4A State Brackets and notes

10 teams with over 20 wins and a slew of future Division-1 players ensure the WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington Class 4A Boys State Basketball Tournament will provide some outstanding hoops action when it tips off Wednesday morning in the Tacoma Dome.

Top players in the field of 16 teams who have already signed on for their college careers include Jon Brockman (Snohomish/UW), Marcus Williams (Roosevelt/Arizona), Brandon Moore (Bethel/Eastern Washington), Alex Tiefenthaler (Bethel/Portland) and Leigh Swanson (Mountlake Terrace/Seattle U.)

But there are plenty of others in the tournament who will be taking their games to the next level in years to come.

Who are the contenders? How about Bethel, South Kitsap, Eisenhower, Kentwood for four to keep an eye on. Roosevelt and Inglemoor both survived a tough KingCo District road to get to the Dome. Kamiak came on strong down the stretch and was a huge surprise in the playoffs. The Knights could be the biggest sleeper after spending all but the final two weeks way under the radar.

The opening round match-ups are:

TOP HALF

Prairie (22-6) vs. Eisenhower (22-3)

Pasco (20-4) vs. Kentwood (21-5)

Roosevelt (20-5) vs. South Kitsap (24-1)

North Kitsap (17-9) vs. Kamiak (17-6)

BOTTOM HALF

Gonzaga Prep (18-8) vs. Bethel (24-2)

Snohomish (18-6) vs. Evergreen (Vancouver) (20-7)

Mountlake Terrace (19-5) vs. Ferris (20-4)

Curtis (19-6) vs. Inglemoor (21-2)

That top half is just a little loaded. Those first three games would all be good quarterfinal or semifinal match-ups. I’m guessing there were a few coaches leaving the WIAA headquarters doing a little spittin’ and moanin’. And how about that Roosevelt-South K opener. SK beat the Riders twice this year. Hmm.