YOUR 5-MINUTE GUIDES TO THE CLASS 2A AND 3A TOURNAMENTS
• Championship picks
• Players to watch
• Fresh faces
• Kicking off with a bang
BOYS The Oklahoman’s championship picks
Jacob Unruh: Star Spencer. Led by the duo of Latarryus Smith and Brandon Zeno, the Bobcats won 10 of 11 to close out the season, the type of momentum that’ll bring back a gold ball for the first time in nine years.
Adam Kemp: Mount St. Mary. The guard combo of Stephon Hall and Cedric Rollerson provide the Rockets with two potent scoring options as well as an elite trapping backcourt on defense that will overwhelm its opponents.
Three players to watch
Jacob Germany, Jr., Kingston: At 6 feet 11, Germany is a nightmare matchup for most teams on offense while also a skilled rim protector on defense.
Stephon Hall, Sr., Mount St.
Mary: The hyper-athletic guard has amazing handles and will look to push the pace for Mount St. Mary as it gets out and runs on nearly every possession.
Dalton Vinson, Sr., Hennessey: The double-double machine leads the Eagles in both points and rebounds and is polished with his back to the basket.
Ready, set, go
The tournament kicks off with a bang.
Thursday’s 2 p.m. game is a championship-caliber matchup between Mount St. Mary and Hennessey, ranked No. 2 and No. 4 respectively.
Mount St. Mary (22-5) lost by one point to Hugo during regionals, shifting its position in the bracket. Hennessey (25-2) has not lost to a Class 3A foe.
Expect an exciting opener. “They are all tough games at this stage,” Mount St. Mary coach Kellen McCoy said. “We just gotta be ready to go from the start.”
GIRLS The Oklahoman’s championship picks
Jacob Unruh: Sequoyah Tahlequah. It’s tough to count out the defending champions in an arena they know all too well, especially with a ton of experience returning that’s led to 16 straight wins.
Adam Kemp: Adair. The young guns, with four sophomores starting, will use a balanced scoring attack to make a run at their first championship since 2009.
Three players to watch
Chantae Embry, Fr., Prague: An Oklahoma State commit regarded as the top recruit nationally in her class, Embry has become must-see basketball. She’s big, physical and her game is multi-faceted.
Gabby Gregory, Jr., Holland Hall: Two years into OSSAA play, Gregory has made scoring look easy. Having scored 47 and 45 points this season, she enters Thursday with more than 2,000 career points.
Alexys Keys, So., Sequoyah Tahlequah: Last year’s tournament MVP returns. Then, she averaged 17 points in the three wins. Now, she’s added more scoring along with six steals.
Comeback kids
Kingston had to work extra hard just to make its second state tournament appearance.
In both regional and area championship games, Kingston rallied from second-half, 13-point deficits to win, taking down perennial tournament teams Washington and Comanche.
It’s even more impressive considering Kingston’s roster has one senior — Kes Reeves — and nothing but sophomores and freshmen.