Most Likely 3A Teams to Breakout
As we get into the swing of previews, we will track each class with teams that we are interested in. First up in our list of superlatives are the 3A teams that we think will break out this season. Up next will be the five 2A breakout teams.
Western Boone (7-16 last year)
Western Boone has always been a team to me that has been on a cusp of a breakout. They return their top 10 scorers this year and only graduated one player from last year. This senior group they have this year I have been watching for four years. As freshman they really impressed me and I knew someday that they would put it all together. With Bronson Lickliter back at the helm for his second year, this team is really going to impress some people. This is the year that Western Boone breaks through and wins a sectional.
Blackford (14-9 last year)
Blackford will go as long as Luke Brown is healthy. Last year, they started off 8-1 before Brown was lost for the year with an injury. They do lose their second leading scorer, but Brown is such an advanced scorer that as long as his teammates combine for 25 points a game, they are going to be just fine. Blackford could easily win 20 games this year but they just as easily could only win 10 games. I expect them to do the former.
Gary West (13-10 last year)
Gary West should actually be a very solid team this year. They are going to have a trio of players who are going to be very tough to handle and they are surrounded by other players who you won’t be able to take your attention off of. Chrishawn Christmas and Quimari Peterson are returning sophomores who are really going to blossom this winter. They have a solid incoming freshman in Jalen Washington who is going to end up just killing it on the boards. This is going to be the start of a solid three year run for Gary West.
Northwestern (15-8 last year)
One of the most electric players in the state, Tayson Parker, returns and is looking to make an even bigger impact on the team this year. His improvement will really help the team to a better performance this year. Another helping factor was that Northwestern only had one senior on the team last year and a ton of different players ended up getting experience. With a senior laden roster this year, Northwestern is really going to look to compete with everyone. I expect them to do so because of Parker.
Southridge (12-14 last year)
Mark Rohrer takes over as head coach after a few quite successful seasons at Southridge. This is going to be a really solid team this year because they return their top four scorers and they are still relatively young. Sophomore Colson Montgomery is going to be huge for them this year after averaging 17.7 points a game last year. You can expect this team to be much more dynamic than they were last year and for them to make some noise in the southern part of the state.