The regular season for the High School Basketball season is over and it’s now time for the playoffs as we have nine teams in our local listening area that qualified for post-season play. But what teams have the best chance to make a deep run? I will share who I believe the three likeliest teams to go on a deep run are.
3. Landrum Cardinals.
The Landrum Cardinals won another region title this year finishing 23-3 on the season and going 9-1 inside region play. This Landrum team is scrappy and tough and they can certainly score the basketball averaging 72 points per game on the year.
The Cardinals open up the first round of the playoffs against Liberty and I do not see Liberty being able to compete with this Cardinals team. The Cardinals have a lot of talent and they are led by a senior Isaiah Washington who is averaging 18 points per game. The Cardinals have two other guys scoring in double figures with senior Mason Raines and a sophomore Frank Davis.
The Cardinals will have to face some tough competition for sure but I see this team knocking on the door of an upper state finals ticket and even perhaps a state championship opportunity.
2. Union County
Last season I was extremely high on the Union County Yellow Jackets coming into the year and they just didn’t quite have the season that I was expecting but this year the Yellow Jackets put together a season that I thought they would have a year ago. The Yellow Jackets won the region title and went unbeaten inside region play.
The biggest thing that sticks out to me with this Union team is how deep they are with talent. They can play with 10 guys and can sit each of their starters while their bench unit doesn’t skip a beat, that is something you don’t see every day that a team can sit all five starters and the bench can give really solid minutes.
3A is always extremely competitive but I think this Union team has what it takes to go far in the playoffs and be in contention to win a state title.
1. Dorman Cavaliers
No surprise her to see the Dorman Cavaliers as my likeliest team to make a run at the State Championship as the Dorman Cavaliers have had another dominating season winning another region title.
This team is loaded with talent as they are led by Noah Clowney, who is an Alabama commit. Jordyn Surratt who is a commitment to USC Upstate is somebody that I have been very impressed with watching this year and those two together are a nightmare to try to stop down low.
The Cavaliers don’t just have a dominant inside game but the guards have been very good this season and they can just simply beat you inside and out, and as always the defense of the Cavaliers is suffocating.
I know there are some solid teams in the 5A classification but I think it’s safe to pencil the Cavaliers going to the State Championship with an extremely good chance to win it all again.
