What you NEED to know about this Oklahoma Basketball Season
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Happy “Return of High School Basketball” Week to all that celebrate. Yes, I know that the smaller school have been playing for a while, and a handful of the big school programs took part in out state showcases this past…
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Continue ReadingHappy “Return of High School Basketball” Week to all that celebrate. Yes, I know that the smaller school have been playing for a while, and a handful of the big school programs took part in out state showcases this past weekend. Maybe it should be “High School Basketball Heats Up!” Week? Anyway, there’s more basketball being played in Oklahoma this week. And will be all the way till March. That’s fun. Let’s have fun with this and go over some topics.
ARE THERE ANY BIG CHANGES TO THE RULES?
Buckle up, there’s actually been a couple notable shifts to the Oklahoma high school basketball landscape. Let’s start with the changes to the team fouls and free throws.
Hopefully that OSSAA Tweet and Graphic successfully covers that change. I wonder how often players will forget there’s no more “one and ones” and not rebound if there’s a miss on the first foul shot?
Now let’s get into the big changes with Districts and Private Schools.
One of the weirdest quirks of Oklahoma’s playoff set up was the match ups and seeding were set with a couple weeks left of regular season play. Yes, there were conference titles and pride to play for. But when players are asked their goal for the season, the Gold Ball is on their mind. Not the Mid Southern Oklahoma Central North Canadian River conference championship. (I never learned the names of the conferences in Oklahoma City, I just knew in 6A there was the one with the Edmond, Moore, Norman schools and the other had the Putnam City schools, the Lawton schools and some others.)
Instead of conferences and the last few weeks not factoring into the playoff seeding, now every game will count for 6A and 5A! Which should create some fun playoff like atmospheres in February as teams battle for seeding to host Regionals. Which to my understanding, Regionals will be different this year too for 6A and 5A. The opening game of Regionals will no longer be win or go home. The whole playoff bracket is expected to be double elimination. Creating Area set ups with 6 teams that should mirror the Area set ups in Class 4A through B. More basketball! Just what everyone wanted. Well that and a shot clock. But hey, there’s no more playoff seeding set up by the coach’s voting system, which was a hot button topic last year. So progress is progress and Districts look fun to me.
Changes to Rule 14, regarding private school has most impacted Class 4A. In recent years the 4A State Tournament has been filled with private school programs like Heritage Hall, Holland Hall, Crossings Christian, Oklahoma Christian School, Victory Christian, and Mount Saint Mary. These schools were often bumped up to 4A after success in the lower classes as the old rule was that if a private school made state twice in three years, they were moved up a class. But there was also a cap on how many classifications they could move up. Now a private school has to make the semifinals of the State Tournament twice in three years to be moved up. And that cap has been removed, which is why Crossings Christian and Holland Hall are now 5A programs even though they’re half the size of the next smallest 5A program. Over the last half decade both programs have built winning traditions, and that should continue even against the bigger schools.
Now 4A has been cleared out. Because along with the two programs moving up, OCS, The Hall, Victory and MSM are in Class 3A. Which could potentially have the Class 3A basketball State Tournament looking like the Class 3A Football playoffs. Especially as last year’s runner ups Metro Christian are still contenders, and Cascia Hall has a talented squad that was a game away from State last year. Casady has also joined the OSSAA party and they’ve been placed in 3A. Now, that’s a school that could follow the Holland Hall trajectory and be in 5A by the end of the decade, but that’s a subject for a whole another article. (Also they will have to reopen Seven47 on Campus Corner if Casady head coach Cade Davis is able to take the Cyclones to a 5A State Title and the games are in Norman.)
So where does that leave Class 4A? It could be a collision course between the two programs who squared off in a classic battle last year, Weatherford and Douglass. With the private schools moving down, some quality small town programs like Claremore Sequoyah, Marlow and Purcell have been bumped and they should be in the mix. While Nathan Hale has moved down to 4A and they have two of the most talented players in Oklahoma. Inola and Catoosa are two exciting eastern Oklahoma teams, and Stillwell is seemingly always good. North Rock Creek made State for the first time in their school history, so the foundation appears to being laid there. Bishop McGuinness and Community Christian are now the two remaining private school 4A programs, and they have had success in recent years.
Another thing that could be different, Jared Reese has left Kingfisher. The Yellowjackets of course have been small town royalty, racking up the wins and four Class 4A titles since 2017. They hired a coach with a winning pedigree from Edmond Memorial’s always great staff (Colby Connel), but with a new coach and a new roster it’s possible that Kingfisher has fallen taken a step back. (Just writing that sentence has likely locked in a 10-0 start for Kingfisher and a screenshot of this being posted as a receipt).
There’s sure to be more small town teams capable of making a run in a 4A that feels more wide open than usual. Perkins-Tyron, McLoud and Wagoner all have prospects that caught the eye during the summer, so seeing them emerge as contenders wouldn’t be shocking. And there’s likely more talented players who will emerge. After the two expected to be at the top, 4A might be the most unknown class, but by February it could be the most exciting.
WHO ARE THE FAVORITES IN EACH CLASS?
Class 6A: Edmond North – Back to Back Class 6A Champions.
Class 5A: Carl Albert – 2023 Class 5A Runner Ups, last won Class 5A in 2021.
Class 4A: Weatherford – 2023 Class 4A Runner Ups, have never won a Boy’s basketball State Championship.
Class 3A: Millwood – Back to Black Class 3A Champions
Class 2A: Dale – Back to Back Class 2A Champions
Class A: Caddo – 2023 Class A Champions
Class B: Fort Cobb Broxton – 2023 Class B Champions
BEST TEAM IN THE STATE REGARDLESS OF CLASS?
That’s a tough one. Honestly before last week I would’ve leaned Edmond North, given the size and depth they have across their roster. But Dale just continued their story book like run with a 3-1 performance at one of the best tournaments in the country. They also have more roster continuity with the same core seven returning and they’re hitting on all cylinders. So as a prisoner of the moment, I think I’m leaning Dale as the top team in the state.
Edmond North also returns a lot of pieces from last year’s State Title team. But they do have to replace two starters. Still they have two of the top seniors in the state in Dylan Warlick Dylan Warlick 6'6" | SF Edmond North | 2024 State #226 Nation OK and Chiante Tramble Chiante Tramble 6'2" | PG Edmond North | 2024 State OK , and a deep roster that has won a lot of tough games over the last two years. And for a bonus, they have a JV roster filled with guys who could be contributors and likely even starters across the state. It’s a tough choice between the two winning programs, and that’s before getting into a powerhouse like Carl Albert or rising teams like Weatherford, Owasso and Crossings Christian.
What’s fun though, is that of the teams mentioned above five of the six make up the field at the Tournament of Champions next month in Tulsa. Dale famously won it last year and Crossings even knocked off Edmond North in the first round. So there is potential for a lot of fun match ups to close out the calendar year of 2023. And there’s good odds that whoever claims the crown in Tulsa, the field also includes Metro Christian, Okay and Tulsa Hale, will have a strong claim as best team in Oklahoma. A Dale-Edmond North title game would be box office, but really any semifinal match up and finals match up would be big box office as well.
WHO ARE THE PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES?
(In Alphabetical Order)
Landry Ballard Landry Ballard 6'1" | CG Douglass | 2025 State OK Jr, Junior Point Guard, Douglass
Trashaun Combs-Pierce Trashaun Combs-Pierce 6'7" | SF Norman | 2024 State #306 Nation OK , Senior Wing, Norman
DJ Dill DJ Dill 6'2" | CG Caddo | 2024 State OK , Senior Guard, Caddo
Dayton Forsythe Dayton Forsythe 6'3" | PG Dale | 2024 State #206 Nation OK , Senior Guard, Dale
Cal Furnish Cal Furnish 5'11" | PG Crossings Christian | 2025 State OK , Junior Guard, Crossings Christian
Jaden Nickens Jaden Nickens 6'3" | CG Douglass | 2025 State OK , Junior Guard, Millwood
Jalen Montonati Jalen Montonati 6'7" | SF Owasso | 2026 State OK , Sophomore Wing, Owasso
Jayden Mott Jayden Mott 6'8" | PF Edmond Santa Fe | 2024 State OK , Senior Forward, Carl Albert
CJ Nickson CJ Nickson 6'6" | SF Weatherford | 2025 State #309 Nation OK , Junior Wing, Weatherford
Kray Rogers, Senior Guard, Fort Cobb Broxton
Dylan Warlick Dylan Warlick 6'6" | SF Edmond North | 2024 State #226 Nation OK , Senior Wing, Edmond North
Carlsheon Young, Junior Guard, Midwest City
WHAT ABOUT ALL STATE TEAMS AND WHY DO YOU VIEW THOSE PLAYERS AS THE PRESEASON FAVORITE?
I’m glad you asked. The 12 players picked above have a mixture of State Titles and production to place them there. All 12 players above have at least reached a State Tournament during their careers, and most already have a ring. For more of the top players and details about their careers and game, check out the Preseason All State teams that were published earlier this month. Over 100 players from all over Oklahoma were highlighted during that seires!
WHO IS THE BEST OVERALL PROSPECT IN THE STATE?
Jalen Montonati Jalen Montonati 6'7" | SF Owasso | 2026 State OK , Sophomore Wing, Owasso
After an amazing freshman year, he’s a consensus five star by national services and often is ranked in the top 10 for the Class of 2026. He’s a perfect face of modern basketball with the 6 foot 7 size to battle around the rim and one of the purest shooting strokes in the nation. Owasso reached the Class 6A semifinals last year and will be in the mix to possibly go even further and attempt to end the reign of Edmond North. There’s a lot of great seniors and juniors in the state, and likely a player like Forsythe or Warlick would be the first pick if I wanted to go win a high school game tomorrow. But there’s a difference between best current player and current prospect. And the way Montonati has exploded onto the scene in the last year has him on a McDonald’s All American trajectory and could place him in rarified air.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE TO KNOW?
YOU, yes you, the reader tell me. Send a DM to PrepHoopsOK on X or Twitter or whatever it’s called. Ask a question, say what you want to see. Complain about something. IDC. If “X” is not your jam, email me at samduren@gmail.com.
I’m always skeptical how many views and readings of these off the cuff writings I actually get. I know people love the meat and potato scouting reports on players. But once upon a time I fashioned myself as an avid reader and wannabe writer, so when inspired I do like to write more. Usually glib, dry remarks befitting my cynical nature, but high school basketball season will provide some fun stories to tell. Especially as I much prefer a packed high school gym to the average AAU event. There’s more weight, more stakes when two rivals play. A student section filled with cheering as their classmates pulls off the upset and they dream about a State Title. The emotions of a playoff game that comes down to a last second shot. It’s great. It’s fun. And I’m looking forward to it.
I’ll have a lot more coverage throughout the next few months, attending games, watching them back on streams, and more. There will also be a freshman watch list later this week, and I’m excited for a big Class 5A game on Friday between Holland Hall and Tulsa Memorial. But if there’s something you the loyal reader, want to see between now and the second week of March, let me know. I’ll see if I can work it in.