What We Learned (Jan. 9-14)

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   Each and every Monday this season, we're taking a look back at the previous week and try to narrow down and put a spotlight some of the top stories and results that happened across the state of Oklahoma. This week, we're taking a look back at last week, which was full of regular season basketball. This week, it's the final tournament week of the year and the OSSAA will also announce their east/west pairings for Class 6A and Class 5A. But before we get to this week, we have to take a look back. We're starting off the week by diving into the three top stories from last week for this week's edition of “What We Learned.”   Don't Forget About Edmond North   For the last few weeks, we've talked about Class 6A and how it's incredibly competitive, very unpredictable and the race for the state championship is going to be wildly entertaining. As we head into the second half of January, we also want to bring the conversation back to where it started in Class 6A and that's with defending champion Edmond North. The Huskies dropped that first game in the Tournament Of Champions to Crossings Christian and that, combined with Broken Arrow and Putnam City North starting off the year with unbeaten records, the Huskies fell from the top spot in Class 6A last week.   The Huskies are right there at #2 and got just as many first place votes as #1 Broken Arrow received in last week's coaches poll. Edmond North got back on the court last week for the first time since the Tournament Of Champions and won two road games against Moore and Deer Creek. They won each game by at least ten points and junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1332074' first='Dylan' last='Warlick'] reached new heights in the win on Friday against Deer Creek. Warlick finished with over 20 points and also set a program record with 26 rebounds in a single game. Warlick has always been a double-double machine but a 20 and 20 game is absolutely absurd.   Edmond North is now 12-2 on the season with their only loss in-state coming to Crossings in the TOC. They very well could run the table to close out the regular season and go into the playoffs with a 20-2 record. It's not a massive reach to say it would be an upset if that didn't happen. With Warlick putting up video game numbers, fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id='1367221' first='TO' last='Barrett'] emerging as arguably the best prospect in his class and several other players playing their role incredibly well, Edmond North is still a dangerous team that's going to be hard to beat in March. So while the Tigers might hold on to the number one spot in Class 6A right now, it would be a mistake to think that the Huskies are not still the team to beat.   Metro Christian Might Be The Best In Class 3A   Full disclosure, the coaches rankings haven't been updated before we published this article. So there's a good chance that by the time you read this, #3 Metro Christian might be ranked higher and even in the top spot in Class 3A. And the top spot might be the right spot for the Patriots as we head into the second half of January. They are coming off a week where they dominated Regent Prep on the road by 47 and then ran away from #13 Cascia Hall 67-45. We were in the house for that game with Cascia on Friday night and it was impressive to watch them work in the fourth quarter.   The Patriots had several runs that put Cascia Hall in a hole that they weren't able to ultimately overcome. But what they did in the fourth quarter certainly opened our eyes to the possibility that the Patriots are a team that could be the best in Class 3A. Cascia Hall would score to make it 47-43 in favor of the Patriots early on in the fourth quarter. It was all Metro from there. The Patriots would outscore the Commandos 20-2 the rest of the way to run away with the win. The trio of 2024 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1696646' first='Jackson' last='Sowards'], 2023 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1696637' first='Mario' last='Darrington'] and 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1238739' first='Wyatt' last='Powell'] give the Patriots enough firepower to potentially win their first state title in school history.   We're going to find out next week just how serious the Patriots are when it comes to this season. They have back to back road games against top ten teams in higher classes. First, they play 5A's #6 Holland Hall, another unbeaten team on January 26th. The following night, they go on the road and face 4A's #7 Victory Christian on January 27th. But after watching the Patriots in person a few times this season, we can certainly see why they have a legitimate argument to be considered the best team in Class 3A right now.   Stars Continue To Shine Bright In Class 4A   One of the main storylines in Class 4A this season is how competitive and deep it truly is. The race for the eight spots at the Big House is going to be must watch basketball and then the 4A state tourney itself might feature the best bracket from top to bottom. A big reason why Class 4A is so deep and competitive this season is the legitimate star power that some of these teams have and they've been showcasing their stars in the last few weeks.   Top ten teams Crossings Christian, Weatherford, Douglass, Newcastle, Oklahoma Christian, Victory Christian all have legitimate stars playing for them and there's a few teams that we didn't mention there that have plenty of firepower as well. Anadarko, Bethany, Catoosa, Tuttle just to name a few and oh, defending champion Kingfisher is still in the mix. But our focus here is on those six teams and the players that are making them go.   First is Crossings Christian with their 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1358852' first='Cal' last='Furnish']. The Crossings sharpshooter is taking his game to the next level this season by becoming more of a playmaker with the ball in his hands and he's continue to elevate his game every time he steps on the floor.   Next up is another 2025 star in the making with Weatherford's [player_tooltip player_id='1391435' first='CJ' last='Nickson']. The sophomore star was arguably the most productive freshman prospect in the state last season and he's back at it again this year. He absolutely dominated their tournament earlier this month and continues to put up eye-popping numbers.   Douglass was going to be a contender this season regardless and then the bombshell in October happened with 2023 star [player_tooltip player_id='981287' first='Terry' last='McMorris'] moving in from Del City. McMorris has reached new heights on the offensive end of the floor and he continues to be one of the top perimeter defenders with his length.   Newcastle also is benefitting from a star moving in with 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1391433' first='Carlsheon' last='Young']. The sophomore standout is playing some of his best basketball in the last few weeks. The thing that is so impressive about what Young has done in the last two weeks specifically is the efficiency he has shown on offense.   Oklahoma Christian is going to be in the mix once again behind their junior star [player_tooltip player_id='1367214' first='Luke' last='Gray']. He's one of the best athletes on the floor every time he steps out there but he's been outstanding on the offensive end of the floor. Gray eclipsed 1,000 points for his career earlier this month.   Victory Christian 2024 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1343195' first='Chris' last='Mason'] is a versatile big man that has been playing great basketball so far in the month of January. His skills in the post are top notch and they have been for over a year now. But Mason has also shown more burst and athleticism as well as his ability to step out and knock down shots.   Regardless of who makes it to the Big House in Class 4A, we are going to see some outstanding basketball for three days in Oklahoma City.

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