District 2 Tournament Preview (DII-A)

The 2024 TSSAA Division II-A playoffs kick off this week. Last season Notre Dame won the Regular Season Title and advanced to the State Championship Game.  Here's a look at the field in District 2. <h5><strong>DISTRICT 2</strong></h5> <strong>THE FAVORITE - Silverdale (23-3)<a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/PH-Kennedy-Okpara-C-crop-1021x670-1700884903.png"><img class="wp-image-2281106 size-medium alignright" src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/PH-Kennedy-Okpara-C-crop-1021x670-1700884903.png?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></strong> Note that Boyd Buchanan earned the #1 seed via tiebreaker.  The two teams split the regular season and Boyd won their win by more points than Silverdale. Alas, this is PrepHoopsTN's prediction, so Silverdale is the pick for favorite.  Reasonable minds can certainly differ and both teams are excellent. Silverdale Academy has three players averaging in double figures, led by senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1336410' first='Brett' last='Wright']</strong> (16.7 ppg). Wright signed to play for Trevecca Nazarene University next season, a budding D2 program in Nashville. Wright returned to the Chattanooga area after spending his junior year with Huntington Prep, a basketball power in West Virginia. Teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1719195' first='Kennedy' last='Okpara']</strong>, only a junior, will absolutely play college basketball somewhere. Okpara is a monster on the glass and defends the rim. This year he improved his offensive game quite a bit.  KO is up to 15.0 ppg on 159 made buckets.  [player_tooltip player_id='2299349' first='Houston' last='Holland'] is playing very well too. "He is a senior," said [player_tooltip player_id='1336410' first='Brett' last='Wright'] via phone call. "He can really shoot the ball.  He has about 12.5 ppg, 5r, 3a.  He is the glue to our team.  And we have a point guard,<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2340223' first='Elyjah' last='Richardson']</strong>. Good at getting to the middle of the floor and kicking it.  His brother, a sophomore, is really good at driving and finishing." Elyjah just got offered by Capitol University (d3) Saturday February 3rd. <strong>TOP CONTENDER - Boyd Buchanan (21-6)</strong> They will be the first seed. The Buccaneers experienced a lot of turnover from last season, graduating <strong>Caden Johnson</strong> and<strong> Jacob Shockley</strong> specifically. <strong>Noah Reid</strong> is a veteran that the team can lean on. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2765371' first='Caleb' last='Hardaway'] </strong>put in a District MVP-caliber regular season. His candidacy is not without equal, but only [player_tooltip player_id='1719195' first='Kennedy' last='Okpara'] rebounded as well. Hardaway's 10 rpg glittered nearly as brightly as his headlining 16.3 ppg. Do not try to sneak a shot over him. Caleb blocks over three a night! <strong>DARK HORSE - Notre Dame (7-17)</strong> The Irish are a much better team now that <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1387509' first='Cole' last='McCormick']</strong> is healthy and back playing, after the star wing missed much of the season to injury. Cole signed to UAH, a powerful D2 program in Huntsville, Alabama led by former McCallie Head Coach John Shulman. Then he sustained an injury shortly after signing and did not return until after Christmas.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1830608' first='Gaas' last='Herman']</strong> was already enjoying impressive scoring success last winter as a sophomore for Notre Dame.  His role augmented beyond imagination when McCormick went down. Even though Gaas produced (20+ ppg, 7+ rpg) the team needed much more scoring.  Cole and Gaas together again makes them a different team.  They won four of their last five games, including a one-point loss to Silverdale, 55-54. <strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1830608' first='Gaas' last='Herman'] - Notre Dame [player_tooltip player_id='1387509' first='Cole' last='McCormick'] - Notre Dame [player_tooltip player_id='1719195' first='Kennedy' last='Okpara'] -Silverdale Baptist Academy [player_tooltip player_id='1336410' first='Brett' last='Wright'] - Silverdale Baptist Academy [player_tooltip player_id='2299349' first='Houston' last='Holland'] - Silverdale Baptist Academy Noah Reid - Boyd Buchanan https://twitter.com/NDChattAthletic/status/1753471844466688235?t=Hr5KH7rTeZJC6-qryhh4Gg&amp;s=19 1st Boyd Buchanan 2nd Silverdale 3rd Notre Dame 4th Grace Baptist 5th Collegedale 6th Sawanee <strong>District Semifinals</strong> Boyd Buchanan over Grace Baptist Silverdale Academy over Notre Dame <strong>District Championship</strong> <span style="font-size: revert;color: initial;font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--system-fonts)">Silverdale Academy over Boyd Buchanan</span>