Class 4A: What is the obvious now?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heading into the 2026 season, things are becoming very clear. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a talent gap. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's obvious which teams are going to be fine. It's obvious which players are going to impact winning.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's not much guessing people will have to do to figure out where the talent is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's the obvious:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kirkwood will be carried by its guards</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2309002' first='Armani' last='Smith'], [player_tooltip player_id='2278560' first='Bryce' last='Garnett'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2510498' first='Montavious' last='Clardy'] will carry the Cobras this upcoming season. Smith is a great finisher at the rim. He's also lethal from the perimeter. Garnett can get into rhythm and make shots consistently from the perimeter as well. Clardy does a great job getting into the lane and finishing through contact. Kirkwood won a close scrimmage against Southwind. Smith, Clardy, and Garnett should have the Cobras in a sectional game for another year. Can Kirkwood finally get to Murfreesboro, Tennessee with this trio?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Boyd and McGaughey fit with Bartlett</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2816290' first='Makel' last='Boyd'] and junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2283274' first='Antonio' last='McGaughey'] have settled in with the Bartlett Panthers. In the scrimmage against Tennessee Collegiate Academy, the basketball was moving. McGaughey and Boyd both did a great job moving without the ball, communicating and not forcing shots. Both players are capable of having bigger roles on other teams, but the decision to play for the defending Class 4A state champion was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Both will provide offense to a Bartlett team that should score a lot of points with [player_tooltip player_id='2194475' first='Braylon' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='2194617' first='DJ' last='Okoth'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2291122' first='Dylan' last='Jones'] leading the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shaw is ready to play</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman point guard [player_tooltip player_id='3664860' first='Kolby' last='Shaw'] will play for the Bartlett Panthers this upcoming season. He's not a freshman that's a year away from contributing. Head coach Dion Real can throw him in the fire now, and Shaw is going to put it out. The 6-foot-2 point guard plays aggressive. Shaw is dangerous when he's in attack mode. He went at the size of the TCA Spartans Saturday evening, displaying his willingness to make winning plays. Shaw also showed his shooting ability by knocking down a deep 3 from the left wing in the 4th quarter. He's going to be fine in Class 4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bartlett has a great problem</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2194475' first='Braylon' last='Williams'] didn't play on Saturday in his team's 67-63 loss to TCA, but the Panthers didn't need its lead point guard to keep the offense rolling. Sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2979284' first='Malachi' last='Hill'] played a bulk of the minutes and helped Bartlett build a double-digit lead before Real pulled the starters. As mentioned earlier, Shaw showed he's ready to be on the floor with other talented players. Williams, Hill, and Shaw provide great depth to the point guard position. These three guys provide a great balance. Williams has started for the Panthers for the past two seasons and will lead the team once again in 2026. Hill was a reserve last season and had big moments. Shaw is a talented freshman that's fearless. For Bartlett, this is a great problem to have. From three different classes, the Panthers have three talented point guards that are going to play Division 1 basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->