Tandems to Watch in 4A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We continue our look at top tandems across the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've looked at 6A and 5A pairs. Now here are some of the Top Duos in 4A (in no particular order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clay Center – [player_tooltip player_id='1962886' first='Cole' last='Pladson'] and <strong>Jace Weller</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers were a fun story at 4A state last spring. They rebounded after going just 7-13 in the regular season. They pulled a couple of substate upsets to go to Salina. A lot of that late-season success was due to Pladson, a multi-sport stud who can really light it up from deep. Weller was also important as a playmaking guard. They combined for 22 points per game during the season. Pladson showed what he can do on the big stage, lighting up eventual champ Hugoton for 25 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Circle – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2314781' first='Conner' last='Chadwell']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='1301597' first='Ethan' last='Koehn']:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Circle loses a dominant big man from last year's really good team. But they return two versatile guard/forward ballers in Chadwell and Koehn. Both can score going to the goal and handle the ball in the open court. Chadwell is a bouncy, slick ball handler who can create, while Koehn is a little more rugged and able to battle in the paint. Both get after it on the defensive end. Together they will give the Thunderbirds lots of options.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chanute – [player_tooltip player_id='2147802' first='Larsen' last='Koester'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2147758' first='Kaiden' last='Seamster']:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Circle, Chanute had a really good season ended in disappointing fashion last year. But like Circle, the Blue Comets return two really good forwards who should lead the team again. Koester and Seamster are physical and athletic and return with a lot of experience.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Labette County – [player_tooltip player_id='1953942' first='Hudson' last='Baker'] (pictured) and [player_tooltip player_id='1575955' first='Zavier' last='Phillips']:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Athletic big men are not that common. To have two of them will be pretty special for Labette County this year. Baker is a long center who can really run and make plays in transition as well as defend the rim. He's flanked by Phillips, a rugged high riser who has a nice versatile set of skills. These two could be dynamic in an up-tempo game and also tough to defend in a half-court set due to their length.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mulvane – [player_tooltip player_id='1270098' first='Kaiden' last='Abasolo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1773693' first='Aiden' last='McKee']:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talk about scoring ability, these two have it for Mulvane. The seniors combined for about 35 points per game, with each going off for big numbers on occasions. Both are guards with a lot of length and size. The Wildcats struggled to get many wins last year, but with this experience and scoring ability, they will bear watching this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->