2A All-Tournament Team

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moundridge got the state championship that had eluded them since 1997, sending coach Vance Unrau into retirement a sixth title. For that reason, there were some Moundridge guys who were shoe-ins for the 2A All-Tournament Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The early upset of Bennington knocked out a couple of prime candidates for honors. It opened the way for Medicine Lodge to get guys considered. Wichita Independent was a balanced team with several candidates, but only one had the stats to make the team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is the 2023 2A All-Tournament Team:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PG – [player_tooltip player_id='1146283' first='Landon' last='Kaufman'], 6-foot guard, 2023, Moundridge:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though Moundridge was just the third seed to start the tournament, you knew with their balance, veteran leadership and star power that they had a good chance to make a run. Kaufman has led this team for a long time, and regardless of his stats (which weren't eye-popping) he has to be on the team as the leader of the champs. Kaufman did some of everything, including rebounding and defense to get it done. He scored 45 points, with 23 in the final. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SG – [player_tooltip player_id='1748989' first='Joseph' last='Recalde-Phillips'], 5-foot-10 guard, 2023, Wichita Independent:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Independent came into the tournament as the top seed, and they didn't disappoint. Their depth and balance may have prevented a couple of deserving guys from getting all-tournament honors. But there's no question Recalde-Phillips had to be on here somewhere. He did it all for the Panthers, including leading the team in rebounds and assists in wins over Pittsburg-Colgan and Medicine Lodge. He struggled a bit in the championship against Moundridge, but still he deserves this spot as the leader of the second-place finisher.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SF – <strong>Keveon Ruiz</strong>, 6-foot-2 forward, 2025, Medicine Lodge:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Indians upset Bennington, then knocked off TMP to get third in the tournament. They had to get someone on the team, and Ruiz was the most consistently outstanding of the group. He's the most athletic of the Indians roster and is a guy who can make his own play. He handled the ball, rebounded and defended well. He deserves a lot of credit for helping limit the outstanding bigs of Bennington. Ruiz scored 34 points in the tournament. Deserving of consideration here was Moundridge sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1740754' first='Barrett' last='Moddelmog'], who hit a bunch of 3-pointers and got the game winner against TMP to send Moundridge to the championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PF - [player_tooltip player_id='1212164' first='Dylan' last='Werth'], 6-foot-8 forward, 2023, TMP:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TMP was disappointed with its fourth-place finish. But Werth was a matchup nightmare for opponents in the tournament just as he has been for the past several years. His length and mobility in and out of the paint make him pretty unique among small schools. He hit 20-31 from the field and 12-17 from the line for 52 points, the most of anyone at Manhattan. We need to mention somewhere the work of Werth's teammate, 6-foot-3 senior forward <strong>Luke Rome</strong>. Rome was enormous in the semifinal loss to Moundridge, getting 26 points and 7 rebounds. He finished the tournament with 43 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>C [player_tooltip player_id='1561988' first='Logan' last='Churchill'], 6-foot-7 center, 2023, Moundridge (pictured):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big man from Moundridge finished his career winning over a lot of fans in Manhattan. He was dominant in the opening game against he much smaller St Marys, getting 22 points and 8 rebounds. He hit 3-4 from deep in that contest. For the tournament, Churchill knocked down 8-15 from behind the arc, scoring 49 points. A guy who should get recognized if for nothing else than the uniqueness of his game is Medicine Lodge's <strong>Carter Cunningham</strong>. The junior plays in the paint at just 5-foot-10 and had to figure out how to contend with the likes of Werth and Bennington's [player_tooltip player_id='1270299' first='Eli' last='Lawson']. He didn't just survive, he provided a lot of quality in the lane for the third place team. He had 16 points against Bennington and 8 rebounds against TMP.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sixth Man – <strong>Bryce Casanova</strong>, 6-foot-3 forward, 2023, Wichita Independent:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> There wasn't a ton of scoring off the bench for anyone at the 2A tournament. One of the top contributors for runner up Wichita Independent was the senior Casanova, a dangerous shooter with length and ability to run the floor and handle the ball. Casanova tossed in 13 points in the opening round match with Pittsburg-Colgan. He wound up scoring 20 points in the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->