Going into this season we figured that Santiam Christian, De La Salle, and Dayton would be the top dogs in 3a Basketball. All three of these teams returned key players that lead their teams to deep playoff runs. De La Salle is the returning champs and they are looking to defend their title
Sutherlin is a very good team, they should be able to compete with the top teams in State. They just beat a pretty good Creswell team by 21 points. They have chemistry with this group of guys that nobody else can match. They made the 4a Tournament last year with the same key guys that they have this season. With how weak their conference is they should make the first round of playoffs with ease. Sutherlin is the best 4a Drop Down they have the best chance of competing and maybe beating one of the Top 5 teams in the state.
At the beginning of the season, we had no idea what Catlin Gabel had to offer. The season started with them playing Dayton, halfway through the second Quarter they were leading by a good amount before two of their best players went down with an injury. If Catlin Gabel can stay above water and finish top 2 in league play they will give the injured players time to come back and be 100 percent before the playoffs start. If healthy Catlin Gabel is easily one of the top teams and could make a deep run in Coos Bay. I would keep your eye out for this team, they could definitely surprise people when they are healthy. Also, they will be playing Top 3a team Santiam Christian in the Dayton Tournament at 4:30 on Thursday, December 20th.
De La Salle seems to be a top team in the state, the first few games they played Washington teams making us uncertain how good they really were. However, early last week they played Blanchet beating them by just as much as top-seeded Santiam Christian did. This team seems to be just as good as last years team who won the State Championship. They are lead by Three Senior Team Captains Kadeem Nelson, Theo Aclan and Traveon Johnson. These three are looking to capture another State Championship for De La Salle.
This weekend we will learn a lot more about a few teams that we put in our top 10 rankings. We should see some very competitive basketball and some of the top teams in 3a will be going head to head.