Everything you need to know about 5A
Just in case you were not paying attention to last year or all of the changes that happened this summer. Here are all the things you need to know about 5A:
The Battle for State: The Hot Race for state
The race for state may be the hottest and most contented I have ever seen. I see 4 teams that have a solid chance of winning state for their own reasons. In one corner we have the returning champions, Sunnyslope. They look very solid this year and have one of the smartest guards in the entire state, Zach Paloma. They also have one of the top prospects in the class of 2021, Carson Basham. They are well coached and have a solid leader, I think they have a solid chance of winning state.
Next we have Apollo High School. Apollo has one of the top players in the entire state, Emmanuel Taban. He has to be one of the most skilled and deadly players in the entire state. Can he lead them to a state title?
Then we have Millennium High School and Ironwood High School, who both have deeply talented teams and super young talent. Will the young talent prevail?
The Top Prospects: The Top Players in 5A
JT Elder (Cienega 2021)
Emmanuel Taban (Apollo 2019)
DaRon Holmes (Millennium 2021)
Dominic Gonzalez (Ironwood 2020)
Paris Woods (Apollo 2021)
Last Year’s Champ: 2019 State Playoffs Review
First Round
1 Deer Valley defeats 16 Ironwood 57-38
9 Apollo defeats 8 McClintock 59-51
12 Paradise Valley defeats 5 Cienega 54-46
4 Williams Field defeats 13 Carl Hayden Community 82-57
14 Fairfax defeats 3 Buena 83-63
11 Centennial defeats 6 Cholla 57-52
10 Sahuaro defeats 7 Mesquite 63-57
2 Sunny slope defeats 15 Chaparral 62-33
Quarterfinals
1 Deer Valley defeats 9 Apollo 68-64
12 Paradise Valley defeats 4 Williams Field 84-64
11 Centennial defeats 14 Fairfax 69-66
2 Sunnyslope defeats 10 Sahuaro 67-34
Semifinals
1 Deer Valley defeats 12 Paradise Valley 65-63
2 Sunnyslope defeats 11 Centennial 42-29
Championship
2 Sunnyslope defeats 1 Deer Valley 45-35