Greetings HS hoops junkies from across the springlike Piedmont! The Sadster is here to recap the second round of states and reveal who will move on to the regionals. The Great One sputtered to a 51-13 record in the second round bringing his overall mark to 156-36, or 81.2%. He went 2-2 again in his upset picks bringing the tally to 4-4. The Amazing One isn’t sitting still as he is determined to raise the bar. To the second round recap! As usual, several storylines are emerging in the form of Cinderella and juggernaut teams. In the 4A, we have the Cinderella 24 seed Sanderson still dancing. However, they face 29-0 juggernaut New Hanover in the sectional finals. The 3A lacks a true Cinderella team but possesses juggernaut Central Cabarrus who is officially a wrecking machine a la Clubber Lang in Rocky 3 as they are destroying opponents. There are two Cinderella teams in the 2A as 23-seed Bandys and the 21-seed SE Alamance have refused to bow out. The late great Jimmy Valvano always said “Beware of the directional schools” so SE Alamance has that going for them as well. Two juggernauts have emerged in the 2A also in the form of Northwood and Reidsville. The 1A class has produced one Cinderella in Mountain Island Charter and two juggernauts in the East’s top seed Wilson Prep and Eastern Randolph, another directional school that collides with the West’s top seed South Stokes on Tuesday. There were three notorious 5-12 upset winners in Panther Creek, West Stokes and North Edgecomb. We will now delve into who will be in the regionals as the Ol’ Cubic Zirconia Ball (can’t afford crystal) has predicted. The Great One senses he’s giving out one of his dreaded KOD’s this round also. Will the slipper keep fitting on the Cinderella teams or will the clock strike midnight' Let’s find out……TO THE PICKS!
4A WEST: MYERS PARK, NORTH MECK, LAKE NORMAN and upset special winner CHAMBERS
4A EAST: NEW HANOVER, MILLBROOK, GREEN LEVEL, RICH-WHAT' RICHMOND
3A WEST: HICKORY, SOUTHERN GUILFORD, CENTRAL CABARRUS, and upset special winner SMITH
3A EAST: SWANSBORO, 71ST (KOD), SOUTHERN DURHAM, WESTOVER
2A WEST: REIDSVILLE, PINE LAKE PREP, NEWTON CONOVER, SALISBURY
2A EAST: FARMVILLE, NORTHWOOD, TRASK, GOLDSBORO
1A WEST: SOUTH STOKES, THOMASVILLE, BISHOP, CORVIAN
1A EAST: WILSON PREP, SO. WAKE ACADEMY, WASHINGTON COUNTY and upset special winner BERTIE…………
There you have it folks! The Sad One will return on Friday to reveal who will be playing in the regional championship games and recap the sectional finals. Now get out to a game and take in some good state playoff action. Stay tuned!!!!!
SAD SAM – HS HOOPS GENIUS