Top Teams, Top Players: 3A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 3A teams, as ranked by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, are led by some veterans with a lot of experience and a lot of accolades on their resumes. It will be fun to see how this sorts itself out in the new year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#1 Sabetha – [player_tooltip player_id='1624976' first='Davis' last='Rokey'], 6-foot-6 forward, 2023 (pictured):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watching all the Bluejays players who competed on a high level on the club circuit the last couple of summers, you knew it was only a matter of time before this team contended for a state title. That time is here, with senior Rokey leading the team. He's a long-range sniper who has great length to get in passing lanes, play above the rim, and get shots off over the defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#2 Southeast of Saline – [player_tooltip player_id='1080163' first='Eli' last='Sawyers'], 6-foot-7 forward, 2023:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans had a couple of impressive victories prior to the break, including wins over last year's 3A champ – Hesston – and last year's 2A champ – Hillsboro. The Trojans are deep, talented and experienced. They have several “leaders,” but Sawyers is the most experienced. He recorded his 1,000^th point recently and is averaging 18 points a game on 57% shooting. He blew up for 29 against Abilene.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#3 Hesston – [player_tooltip player_id='1454193' first='Jake' last='Proctor'], 6-foot-3 forward, 2023:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's impressive that Hesston is back in the hunt after graduating a ton of talent from its two-year run of titles. But here they are. They rebounded from a season-opening loss to Southeast of Saline, led by the multi-sport athlete Proctor. He's taken on much of the scoring load. He put up 30 in a win over Rose Hill, and went to the break with 25 against Sunrise Christian Academy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#4 Osage City – [player_tooltip player_id='1146292' first='Landon' last='Boss'], 6-foot-1 guard, 2023:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aside from a loss to an underrated Heritage Christian team, the Indians have easily handled their schedule thus far. Boss is about as experienced a player as there is in the state, having been the Indians' go-to guy in multiple sports for three years. He averaged 23 points as a junior and is up to the same old tricks. He tossed in 32 against Mission Valley and 26 against Lebo.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#5 Haven – <strong>Brant Sipe</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2023:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Flying under the radar, the Haven Wildcats have destroyed everyone in their path to get to 5-0. Because they graduated a couple of key seniors from last year, it wasn't certain they would improve on their 14-9 mark from a year ago. But Sipe has taken a step forward as the team leader after he averaged 14.5 points and 6 boards as a junior. He brings a physical presence and can get to jumpers in the midrange. The multi-sport stud is an athletic handful for opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->