Ross’s Tournament Weekend Recap

<p>This weekend, I covered 5A/6A tournaments like the Putnam City Invitational, but also covered tournaments that featured smaller schools like the Stroud Coliseum Classic. Here are some of my initial thoughts from all of the tournaments that took place, not just the ones that I went to.</p> <p>Teams that impressed me:</p> <p><em><strong>Edmond North (6A)</strong></em></p> <p>Obviously Edmond North had an impressive weekend. The have star players all over the court and showed they have a case for #1 in the state after winning the PCI. Great weekend for the Huskies.</p> <p><em><strong>Norman North (6A)</strong></em></p> <p>The upset of the week might’ve been Norman North knocking off Edmond Memorial and going onto win the Bishop McGuinness tournament, but nobody from Norman North would call it an upset. They know how good of a team they are, and their mix of elite defense and transition offense is a problem for every team they play. They went on to beat a good Choctaw team in the championship, too.</p> <p><em><strong>Bethel (3A)</strong></em></p> <p>Bethel had a huge weekend in the Stroud tournament, which ended in a championship loss to one of the top ranked teams in the class. Bethel has three losses, all to really solid teams and proved they belong with some of the top teams in 3A. They knocked off two ranked teams, one in class 4A, on their way to the championship game.</p> <p><em><strong>Cashion (2A)</strong></em></p> <p>Another team that performed well this week was Cashion. The Wildcats are one of the top teams in 2A headlined by Vance Raney and Jonah Jenkins. What really struck me this weekend though is how deep this squad is. They have a lot of players off the bench that can contribute. The Wildcats won the Three Rivers Championship.</p> <p><em><strong>Moore (4A) </strong></em></p> <p>Even though they lost their first game at the PCI, Moore responded by winning the rest including the consolation championship. They lost a tough game against Heritage Hall and then found a way to get two huge ranked wins. The Lions are sure to move up in the rankings after their impressive weekend.</p> <p><em><strong>Carl Albert (5A)</strong></em></p> <p>Carl Albert had one of the best wins of the weekend knocking off Bixby in their most complete game of the season. This squad has won eight games in a row and took home hardware at the Bartlesville tournament. They aren’t only one of the best teams in 5A, they are one of the best teams in the state.</p> <p><em><strong>Community Christian (Norman) (3A)</strong></em></p> <p>CCS Norman had a huge week that ended in winning the Hinton tournament. They beat a top five team in their class in CHA and improved their record to 8-1 on the year. This team has a chance to be very special and they’ll be able to showcase it as they square up against top ranked Millwood this week.</p> <p><em><strong>Hydro-Eakly (A)</strong></em></p> <p>Hydro won the Apache tournament and had two wins against highly ranked teams in their class. They have a legitimate case for the #1 ranking over Fort Cobb, something that couldn’t be said some years. Hydro has a great shot to make a run at a championship this year.</p> <p><strong>Players that impressed me:</strong></p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="745358" first="Dalante" last="Shannon"]</strong></em></p> <p>Shannon is one of the best players in Oklahoma and showed it this weekend. His lack of D1 offers is even more puzzling after scoring nearly 30 points in every big game he played in. He’s an all around stud and led his team to a PCI championship win.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="535625" first="Trey" last="Alexander"]</strong></em></p> <p>Trey is a complete player. He hit deep, contested threes this weekend and also absorbed contact and finished well around the rim. Alexander is so fun to watch, and his game is so smooth.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="965255" first="Jeremiah" last="Johnson"]</strong></em></p> <p>Johnson had a fantastic head to head battle against Alexander when the two played in the PCI. He scored nearly 30 points and shot the ball well all weekend. As his recruiting picks up, so does the level of his play and it’s really showing on the court.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="938857" first="Daylon" last="Andrews"]</strong></em></p> <p>Andrews was on fire all weekend, especially in the championship. He hit contested three after contested three and led his team back from a huge deficit to force overtime.</p> <p><em><strong>Te Holiman</strong></em></p> <p>With performances of 48 points and 31 points, Holiman had to be on this list. He’s scoring at an unheard-of clip and does so while being hounded game in and game out. Holiman is an incredible scorer, and a very fast guard. He played well in transition too.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049318" first="Graham" last="Tawwater"]</strong></em></p> <p>One of the more underrated players in the state, Tawwater was incredible this week. He had games where he scored 36, 29, 24, and 19. McGuinness was very impressive in their tournament and Tawwater was a huge part of that. He’s a great rebounder, too.</p>