All-Tournament/All-Class Third Team
Since there were all-tournament teams named from each class of the state tournament, we won’t repeat that process. Instead, we took on a much tougher project – to name an All-Tournament/All-Class team. For this exercise, we disregarded class or level…
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Continue ReadingSince there were all-tournament teams named from each class of the state tournament, we won’t repeat that process. Instead, we took on a much tougher project – to name an All-Tournament/All-Class team.
For this exercise, we disregarded class or level of competition. This is just simply who had the best tournament at their level.
Check out the second team here
In order to get the top-performing players on the first, second and third teams, we fudged a bit on position. And we created a 6th man position for players who tend to be able to do some of everything.
Here is the All-Tournament/All-Class Third Team:
Guard:
Kaeden Bonner Kaeden Bonner 6'1" | SG Seaman | 2023 State KS , 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Seaman:
Seaman had a different player stand out in each game, and they each deserve a ton of credit for the historic run the Vikings made. But for his consistency across the three games, and because of the enormity of the long-range bombs he dropped, Bonner merits recognition here. He stretched defenses and hit multiple buzzer beaters, which gave his team great energy. He also handled the ball and produced at the defensive end. His 3-3 from deep was huge in the final.
Guard:
Scott Price Scott Price 5'9" | PG Bucklin | 2022 State KS , 5-foot-9 guard, 2022, Bucklin:
Not many players got named to the all-tourney teams despite taking two losses (Hayden’s Joe Otting Joe Otting 6'3" | C Hayden | 2023 State KS was the other). But sometimes it’s what a guy does trying to ward off defeat that is most impressive. Price has been a brilliant scorer throughout his career, so his numbers at state aren’t surprising: 23 points in a win against Caldwell, 18 points against Hanover, and 33 in his final game, a close loss to Northern Valley.
Forward:
Wyatt Spexarth Wyatt Spexarth 6'3" | SF Andale | 2023 State KS , 6-foot-3 forward, 2023, Andale:
The Indians were balanced and no one was the star of their run to the 4A final. But Spexarth was the most versatile and most consistently productive. He worked hard on the glass and moved around at the offensive end, finding a variety of ways to contribute. He scored 14 against the tough bigs of Paola, got 14 against McPherson and 10 against the long athletes of Miege.
Forward:
Seth Madron Seth Madron 6'2" | SG Mcpherson | 2022 State KS , 6-foot-1 guard, 2022, McPherson:
Madron isn’t really a true forward, but he plays a variety of roles to complement the Bullpups young guards. His leaping ability lets him play much bigger than his 6-foot-1 frame. He handles the ball, plays inside and out, and crashes the boards and defends bigger opponents. He racked up a ton of rebounds and assists to go with his 42 points.
Center:
Fred Criqui Fred Criqui 6'7" | C St. Marys | 2022 State KS , 6-foot-7 center, 2022, St. Marys:
Criqui struggled to finish in the final against Hillsboro, but that shouldn’t detract from the two really good games he had prior to that. As one of the few true centers in the tournament, he showed really well against Trego’s Charlie Russell Charlie Russell 6'4" | PF Trego | 2022 State KS in the first round with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Then he racked up 20 points and 11 boards against previously undefeated Valley Falls.
6th Man:
Matthew Potucek Matthew Potucek 5'11" | CG Hillsboro | 2022 State KS , 6-foot guard, 2022, Hillsboro (pictured):
This guy deserves more credit than he gets for the Trojans’ back-to-back titles. He does all the dirty work and makes a ton of big plays. He’s versatile and incredibly efficient. Check out these numbers: 17-23 from the field, 41 points in the three-game run, and that includes the slow-as-molasses game against Lyndon in which no one got big stats.