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Chris Evans
Posted March 9, 2009
The Elite 8 is here in Class 5A boys basketball and as usual there are some surprises and some not so surprises. The not so surprises: Guthrie, Booker T. Washington, and Carl Albert. The so called experts have either one of those three teams winning it all inside the Lloyd Noble Center come 8:30, or so Saturday night.
The Big 3 are a combined 71-9 with seven of those losses coming to 6A teams and the two others coming from the head-to-head match ups between the Jays and Titans. Yeah, pretty good.
Booker T. vs Ardmore - 7:00
Booker T. returns nine players from last years team that lost
in the finals to the Jays and are the favorites to get back to the championship
game where they are 13-4 in the final game. Shea Seals' Hornets have four players
that average 10 or more points a game and are very athletic. Seals, who was a
stand-out himself by playing at Tulsa University and in the NBA, uses his team
athletic ability with a lot of half court traps and likes to get up and down the
floor.
The Hornets, who will be playing in their 34th state tournament, first round opponent are the Ardmore Tigers just like they were a year ago inside Norman North High School. Hornets only losses this season have come to T. Memorial, Jenks, and Midwest City.
Ardmore, a preseason Top 5 team, enters with a 15-10 record and have gone through some peaks and valley's this season. Again, this season Ardmore is the lowest ranked team to qualify for state. The Tigers nearly got beat by Deer Creek in the do-or-die first regional game (44-39), but with their backs against the wall got wins over Southeast and Altus to reach State for the 33rd time in school history.
Carl Albert vs T. Edison - 3:30
Carl Albert and Tulsa Edison are becoming quite familiar with
the state tournament. The Titans won state in 2007 and have qualified for the
last three tourney's while the Eagles return for back for their third straight
tournament appearance as well.
Edison, much like Ardmore, got a scare in regionals from McAlester, but held on to a 3-point win before running into Booker T. and losing to the Hornets for the third time this season. The Eagles return zero starters from last years team that had a chance to beat the Jays in the semi's with a final few shots at the end.
The Titans slept walked their way to state by winning by an average of 24 points over their three opponents: Ada, Chickasha, and Altus. The Titans four losses have come from Guthrie (2), Jenks, and Union this season. Carl Albert is led by senior post player Harrison Dupont, who will play at The Citadel next season.
If Carl Albert, who is playing in their 13th state tournament, can get by Edison it will provide perhaps a showdown between Booker T. for the right to get to the championship game. Senior guard Tyler Schuman must be a factor shooting the ball if the Titans want to advance.
Tahlequah vs El Reno - 2:00
Tahlequah made the move down to Class 5A and did not waste
any time in taking advantage of it. The Tigers are led by senior forward Matt
Qualls and his offensive and defensive game. Qualls averages a double double
just like he did a season ago, but Weston Cox, a move in guard from Pryor, helps
the guard spot this season.
El Reno is making a trip back to state since their last 1999 appearance and will bring an exciting player to watch in Fayzon Richey. Richey averages 20 points a game and is one of the best leapers in the field. Of the Indians 10 losses, five of those have come from the hands of top ranked teams: Guthrie (3), Douglass, and Star Spencer.
The Indians average over 60 points a game, but will be challenged with Qualls in the middle. El Reno will have to find someone to try and contain the big man down low. If they can, it very well could set up another El Reno - Guthrie showdown in the semi's.
Guthrie vs Shawnee- 8:30
The final game of Day 1 will be a rematch of February 20th
when the Guthrie BlueJays spoiled Senior Night for the Shawnee Wolves, 75-52.
Guthrie played perhaps their best game of the season inside the Shawnee Event
Center and was aided by jumping out to a 19-3 lead.
The Jays are back for the fourth straight year and there are two factors that help aid that formula. Head coach Pete Papahronis and stand-out Donte' Foster. Both have been a part of each of those appearances, but Guthrie is just more then Papahronis and Foster.
Keaton Callins continues to be cool, calm, and collected by averaging 14 points a game to compliment Foster's 17 points, but Guthrie wins with defense.
Guthrie has allowed 48, or more points in a game only five times this season and anchoring that has been Foster, Kentrell Brothers, Matt Hamilton, and Devon Hall.
Shawnee is a select few to put so many points on the board and are led by Delino Graham. Graham and the Wolves attempted to stay with what they know best in getting up and down the floor with the Jays, but will be curious how they approach it the second time on the big stage.
Guthrie is the favorite to get back to the championship game, but know how tough it is to get there and win it. The defending state champions won all three games last year by a combined 11 points, including the final two games that came down to the final shot.
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