Who’s the Best of the Wild West?

<p>A look at the most recent rankings by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association reveals an interesting coincidence: there is one team from the far west ranked in the top ten in each of the big school classifications.</p> <p>In the 2A and 1A divisions, there are multiple schools from the far west that show up in the rankings.</p> <p>Who are these teams who currently represent the far western part of the state in the rankings?</p> <p>Dodge City - #4 in 6A</p> <p>Do you wonder how the 12-1 Red Demons stack up against the established powers from the east? Well, their lone loss this year is a 50-48 defeat at the Tournament of Champions at the hands of defending 6A state runner-up Campus. They then bounced back to beat defending 5A champ Maize 59-52 in the third place game. [player_tooltip player_id="1372658" first="Cooper" last="Scheck"] 22 points in that one. <strong>Isaiah Taylor</strong> added 19, with four 3s. Those two games alone show the Red Demons can compete with the best this year.</p> <p>Hays - #4 in 5A</p> <p>Similar to Dodge City, Hays tested itself against the best. They took the best team in Kansas – Free State – to overtime before falling 45-41. Otherwise the Indians haven’t been challenged en route to an 11-1 mark. For that reason, it’s a little surprising Hays is only ranked fourth. But that will sort itself out in time. The Indians are led by [player_tooltip player_id="1075931" first="Jace" last="Linenberger"], one of the best big men in the state. The 6-foot-6 senior averages 18.7 points and 7.8 boards. Point guard [player_tooltip player_id="952447" first="Carson" last="Kieffer"] is one of the best distributors and leaders in the state.</p> <p>Pratt - #8 in 4A</p> <p>The 11-2 Greenbacks’ losses came to top teams Cheney and Hays. Last weekend in the Hoisington Winter Jam, Pratt knocked off a top 2A team in Ellinwood for the championship. Senior forward <strong>Karter Hoeme</strong> led the way with 53 points in the three-game tournament. Pratt will get another extreme test next Tuesday against Hesston, the top team in 3A.</p> <p>Holcomb - #9 in 3A</p> <p>The Longhorns’ only losses come to really tough opponents – 6A Garden City and top-ranked 2A Hillsboro. Holcomb is led by by 6-foot-4 senior shooter [player_tooltip player_id="1139910" first="Cooper" last="Autry"] (pictured), who is good for about 15 points a game.</p> <p>Ellinwood - #6 in 2A</p> <p>The Eagles have blown the doors off nearly every opponent so far this season. They were locked up by 4A Pratt in the Hoisington Winter Jam finale, losing 53-45. Ellinwood isn’t just scoring phenom [player_tooltip player_id="1080178" first="Britton" last="Dutton"]. They have length, scoring ability, and are still really young, relying on just one senior, 6-foot-3 <strong>Cody Zink</strong> who is a reliable scorer and rebounder.</p> <p>Trego - #8 in 2A</p> <p>The 10-1 Golden Eagles have handled their small school competition thus far, falling only to 3A Thomas More Prep in the Mid-Continent League championship last weekend. Trego is led by rugged 6-foot-4 senior [player_tooltip player_id="1139918" first="Charlie" last="Russell"], who posts 17.3 points and 8.8 rebounds a game, to go with a handful of assists and steals each night.</p> <p>It’s not surprising that the smallest school ranks feature a lot of western Kansas schools.</p> <p>The 1A divisional rankings are chock full of top teams from the west, headed by South Gray and Osborne, #2 and #3 in 1A Div 1.</p> <p>In 1A Div. 2, watch out for #2 Northern Valley and #3 Tribune – Greeley County.</p>