Kansas Cinderellas Make The Dance

<p>There were some great stories from the sub-state tournaments, and there will be a few teams in the state brackets that few expected to see at the big dance.</p> <p>6A saw the most surprising runs to next week’s tournament at Wichita.</p> <p>Olathe West, the 10^th seed in the East, got by Lawrence in overtime to punch their dance card. [player_tooltip player_id="1080206" first="Harrison" last="Kisling"] went crazy with 38 points, more than half his team’s total. The 6-foot-2 guard Kisling doesn’t always have to do it all, however. He’ll have plenty of support at the state tournament from the likes of <strong>Mike Anderson, Mikai Blakeney</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="1075926" first="Jayson" last="Luse"], to name a few.</p> <p>The Owls were outdone by two 13 seeds – Olathe North in the East, and Manhattan in the West.</p> <p>Olathe North entered sub-state at 9-11, but they upset KC Harmon and Shawnee Mission East to make the tournament. North comes with some serious height in 6-foot-8 <strong>Gavin Shearer</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1212173" first="Fernando" last="Gracia"]</strong>, and some shooting and playmaking from <strong>Jackson Rippee</strong> and freshman <strong>Jaalan Watson</strong>.</p> <p>Manhattan was just 7-13 in the regular season, but took its lumps in the intense Centennial League. Once at sub-state, the Indians beat Wichita Northwest and Derby. Manhattan has 6-foot-6 post [player_tooltip player_id="1080174" first="Jack" last="Wilson"] (pictured) taking his game to another level. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1172998" first="Tate" last="Brown"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1300803" first="Dre" last="Delort"]</strong> provide some athleticism and playmaking at the guard spots.</p> <p>In 5A St. James and Seaman made the dance as #8 and #9 seeds respectively. But neither seem that surprising, considering the quality of veterans both those teams possess. Most impressive, however, is that both teams had to knock off the #1 seed in their bracket to get to state.</p> <p>At first blush, Hayden looks like a shock to make the dance with their 7-13 season record and #12 seed. But it becomes a little less surprising when you consider two things: 1) the incredibly tough schedule Hayden plays during the regular season. In the Centennial League, they face 5A and 6A powers all season long. And 2) Hayden drew #5 seed Holton and #4 Wamego – good opponents for sure, but not 4A powers this season. First and foremost, Hayden has toughness, led by guard [player_tooltip player_id="1300793" first="Trent" last="Duffey"] and big man [player_tooltip player_id="1080188" first="Joe" last="Otting"].</p> <p>The biggest Cinderella, at least from a record standpoint, has to be 1A Div. II Central Plains. The Oilers brought a record of 1-18 to sub-state. But they whipped Tescot and Wilson before edging Lost Springs-Center. The Oilers, led by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1270301" first="Peyton" last="Ryan"], were blessed by playing on their home court and having no team with a winning record in their sub-state bracket.</p>