It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations, You have made it to the big house! Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups and hear from the coaches as they give their thoughts.
Class A Boys
#1 Okay vs #8 Seiling
Thursday at 4:30pm
Last Appearance: Okay (2023) Seiling (2023)
Okay’s road to the big house
Making it to the state tournament for the second year in a row with this group of guys is great! These guys have been in the gym every day since we drove home from the state championship game last year. They’ve never missed a day of working on their game. They deserve it more than anybody I know to be back to the state tournament this year! In 21 years of coaching these group of players are the most dedicated guys I have ever been around.! We have been battled tested in every way possible this season because of the target on our backs and the character and humility these guys have shown during all of this is very impressive.! There is not a better group of kids to coach and the icing on top is to have a sophomore son get to learn and look up to a great group of guys like them!! said Okay coach Chad Clark. Okay’s road to the big house began with a 84-27 win over Keota in districts, Defeated Ripley 53-27 and #20 Red Oak 54-43 in regionals and defeated Riverfield 51-36 in area to advance to state.
Seiling’s road to the big house
I felt like our regional was really tough. Beating OCA and Texhoma. Then in area losing to Okarche and winning the turn around game against a really good Academy team. Big time relief getting back to the state tournament after making it a year ago. Really excited to be back and have a special group of seniors that are very talented. Our draw is super tough with Okay in the first round. We will have to play a very high level Thursday. This will be a rematch of our area final game from last year when they beat us in OT. So it should be a great game said Seiling coach Eric Norton.
#7 Drummond vs #5 Caddo
Thursday at 6:00pm
Last Appearance: Drummond (2023) Caddo (Third consecutive appearance since 2022)
Drummond’s road to the gold ball
We are super excited to be back to the Big house this is our second trip in school history. We had to beat a tough Allen team twice in close fashion. We trailed both games at half but showed a lot of character and battled back to win said Drummond coach Brady Kokojan. Drummond began their road to the big house with a 76-30 win over Waukomis, Defeated Arapaho-Butler 38-22 and #9 Allen 57-54 in overtime, Lost to #3 Sentinel 49-41 but bounced back against #9 Allen 46-44 to advance to state
Caddo’s road to the gold ball
DJ Dill became Caddo boys all time scoring leading scorer this year, sitting at nearly 2200 career points. #3 Braden Tyson started on last years state champion team, Non contact complete break of tibia and fibula on September 20th in gym. They told him after surgery, screws and metal plate that he wouldn’t play this year. He worked and rehabbed harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. They said it could be a 5-8 month recovery. He was back January 29th to try to play, Almost 3.5 months, He has gave all he had to get back working and rehabbing two or three times per day said Caddo coach Kolby Johnson. Caddo began their road to the big house with a 98-60 win over Central Marlow in districts, Defeated Amber-Pocasset 44-33 and #19 Binger-Oney 64-45 in regionals and defeated #12 Wright City 53-46 to advance to state.
#3 Sentinel vs #20 Red Oak
Thursday at 7:30pm
Last Appearance: Sentinel (2023) Red Oak (2021)
Sentinel’s road to the big house
It’s always exciting and rewarding to make the State Tournament but I really wanted to make it because we have two guys that weren’t on our team last year and hadn’t had much success at their previous schools. It’s a great feeling to know all the hard work has paid off in a big way for everyone – players, coaches and family members that have traveled a lot of miles and spent a lot of time too. It’s really special for me because I have a son on the team, one son that is my assistant and another son that helps at games and sits on the bench with and my wife keeps the book so I will get to enjoy the moment with my entire family. Nothing better! We have had a great season so far 28-1. Our only loss is to undefeated Calumet so not too bad. I was also the assistant at Calumet before coming to Sentinel and my older two boys played and graduated at Calumet. It’s been a great run for us. Before last year it had been 20 years since Sentinel had gone to State and now we have made it back to back so everyone is excited. Hopefully last year’s experience will help us this year. We just need to show up and play like we are capable. We have a great group of guys that have some unique skill sets so we can cause people some problems said Sentinel coach Tyler Snowden. Sentinel began their road to the big house with a 72-41 win over Sterling, Defeated Cyril 77-52 and #18 SW Covenant 62-59 to win regionals and defeated #7 Drummond 49-41 in area to advance to state.
Red Oak’s road to the big house
This group is a hard nosed bunch of boys, Won three games in a row by seven points or less vs #6 Stonewall, #13 Liberty And Riverfield. First trip in Class A in school history said Red Oak coach Casey Butcher. Red Oak began their road to the big house with a 75-28 win over Gore in districts, Defeated Summit Christian 40-33 and fell to #1 Okay 54-43 in regionals, They would win three in a row by defeating #6 Stonewall 31-28, #13 Liberty 50-43 in overtime and Riverfield 46-41 to advance to the state tournament.
#4 Okarche vs #2 Rattan
Thursday at 9:00pm
Last Appearance: Okarche (2023) Rattan (2023)
Okarche’s road to the big house
We played Ringwood, Hominy, Pond Creek-Hunter, and Seiling. The teams had 20,18,21, and 20 win each. I thought all the teams we played were very good ball clubs. Seiling is one of the better defensive teams we have faced in a while. Very tough game to win. Class A is as tough as ever. I think overall the deepest class out there pound for pound. A lot of great teams this year. Seven returning teams in Class A back at state as well. Our kids are very excited to be back. They have put in a lot of time in the offseason and during the season to stay focused on the task at hand. We were pretty young last season and not as experienced and I thought that hurt us some at the state. We have a wealth of experience back from last year’s team. We get to face a tough Rattan team. They are very talented, athletic, and coach clay does a great job with them. That has been our goal since last season was to be back at the big house. The town and community are behind us 100 percent and we are going to give it everything we have to play well this year said Okarche coach Aaron West.
Rattan’s road to the big house
Lost to conference rival Wright City, in the regional final. We had beat them during the regular season. They were ranked 12th in the final poll I believe. Won Area consolation by beating Velma-Alma, Binger-Oney and won the rematch with Wright City 52-35. Going into the state tournament, I believe our boys think that they are one of the favorites to win it. We have had a tough schedule that has prepared us for this time of the year. So I think that they are excited and ready for Thursday to get here. The reaction to qualifying for the state tournament two years in a row is that the guys know that the hard work they have put in throughout the season has paid off. It is a blessing to even get to state. We knew that what we had returning and what we added was going to give us a good shot at getting back. So hopefully we can put together three days of good basketball and see what happens because you never know what may happen at the big house said Rattan coach Michael Clay.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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