Home Stretch: The 3A Race
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State tournaments are just about a month away. As teams jockey for sub-state seedings and try to get on an upward swing, let’s take a look at the 3A race. The Favorites: Southeast of Saline – The Trojans’ returned most…
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Continue ReadingState tournaments are just about a month away. As teams jockey for sub-state seedings and try to get on an upward swing, let’s take a look at the 3A race.
The Favorites:
Southeast of Saline – The Trojans’ returned most everyone from the team that placed third in 3A a year ago. They’ve rolled through the schedule with their lone loss coming to 4A Hugoton. They have a frontline duo that few can match in 6-foot-7 Eli Sawyers Eli Sawyers 6'7" | SF Southeast Of Saline | 2023 State KS (pictured) and 6-foot-4 Nakari Morrical-Palmer Nakari Morrical-Palmer 6'3" | CG Southeast Of Saline | 2023 State KS . The tandem combines for about 32 points and 16 boards. Don’t overlook the impact of guards Kayson Lilley, Drake Augustine and Luke Gebhardt, each of whom has experience and a winning pedigree.
Sabetha – Prep Hoops scouts have had their eyes on this group for a couple of years, expecting them to fly up the 3A ranks as they grew into upper classmen. The Blue Jays have a big man who can score in Davis Rokey Davis Rokey 6'7" Sabetha | 2023 KS , and another who brings intense athleticism in Christian McAfee Christian McAfee 6'4" | PF Sabetha | 2024 State KS . They have fiery competitors at the guard position in Matthew Garber Matthew Garber 6'1" | CG Sabetha | 2023 State KS and Marcus Bauman Marcus Bauman 6'0" | CG Sabetha | 2024 State KS . The one question about Sabetha’s glossy record: have they faced enough high-level competition outside of their league to be ready for the sub-state/state gauntlet?
The Challenger:
Haven – Haven continues to roll as somewhat of an under-the-radar team. Brant Sipe Brant Sipe 6'4" | PF Haven | 2023 State KS is a big forward who can score and rebound. DJ Miller is a veteran guard who can score and distribute. The Wildcats have won a couple of regular season tournaments and have beaten some good teams to stay undefeated.
Hopeful:
Bishop Ward – The Cyclones have destroyed just about everything in their path this year. Other than a close loss to 4A Hayden, they haven’t lost in the state of Kansas. Like Haven, they have a nice inside/outside combo in Immanuel Campbell Immanuel Campbell 6'4" | SF Bishop Ward | 2023 State KS and Jeremyah Greer Jeremyah Greer 6'1" | CG Bishop Ward | 2023 State KS . That pair scores about 30 points per game. Greer is a playmaking guard who can shoot and distributes 3 assists per game. Campbell is a solid, powerful forward who runs the floor. There’s a lot of talent around those two in Dustin Recker, Jalen Pickens, Tyler Holmes Tyler Holmes 6'2" | SF Bishop Ward | 2025 State KS and TJ Maddox.