4A Boys District 1 Tournament Preview

Published 6:36 pm Monday, February 6, 2012

FAVORITE(S)

JACKSON, SNOHOMISH, STANWOOD AND LAKE STEVENS

I know picking half the teams in the tournament as favorites might be a little much, but that’s how deep I feel this tournament really is. I don’t think it would be a surprise if any one of these four teams won. Snohomish is ranked in state, but has had its struggles, most notably a loss to Marysville Pilchuck. Jackson is back on top of Wesco South despite losing Brett Kingma to graduation last season. Stanwood earned a share of the Wesco North title and Lake Stevens was only a few points away from doing the same.

DARK HORSES

KAMIAK

With four players who were named at least All-Wesco honorable mention last season, the Knights were one of the favorites going into the season. Head coach Cory West would probably be the first to tell you that the season hasn’t exactly gone as planned, but if the Knights are healthy they could make some noise in this tournament.

WILD CARD

OFFENSIVE BALANCE

The teams that have it will win, it’s that simple. Todd is almost always the leading scorer for the Timberwolves, but players like Dan Kingma and Sam Brown to name a few can also fill up the scoresheet. If Todd is slowed down in any game, the Timberwolves have enough firepower to maintain. As do the Vikings, Lake Stevens doesn’t really have one player who stands out each game, but they do have five to seven players who can answer the bell when called upon. As the tournament progresses, the Timberwolves and the Vikings have the balance necessary to win this tournament.

DIFFERENCE MAKER(S)

JASON TODD, JACKSON AND LUKE HAMLIN, SNOHOMISH

To me, Todd is unquestionably the best player in the Wesco. He can score from almost anywhere on the floor and he is a beast on the boards. If anyone is going to beat Jackson, they will have to slow Todd down. Hamlin can shoot it from almost anywhere in the gym and is an explosive scorer. Teams have been able to hold him down for a quarter, even sometimes a half, but by the time the game the final buzzer sounds he almost always finds a way to put up 20 points or more in the scorebook.

WHO WINS

In the end, Jason Todd will bee too much for other teams to handle. Todd leads the Timberwolves to a 65-57 victory over Lake Stevens in the district championship game.

THE PICK: Jackson