4A-OPEN Finals: 2023-24: Off the Radar

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>March 2nd-4th I watched four State Finals of 4A-OPEN at Arizona Veterans' Memorial Coliseum in Phx, AZ. There were some incredible games along the way including the 2OT battle between Highland defeating Brophy in exciting fashion. To some people's surprise, every higher seed actually ended up winning.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Results</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4A #2&nbsp;<strong>Peoria 66&nbsp;</strong>#8&nbsp;<strong>Deer Valley 57</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5A #1<strong>&nbsp;Campo Verde 61&nbsp;</strong>#2<strong>&nbsp;Millennium 48&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6A #1&nbsp;<strong>Highland 63&nbsp;</strong>#2&nbsp;<strong>Brophy Prep 61</strong>&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>OPEN #1&nbsp;<strong>Perry 74</strong>&nbsp;#10&nbsp;<strong>Sunnyslope 58</strong>&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Here were some of the top Senior and Juniors that are off the radar </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735857' first='Hayden' last='Winegar'] Highland (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the stars of the championship week was Winegar. He made the biggest shot of the year and in his career to get the win in a wild 2OT thriller from deep. He has somewhat of an unorthodox shooting release but his high release allows him to not get blocked and he gets it off quickly. He rebounds well in his area and has some bounce to block shots as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735858' first='Brock' last='Knollmiller'] Highland&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong forward is very athletic and fast. On the first play he set the tone with a steal that led to a race down the court for an impressive dunk. He is sneaky quick to get past his defenders with a nice handle and scores thru contact with his sturdier frame. His open court play and defensive versatility helped the Hawks all year long. 21 pts in the 5A Chip. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elijah Ward SF 6'4 2023 Peoria</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A glue guy with decent size played some good minutes when starting wing Windley was in foul trouble. He brings great energy to the court. He rebounds in and out of his area, he takes charges, blocks shots, he can shoot it from mid-range and will score around the cup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735859' first='Ryan' last='Moon'] Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the better bench players comes in every game I have seen them play and does his job. He defends, handles some ball pressure and makes shots. He made two huge triples late in the game to be in the position to win. Most don't know his name or type of game he has until he hits a three and defends you. The senior brought veteran leadership off the bench which is rare. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1674510' first='AJ' last='Ajawin'] Deer Valley </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long power forward who moves well in space. He has a long reach to rebound the ball at its highest point. He can step out and hit the corner three and he may get more usage his senior year and be a possible breakout candidate. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tyler Wenk PF 6'3 2024 Deer Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A high motored power forward who, although is undersized, rebounds the ball at a good clip plus will score it around the basket efficiently.  He has soft hands and AJ and Tyler bring some toughness off the bench that will be needed next year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1483968' first='Ty' last='McDowell'] Campo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic undersized forward is their glue guy. He scores primarily on downhill layups but is very tough player who scores easily thru contact. He grabs out of area rebounds, he is way more athletic then you realize and defends multiple positions for the Coyotes. He scored 12 points with 7 rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1676240' first='Garrett' last='Ahern'] Campo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A skilled power forward who came in clutch in the pivotal fourth quarter. He hit multiple mid-range jumpers plus ran the floor and made some tough catches in traffic and went up to score. He is a good leaper to rebound and block shots. He scored 10 points.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->