One Month to Tourney: 5A Teams, Players to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're entering the home stretch. With the state tournaments about four weeks away, it's time for teams to build their resumes, improve their seedings, and polish their rotations in preparation of substate, with the ultimate prize – a state title – awaiting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are teams and players to watch this final month:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Frontrunner – Kapaun Mt. Carmel:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Maize South is undefeated and Kapaun took a loss, we're going with the Crusaders as the frontrunners. Why? Because they played three games at the state tournament last year to the Maverick's one. That means a lot of Kapaun players gained extra playoff experience and know what it takes to get to the final game. [player_tooltip player_id='1270287' first='Will' last='Thengvall'] is the unquestioned leader, but there are a lot of playmakers at Kapaun, but [player_tooltip player_id='1270303' first='Teagan' last='Charles'], [player_tooltip player_id='1408946' first='Corbin' last='Johnson'] and company are experienced, diverse, disciplined and talented.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Challenger – Maize South:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The undefeated Mavericks have only played two games this season that were decided by less than double figures. They have been on quite a run with some fine senior leadership. With [player_tooltip player_id='1172929' first='Michael' last='Kates'], [player_tooltip player_id='1378442' first='Tory' last='Homan'], [player_tooltip player_id='1173415' first='Jeron' last='Askren'], [player_tooltip player_id='1461438' first='Sam' last='Kemp'] and other seniors, this group can beat you in a lot of ways. We expect them to go deeper than the first round of the tournament this time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Work to Do – Highland Park:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Why would we say that a team with just one loss still has work to do? It has everything to do with the schedule the Scots have played thus far. They just haven't played a lot of high-quality opponents thus far. That means that new leaders [player_tooltip player_id='1512900' first='Mikey' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2314813' first='Tamir' last='Anderson'] remain somewhat untested. [player_tooltip player_id='1588346' first='Jacorey' last='Robinson'] is the most experienced player from last year's third-place finisher.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Main Man – [player_tooltip player_id='1270287' first='Will' last='Thengvall']:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thengvall was a star at last year's state tournament. He showed he can handle the ball from end to end, distribute it or attack and create his own shot. He moves well without the ball to get to opportunities. He hits from deep. And he is really impactful on the glass. A superior athlete who impacts the game in every way, Thengvall is experienced and knows what it takes to make a tournament run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch – [player_tooltip player_id='1270268' first='David' last='Cobin'] (pictured):</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The question isn't whether Cobin has the ability to play at the highest level. It's how far can the players around him go? Cobin took over the state tournament two years ago and took the Wildcats all the way to the championship game. He's capable of doing it again. If the guys around him get hot, De Soto could be a dangerous team once again due to Cobin's remarkable creativity and play-making ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->