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Playoff Preview
3A Region 1
Shay Graeter's outside touch just might
get the Burnet Bulldogs to Austin.
| Burnet Coach Mike Cavender says, "We have to play sound aggressive defense without fouling. We can’t allow other teams to shoot 30 free throws a game. Rebounding is also a big key for us, we have a small lineup, so blocking out and going after the ball are big keys for us as well. Anytime you have to go North and West in the State of Texas the basketball gets tougher. When you are as small as we are everyone looks impressive. We have played a very tough schedule this season. I know we learned from our 6 losses, hopefully the losses made use smarter in how we play. Our toughness is probably what has gotten us this far. I love my team's toughness and unselfishness. They have always played for each other before themselves. The whole thing is even more special because I started coaching this group as 7th graders. " |
Current Top 5
1 Levelland (#4)
2 Wylie (#5)
3 Burnet (#8)
4 Cooper (#10)
5 Seminole (#11)
Our Darkhorse: Iowa Park (#NR)
Why? Presley Gann can fill it up!!!
Our preseason rankings were close but we missed the boat on Levelland.
note: (#) indicates team's current 3A state ranking
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Our Pre-Season Top 5
1 Cooper
2 Wylie
3 China Spring
4 Burnet
5 Hirschi
| Wylie Head Coach Tri Danley says, "To get to Austin we need to improve our inside play and our half court defense. The toughest teams we may face in region 1 are Cooper, Burnet & Levelland. We played a brutal schedule this year because playing good teams shows you your own weaknesses allowing you to improve as the year goes on. I would have to say the very best team we have seen this year was 4A powerhouse Canyon because they play mistake free basketball and great 1/2 court defense." |
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Playoff Preview
3A Region 2
The Argyle Eagles are planning another trip
to the Drum behind Claire Pettibone.
| Argyle Head Coach Steven Schmidt says, "If we are going to repeat as regional champions, we must stay healthy, that’s always important this time of year. We must stay focused on playing extremely tough defensively and keep rebounding the ball well. Maintaining a good balance of inside and outside scoring will also be a key.I have heard really good things about Texarkana Liberty-Eylau, Kennedale and Mount Vernon. We played Crandall earlier this season, so I know they are one of the top teams in the Region. I think whatever a team experiences throughout the early part of the season can be made into a positive. Our team does not like losing. They also are not afraid to take on strong opponents because of our pre-district schedule. And we’ve found that we are able to play well in many types of games . We can slow down, we can play up-tempo, we can press, we can play a halfcourt game. Like last year’s team, I love this group because they have the ability to handle a tough, tough early season and not get down, not give up or look for excuses. They just keep working and believing in what we’re doing. They’re also a fun group of kids. They compete hard, but when the game is over, its over. They enjoy life outside of basketball with each other. And I’ve been really proud of our Seniors this year. They’ve grown up considerably since their Junior year. They’ve been very effective leaders this year. They deserve much of the credit for our team’s success. " |
Current Top 5
1 Liberty-Eylau (#2)
2 Crandall (#3)
3 Kennedale (#6)
4 Argyle (#7)
5 Lovejoy (#NR)
Our Darkhorse: Princeton (#NR)
Why? They have shown they can beat the big dogs with wins over Lovejoy & Fairfield.
note: (#) indicates team's current 3A state ranking
Kennedale Head Coach Vance Hughes says, "Our defensive play has to remain aggressive and our shooting must stay consistent night in and night out. Argyle has been very impressive because they play well together and they know how to win. Our losses have helped us in a big way because we learned a lot about our weaknesses in each one of those games. My team has continued to win even though we have had players out with season ending injuries we have never skipped a beat. I would have to say Crandall is the most impressive team we've seen they are very good as we learned first hand."
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Our Pre-Season Top 5
1 Argyle
2 Liberty-Eylau
3 Kennedale
4 Celina
5 Princeton
Looks like were had this region pretty well figured out in our pre-season rankings.
Keira Phipps
Kennedale Wildcats
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Playoff Preview
3A Region 3
Makenzie Roach and the Robinson Rockets hope their state championship
experience gives them the edge in this very deep region.
Robinson Head Coach Brenda Gomez says, "Last year, was obviously a great experience and none of our kids had seen anything like it. They were wide eyed but ready and of course we took care of business and won the whole thing. For me it was a different feel, but back in New Mexico we won our last title in front of 14,000 people so I had seen it all before.That's where you want to be. You want everybody to know you are the best and have them gunning for you. That's this year's challenge because the title is our's to defend and that will be fun."
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Current Top 5
1 Robinson (#12)
2 La Vega (#13)
3 Brownsboro (#14)
4 Fairfield (#15)
5 Madisonville (#16)
Our Darkhorse: Rudder Rangers (#17)
Why? The Tucker sisters bring their final four experience to an already solid group.
Our preseason rankings in region 3 were in the ball park but this region is so thick it is VERY hard to call.
note: (#) indicates team's current 3A state ranking
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Our Pre-Season Top 5
1 Robinson
2 Bryan Rudder
3 Central
4 Fairfield
5 Navasota
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Playoff Preview
3A Region 4
Shae Owens and the Hidalgo Pirates expect a return trip
to Austin and this time they want the title.
Current Top 5
1 Hidlago (#1)
2 Lytle (#9)
3 Stafford (#19)
4 Columbia (#20)
5 Giddings (#NR)
Our Darkhorse: Ingleside (#NR)
Why? Kimball, Claypool & Adams have led this team to a 27-5 season.
note: (#) indicates team's current 3A state ranking
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Our Pre-Season Top 5
1 Hidalgo
2 West Oso
3 SA Sam Houston
4 Ingleside
5 Giddings
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