great season, and with that, there are so many teams that have a legitimate chance at taking home the gold trophy.</p> <p>There are four quadrants in 4A with some very tough matchups, but here we focus on the Larry Brunson quadrant, which has some exciting teams, but nobody that is the clear-cut favorite, which calls for some chaos.</p> <p>Here's a look at the Larry Brunson Region.</p> <p><strong>Favorite: Glenwood Springs </strong></p> <p>Glenwood Springs came into the 4A tournament with the No.2 seed after finishing off the regular season with a 20-3 record and went a perfect 12-0 in the conference. The thing to question about Glenwood is the strength of schedule as they lost to every tough team that they faced this year. This will be about proving doubters wrong. They have a strong senior group led by John Iuele (13.6 ppg) and Mitchell Burt(12.3 ppg) with Patrick Young (9.0 ppg), who all can get going and feed off of one another. The Demons are a grind it out and slow it down type of team, so having players that can score in the halfcourt set helps them tremendously. They will control the pace of the game and not make many mistakes, and they have to know that teams will surely be gunning from them.</p> <p><strong>Contenders: </strong></p> <p><strong>Harrison, Pueblo West </strong></p> <p>Harrison is my dark-horse favorite in this region. They made a strong push last season and lost heartbreakingly and brought back a big chunk of that team to redeem themselves. Harrison will be ready for any team that stands in their way. They will be awaiting the winner of Sierra and Frederick that should be a close game and will pack the house for their matchup. Junior standout <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/donta-dawson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/donta-dawson/">Donta Dawson</a></a> (18.6 ppg &amp;6.8 rpg) is leading them again. He has been in relax mode as of late but will surely return to form in the playoffs where he seems to shine. He is a do-it-all player that can play positions 1-5, and he creates a mismatch each time out with his versatile abilities and nice size. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tayzhean-archuleta/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tayzhean-archuleta/">Tayzhean Archuleta</a></a> (12.0 ppg) has also played well this season. Both players put pressure on the defense each time out, are dangerous in the open court, and feed off of each other's momentum in the game. They will have to be spectacular in the playoffs, not just good if they plan on making a deep run but are the team that I think makes it out of the region. Do not let me down.</p> <p>Pueblo West has one of my personal favorite players in the state in playmaker <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/taylor-harris/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/taylor-harris/">Taylor Harris</a></a>. Harris is averaging 16.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists a game and is even more impressive in the classroom. Schools should be flocking to a player like this. This season he has led the Cyclones to a 17-6 record with the help of Jimmy Wardle, who is putting up 12.2 ppg and Nicolas Hanenberg (8.9 ppg) who also can score the basketball and help on the defensive end as well. Pueblo West will have to come up with stops.</p> <p><strong>Who to Watch Out For: Centaurus</strong></p> <p>Centaurus is 17-6 on the season and has flirted with the Top-10 all season long. They have the personnel to compete with top teams in the state, but when it comes down to it, it is the <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/owen-koonce/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/owen-koonce/">Owen Koonce</a></a> show. Koonce is a 6'5 forward and is one of the best-unsigned seniors remaining in the state. He's having a sensational season where he is averaging 18.2 ppg and 6.2 rebounds to go along with it. He's crashing the boards, scoring inside and making it difficult on opposing bigs, and also getting his hands on loose balls for steals and fast-break opportunities. Koonce can put the ball on the floor and face up and score or also go back to the basket. He is one of the better scorers, and as long as he is playing well with the help from Colin Hill or Mario Everett elevating their game, he should be good to go. Watch out for this Centaurus team.  </p>