I watched many games this summer and fall and tracked all the transfers who may make an impact on the season.

The 4A Conference is the most wide open conference. There are the so called "favorites" but many teams have legit chances to win it. Some teams do have more experience then others which could help in tough moments.

There are 47 schools in 4A and 24 teams get into the playoffs. Here are my top 10 preseason team rankings for the 2019-2020 season plus 5 other schools and one sleeper team.

#1 Salpointe Catholic--Coach Jim Reynolds has a deep and older team that is battle tested. (Final-4 three years in a row and Finals two of the last three years). They will be led by Harvard commit Evan Nelson. They have many other senior guards that will contribute with Jake Cioe, Grant Weitman, Jordan Gainey, Noah Chilgreen and Braden Miller. Also have some good juniors that will help out with guard Brady Ramon and forwards Tommy Irish and Myles Hersha plus soph guard Julian Riesgo.

#2 Peoria--Coach Will Roberts has a talented team that has been shining in the off season. They will be led by senior Isaac Monroe to score most of the points but a nice cast around him with senior Deandre Petty, juniors Kevin Kogbara, Corey Perry, Tre Bell and soph Awar Anyieth are their main horses. Soph Shamar Moore and freshman stud Andrew Camacho will also be a big factor The Panthers have been knocking on the door the last few years, but this team could be the one that makes its deepest run since 2012.

#3 Catalina Foothills--Coach Doug D'Amore also has an older team that made a deep run last year. They will be led by senior guard Hayden Moser. Then some battle tested guards with senior Charlie Curtis, junior Cody Blumenthal and Carson Peabody. Then the bigs with two juniors in Will Menaugh and Trace Comeau plus senior Nigel Wilson.

#4 Shadow Mountain--Coach Curtis Millage replaces the legend Mike Bibby but the former ASU player is ready for the challenge. Millage does have an older team coming back sprinkled in with some youth. The seniors who will lead the way are Shemar Morrow, Davon Cobbs, Ori Keedem and Jimmy Williams. Also contributing in a big way will be junior Elijah Cole plus juniors Kyle Johnson and Jayce Hyland and soph Cash Scott. Morrow, Cole and Cobbs have that priceless experience of knowing how to play winning basketball in close games. Don't be shocked to see the Matadors back in the mix of it.

#5 St. Mary's--Coach Damin Lopez comes in with a lot of young talent but they will be led by junior Keiren "KP" Brown. Along side Brown they have sophs Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry, Garrison Phelps, Orlando Gonzales and Jacob Estrella plus freshman Jason Fontenet. Also have the lone senior starter Deven Dahlke should have a big year. This team will get better and better as the season goes on and be a force to deal with next year.

#6 Arcadia--Coach Stephen Danford also an almost an older star studded team led by juniors Max Majerle, Owen Shaw and Kieran Carr plus senior Cam Fass. These four will do the brunt of the scoring. They have some nice guards to play off of them with seniors Nick Wilber, Jerico Fleming, Jae Singson and Caleb Musfeldt plus soph Brandon Austin.

#7 Mesquite--New coach Michael Edgmon takes over his first year in Gilbert. He has a lot of talented guards led by seniors Jordan Wollangk, Ricky Hernandez, Devin Ash and Zaiah Gonzales plus super soph Nathan Calmese. Forwards senior Christion Ashe and soph Andrew Morris.

#8 Desert Edge--Coach Scott Lovely is starting to build something in the West Valley. He has a very good starting 5 led by junior forwards Shay Cain, Demaryea Cox and Amarei Hunter plus junior guards Jacob Clapper and Adrian Banuelos. He also has senior guard Dominik Bednarz off the bench. This is his best team in years. Next year the Scorpions should be even better.

#9 Deer Valley--Coach Jed Dunn lost some of the better seniors in state but still has a nice younger core of players led by juniors Jackson Leyba, John Gaines and soph Greg Gillam. They still have older players that will get heavy minutes with Jalen James and Christian Jurewicz. Look for sophs Joe Montgomery, Amir Locus and Semajay James to get some good playing time as well.

#10 Seton Catholic Prep--Coach Commander King lost some nice seniors last year but still have some older players left with talent. They will be led by seniors Keyshon Upchurch, Michael Hanson and Sam Mobisson. These 3 will score the brunt of the points. They also have senior big Josh Hansell and senior guard Sam Spindler.

5 other schools of note with top players plus 1 sleeper team:

Buckeye--Senior Tay Boothman, junior DJ Johnson, soph Jayson Redhouse and freshman Matthew Henry-Harrison.

Moon Valley--Seniors James Burries, Malak Malak and Shakir Galab.

Dysart--Juniors Riley Fornerette and Daryian Matthews.

Pueblo--Junior Zach Morgan and soph Marcus Coleman.

Tempe--Seniors Michel Milambu and Cameron Snyder.

Sleeper Team:

Estrella Foothills--Juniors Josh Fletcher and Jeffrey Goodere plus freshman Noah Amenhasuer.

6'0 Sr PG Tay Boothman--Buckeye

6'2 Jr PG Keiren "KP" Brown--St. Mary's

6'3 Jr SG Max Majerle--Arcadia

6'0 Sr CG Isaac Monroe--Peoria

6'4 Sr SG Hayden Moser--Catalina Foothills

6'1 Sr PG Evan Nelson--Salpointe Catholic

5'10 Sr PG Jordan Wollangk--Mesquite

6'3 Sr SF James Burries--Moon Valley

6'8 So PF Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry--St. Mary's

6'4 Jr SG Jacob Clapper--Desert Edge

6'4 Jr SF Elijah Cole--Shadow Mountain

6'3 Jr SG John Gaines--Deer Valley

6'2 Sr SG Jordan Gainey--Salpointe Catholic

6'9 Jr C Jeffrey Goodere--Estrella Foothills

6'6 Jr C DJ Johnson--Buckeye

6'8 Sr C Zion Johnson--Camelback

6'3 Jr CG Jamison Kay--Gila Ridge

6'2 Sr SG Ori Keedem--Shadow Mountain

6'5 Jr SF Kevin Kogbara--Peoria

6'1 Jr CG Jahon Lethridge--Thunderbird

6'6 Jr F Owen Shaw--Arcadia

5'11 Sr PG Cameron Snyder--Tempe

5'11 Jr PG Monta Tyler Jr--Casa Grande

6'3 Jr SG Samuel Yeager--Prescott

6'4 Jr SF Shay Cain--Desert Edge

6'9 Jr C Will Menaugh--Catalina Foothills

6'0 Sr CG Michel Milambu--Tempe

6'4 Sr SF Shemar Morrow--Shadow Mountain

6'1 Sr PG Evan Nelson--Salpointe Catholic

5'10 Sr SG Deandre Petty--Peoria

6'4 So SG Garrison Phelps--St. Mary's

6'2 Sr SG Ben Seale--Cactus

5'8 Sr PG Keyshon Upchurch--Seton Catholic Prep

5'10 Sr PG Jordan Wollangk--Mesquite

6'7 Fr PF Noah Amenhauser--Estrella Foothills

5'8 Fr PG Demarion Anderson--Youngker

6'0 So PG Nathan Calmese--Mesquite

6'0 Fr SF Andrew Camacho--Peoria

5'11 So SG Marcus Coleman--Pueblo

6'8 So PF Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry--St. Mary's

5'6 So PG Greg Giles--Deer Valley

5'9 Fr SG Matthew Henry-Harrison--Buckeye

6'4 So SF Jason Parent--Prescott

6'4 So SG Garrison Phelps--St. Mary's

6'2 So SF Jordan Stevens--Gila Ridge

Region-1 (Desert Sky)

1. Arcadia

2. Mesquite

3. Seton Catholic Prep

4. Saguaro

5. Poston Butte

6. Marcos de Niza

Region-2 (West Valley)

1. Peoria

2. Desert Edge

3. Deer Valley

4. Cactus

5. Lake Havasu

Region-3 (Southwest)

1. Buckeye

2. Estrella Foothills

3. Gila Ridge

4. Youngker

5. Yuma

Region-4 (Skyline)

1. Shadow Mountain

2. St. Mary's

3. Moon Valley

4. Tempe

5. Thunderbird

6. Greenway

Region-5 (Grand Canyon)

1. Prescott

2. Bradshaw Mountain

3. Coconino

4. Lee Williams

5. Mingus

6. Flagstaff

7. Mohave

Region-6 (Black Canyon)

1. Dysart

2. Washington

3. Cortez

4. Combs

5. Apache Junction

6. Glendale

Region-7 (Gila)

1. Pueblo Magnet

2. Rio Rico

3. Amphi

4. Palo Verde

5. Douglas

6. Walden Grove

Region-8 (Kino)

1. Salpointe Catholic

2. Catalina Foothills

3. Sahuaro

4. CDO

5. Casa Grande

6. Vista Grande

1. Salpointe Catholic

2. Peoria

3. Catalina Foothills

4. Shadow Mountain

5. St. Mary's

6. Arcadia

7. Mesquite

8. Desert Edge

9. Deer Valley

10. Seton Catholic Prep

11. Buckeye

12. Moon Valley

13. Estrella Foothills

14. Dysart

15. Pueblo Magnet

16. Tempe

17. Prescott

18. Sahuaro

19. Rio Rico

20. Bradshaw Mountain

21. Cactus

22. Coconino

23. Gila Ridge

24. Thunderbird

1. Saguaro

2. Washington

3. Poston Butte

4. Marcos de Niza