Home Stretch: The 5A Race

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not too early to start evaluating the state races. We took a look at 6A teams earlier. Now let's focus on 5A teams to watch down the stretch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Favorites:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Highland Park</strong> - The Scots have been consistently impressive all season. They can run all day because they have guys coming off the bench who don't give opponents a break. Without question, this is [player_tooltip player_id='1300865' first='Ketraleus' last='Aldridge']'s team, but he's supported by a scorer in [player_tooltip player_id='1378392' first='Jahmir' last='Kingcannon'] and guards like [player_tooltip player_id='1454197' first='Tre' last='Richardson'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300861' first='Quentin' last='Adams']</strong> who never let up. Add in blue-collar workhorse [player_tooltip player_id='1588346' first='Jacorey' last='Robinson'] and you've got a loaded team ready to run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hutchinson</strong> - Highland Park's dominance has stolen some of the attention from Hutchinson's great season. But this is definitely a team capable of winning it all. The Salthawks have a brilliant quartet of seniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1080175' first='Garrett' last='Robertson'], <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1486811' first='Wade' last='Meyer'], Nic Lange</strong> and <strong>Dauntay King</strong>. That is a diverse group of talents. Robertson can light it up from deep while Lange battles in the paint. Meyer and King keep the offense running and can score from three levels. Add in smooth point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1772982' first='Terrell' last='King'] and this is a balanced and skilled group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Desoto </strong>- How can you not include last year's runner-up as a favorite? They return scoring machine [player_tooltip player_id='1270268' first='David' last='Cobin'], who lit the tournament on fire last year. The Wildcats are on a roll. They lost some key seniors from last year's team, but supporting Cobin are some other good guards led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1290287' first='Trent' last='Johnson']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1609657' first='Jayden' last='Lang'] </strong>and <strong>Maddox Dow</strong> are new adds to last year's group who are making a difference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Challenger:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Andover</strong> - The Trojans missed out on trip to state last year, so this group is hungry. They struggled a bit out of the gate, losing two games in December. But they righted the ship, as you would expect from a team that features lots of talented seniors. The Trojans have since won 11 in a row. [player_tooltip player_id='1080189' first='Eli' last='Shetlar'] is a Division I talent. He's got veterans around him in [player_tooltip player_id='1254402' first='Chris' last='Harris'], <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300871' first='Brad' last='Harris'] </strong>and [player_tooltip player_id='1080185' first='BJ' last='Redic'] who can really play. Add in non-seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1300821' first='Blake' last='Rucker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1588392' first='Josh' last='Kim'] and you have one deep and experienced team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hopeful:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Piper </strong>- Could a team dominated by underclassmen hang with the teams mentioned above? It will be tough. But one team to watch is Piper, which depends almost entirely on non-seniors. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1756342' first='Devin' last='Kerr'] has been really good as a forward who can score in the lane and midrange. He's fundamentally sound and a beast on the glass. Supporting Kerr is fellow junior forward <strong>Gannon Roth</strong> who can step out and shoot it. But the big story is how well sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1772981' first='Kai' last='Reid']</strong> and <strong>PJ Moore</strong> and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2209756' first='DJ' last='Jackson']</strong> have played in their first seasons. That trio is combining for about 30 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->