5A state tourney promises spectacle

Lake Hamilton cleaned up on Thursday as the Arkansas Activities Association announced the regional and state competition sites for the 2019 calendar year, but sports fans throughout the state can count themselves as winners.

Much of the state's best basketball and volleyball will be played in Garland County this year as Lakeside also won its bid for the Class 5A state volleyball tournament over Greenwood. The state finals in both sports will be played once again at Bank OZK Arena at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The new 5A in the AAA's 2018-20 classification cycle is arguably the best and deepest class in the state in volleyball. The argument is even easier to make in basketball.

It is difficult to overstate the amount of quality basketball being played in 5A. Its current format is also the least forgiving.

Classes 1A-4A include district and regional tournaments where teams can lose a game or two and still recover to make it to state. Class 6A allows 12 of the 16 teams to qualify for state from the regular season conference standings.

The regular season is also the qualifier for 5A, but only 16 of the 32 teams will make it to Wolf Arena in Pearcy. Those 16 teams will have earned it.

Two teams on the boys' side in 5A have already made ESPN's "SportsCenter" less than two months into the full basketball season for most of the class. Many continued football season into mid- and late-November split between classes 5A and 6A.

Lake Hamilton senior Mondo Watkins was No. 3 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays on Dec. 14 after he Vince Carter'd a Star City defender at Wolf Arena.

Marion made SportsCenter on Tuesday after a sequence against Nettleton in which junior Makyi Boyce made a behind-the-back pass to classmate Detrick Reeves, who threw an alley-oop off the backboard for 6-9 senior Timothy Ceasar to finish off the fast break with a two-handed slam dunk.

The Patriots improved to 10-3 overall and 3-0 in the 5A-East with the 66-46 win at Nettleton (8-4, 2-1) and an 81-77 home win on Friday against Searcy (8-8, 1-2). A number of other teams are jockeying for position atop the extremely competitive 5A conferences.

Only eight of the 32 teams are undefeated in conference play less than two weeks into their league schedules.

West Memphis is 13-4 with one of the state's top junior prospects in 6-6 forward Chris Moore. Yet, the Patriots are already 1-2 in the East after losses to Marion and Nettleton with a top tilt looming on Tuesday at Jonesboro (13-4, 3-0), the two-time reigning champions of the previous 6A classification. Hurricane senior Marcedus Leech signed with Iowa State in November.

Lake Hamilton (12-2, 3-0) and Hot Springs (15-2, 3-0) are the only two remaining teams with unblemished records in 5A-South play. That will change on Tuesday when the Trojans host the Wolves.

Jacksonville is only 7-5, but the Titans have tested themselves against the best teams in the state. Junior point guard Devonte Davis is already committed to Oklahoma State as a four-star prospect, while classmate is also rated as a four-star in the 2020 class.

Their five losses include two to 6A schools by five combined points, a three-point loss to Pine Bluff (4-8, 2-0 2A-Central), a 63-54 loss to Jonesboro and an 81-69 loss in the King Cotton Holiday Classic tournament to Long Beach Poly (15-4, 6-0) from California. Jacksonville also defeated teams from Miami and Houston at the King Cotton in Pine Bluff.

Little Rock Hall (9-5, 2-0 5A-Central) made several national rankings in the preseason. The Warriors have been tested this season against teams from Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and Utah.

At least two good teams in the 5A-Central will be left out of the state tournament. The conference includes Hall, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Maumelle (8-7, 1-1), Sylvan Hills (10-4, 1-2) and Little Rock Parkview (8-4, 2-0), which features Auburn signee Allen Flanigan.

The same can be said for each conference in 5A. Class 1A features a number of schools that have been able to focus solely on basketball since August and 6A is made up of the largest schools in the state, but I would argue neither boasts the combination of quality competition and depth seen in 5A.

The 5A-East includes Jonesboro, West Memphis, Marion, Nettleton and Searcy, as well as Mountain Home (6-9, 1-2) and one of the surprise teams of the season in Greene County Tech (12-3, 1-2).

Hot Springs had to fight for a road win at El Dorado (5-9, 1-2) on Friday, while Lake Hamilton handled J.A. Fair (6-8, 1-2), 57-43, in Pearcy. The South also features two surprise contenders in Benton (9-5, 2-1) and Sheridan (12-3, 2-1).

The 5A-West features Alma (12-1, 3-0), Greenbrier (12-4, 2-1), Russellville (10-5, 2-1) and Vilonia (9-8, 2-1). The conference would be even more daunting if Justice Hill had not decided to forgo his senior season at Little Rock Christian (7-8, 2-1) and enroll early this week at Arkansas.

Top girls teams in 5A include Little Rock Christian (15-1, 3-0), Vilonia (14-1, 3-0), Nettleton (14-1, 3-0), Sheridan (14-1, 2-1) and Paragould (13-3, 3-0). The winner between Hot Springs (7-6, 3-0) and Lake Hamilton (10-4, 3-0) on Tuesday will sit alone atop the 5A-South standings.

Lakeside (13-3, 0-3) was the last remaining undefeated team in the state at 13-0, but the Lady Rams have struggled in conference play. The depth of the league and the class means they will need to make up the wins soon in order to qualify for state.

The prospect of the quality of these local state tournaments is exciting for anyone. Teams and fans will be able to travel to Hot Springs instead of making long treks to a Greenwood, Jonesboro or West Memphis in a corner of the state.

Three of the four events awarded to Lake Hamilton on Thursday were expected and all four will bring the best athletes in the state to Garland County. Lake Hamilton is the annual host of the track and field Meet of Champions at Wolf Stadium and the state cross country meet at Oaklawn Park. No other school bid for the 5A basketball tournament.

The lone surprise was a bid to host a joint state track and field meet for 5A and 6A together in Pearcy. Lake Hamilton won over class-specific bids from Hot Springs, Rogers Heritage and Russellville.

This year definitely looks to be another fun one in area high school sports. I know where I will be Feb. 26 through March 2.

Sports on 01/13/2019

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