Team Column: 6A No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe
It’s lonely at the top. Just ask this week’s new first-ranked Edmond Santa Fe Wolves. Or ask Putnam City West, last week’s top-ranked team who suffered a loss to unranked Putnam City. Or Booker T. Washington, the first-ranked team for…
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Continue ReadingIt’s lonely at the top.
Just ask this week’s new first-ranked Edmond Santa Fe Wolves.
Or ask Putnam City West, last week’s top-ranked team who suffered a loss to unranked Putnam City.
Or Booker T. Washington, the first-ranked team for the introductory two weeks of the season, who also lost out to an unranked team in Sapulpa.
It’s the fourth week of Oklahoma high school basketball, and we’re already seeing our third power change in 6A as Santa Fe hops into that top spot.
Edmond Santa Fe escaped Norman on Monday night with a 3-point victory over the unranked Tigers. It just goes to show you that everybody wants your spot and nobody wants to see you keep it.
“Every game is gonna be a ‘let’s go knock off the number one team in the state,’” said Santa Fe head coach Josh Williams after the win. “We gotta embrace that target a little bit and be ready to go every night.”
The narrow win was in part due to the absence of Ben Smith, Santa Fe’s starting swingman and one of the most dominant players in the OKC metro.
Smith is nursing a nagging injury in his ankle. Luckily for the Wolves, he will likely only miss the Norman game and Thursday night’s matchup with Stillwater as the Wolves won’t play again until after the break, Williams said.
With Smith gone, other players stepped up to fill the gap his absence presents. Colby Onyekuru and Kristian Khoury generated scoring on Monday night, combining for 35 points with nine 3-pointers.
Donovan Vickers, who was named to the Edmond Open “Super 5” All-Tournament team last weekend, added much-needed floor leadership with his smart passing and rotating to shooters. He also made his presence known on the defensive side of the ball by getting steals and even playing a little rim protector.
Sean Franklin was especially huge for the Wolves in doing pretty much all of the gritty stuff. He rebounded well, fought to get through screens defensively, and added some inside scoring. Franklin finished with 11 points.
Jaylen O’Conner was the tipping point for the Wolves, adding just that extra presence to keep Norman at bay. Contributing 12 points into the mix, O’Conner was doing it all offensively, from helping Vickers at the top, to sliding down and acting as a middle man on the wing for shooters to do what they do best. He added a pair of 3-pointers of his own. The senior point guard was highly effective in directing traffic into his area and using his athleticism to get through it or dish the ball off to a neglected scorer.
Taylor Williams has also been a big contributor as of late, coming off the bench and dealing damage to opposing defenses from beyond the arc. Monday night, he wasn’t able to tally his name in the scoring book, but added great court IQ and tough, high-speed play to make his teammates’ jobs easier and less contested.
Time will tell how the Wolves will fare with the target on their back, but one good indicator that they will have success is how their players took a next-man-up mentality Monday night.
“Every game we play, teams wanna come out and beat Santa Fe,” Williams said. “Now it’s just a little bit bigger.”
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