Normally, I announce how many games I have watched in preseason, but that is obviously not the case. I did watch some of the teams in the Border League.

We are still hoping the season even happens. Some of the districts may not be cleared to play at all and will sadly miss the entire season. But we are positive here and we are assuming every team plays eventually this season.

The 5A conference is deep with talent and have some good balance in many regions. The San Tan, Northeast Valley and Northwest are all very good. My prediction is all 17 of those teams make the playoffs, which should lead to very competitive region games.

Ironwood may be the favorite but I wouldn't be surprised to see any of the top-15 or so in the Final-4.

There are 46 schools in 5A with 24 teams getting into the playoffs.

Here are my top-10 preseason team rankings for the 2020-2021 shortened seven-week season plus five other schools and one sleeper team.

#1 Ironwood--Coach Jordan Augustine won the state Chip last year in 5A versus a tough Millennium team. He lost two of the best senior guards in AZ but still have two more studs to lean on. The Eagles will be led by seniors 6'5 CG Bailon Black and 6'3 SG JJ White. Those two alone will do a lot of damage, but they also have a junior stud with 6'6 SF Ringo Aguek. In my opinion, this is the top trio in 5A. Other key contributors will be seniors 6'1 G Alex Elam, 6'4 PF Stiener Christianson, junior 6'1 CG DeOtis Nunn Jr plus top sophs with 6'2 W Adonis Thomas, 5'8 PG Jamaal Dean, 6'2 SF Nael Al-Masari, 6'4 PF Jordan Kuac & 6'4 PF Julius Williams.

#2 Centennial-Coach Randy Lavender has a balanced starting-5 with juniors 6'0 CG Trent Lavender, 6'3 SF Jayson Petty, 6'1 PG Jake Lifgren, 5'10 CG Abe Rangel also stud 6'3 soph W Emery Young. Off the bench they have 6'5 senior F Donte Wheaterby, 6'7 soph PF Cristian Depue and 6'2 freshman F Gage Galbreath. Look for Lifgren to breakout in this group, but they have five players who can light it up each night.

#3 Arcadia--Coach Stephen Danford has a talented starting five with seniors 6'4 SG Max Majerle, 6'6 PF Owen Shaw, 6'2 SG Kieran Carr and 5'11 CG Rashid Smith plus 5'11 junior PG Brandon Austin. The Titans have some depth off the bench with 6'3 senior F Trey Brown, juniors 6'0 G Luke Traynor, 6'2 W Tyler Rosenfeld, plus sophs 6'4 PF Ethan Faas & 6'5 PF Nate Parras. An older core have many senior scores who can put points up quickly.

#4 Sunrise Mountain--Coach Gary Rath will be led POY candidate 6'6 senior SF Colin Carey. Other seniors that will be key contributors will be 6'2 SG Chase Pavey, 6'3 F Jadyn Brown, 5'10 SG Chris Stutesman & 5'10 SG Chris Welsh. Top juniors helping will be 5'9 PG Rafe Canale, 6'1 CG Marcus Jones and 6'2 SF Dylan Tortherow plus stud 6'4 soph SF Carter Gittens. This team will go as far as Carey can take them.

#5 McClintock--Coach Sam Dentz has a balanced team led by 5'11 senior SG Daruis Ward, juniors 6'4 PF Jaylen Wesley, 6'6 PF Dasean Strong and 6'1 PG PJ Volz. Plus super sophs 6'3 SF EJ Scroggins, 5'7 PG Davion Butler and 6'1 SG Jacoby Brown. Wesley was my breakout POY last season and will look to continue it this season. Despite his size, he is one of the harder mach-ups in the conference.

#6 Cactus Shadows--Coach Zach Washut is led by a strong group of seniors. He will lean on 6'3 SG Nate Williams, 6'7 PF/C Connor Benson, 6'1 G Noah Dutcher, & 6'3 G Cole Caruso. They also have 6'3 senior Carson Woods and 5'10 junior Joey Liberio to handle the PG duties. A veteran team that no one will want to play. They actually won 20 in a row at one point last year with many of the same players. I wouldn't be surprised if they went to the Final-4.

#7 Desert Mountain--Coach Mark Schumaker has a deep and balanced group led by 6'2 senior PG Tony Elliott Jr. Other top players include 6'2 senior SG Carson Biggs, 6'2 senior SG Jake Hahn, 5'11 senior G Evan Burke, 6'3 junior CG Easton Reagan, 6'5 junior PF William Dubuc plus stud sophs 5'11 PG Ryan Ginsberg and 6'1 SG Zach Anderson. Many underrated players in this group with some budding juniors with Reagan and Dubuc ready to make some noise.

#8 Gilbert--Coach Jay Caserio has a deep group of juniors ready to make a splash but they will be led by 5'10 senior PG Tampa Scott. The Tiger juniors are 6'1 SG Nikko Pentelute, 6'6 PF Reed Shuey, 510 PG Elijah Johnson, 5'11 PG Trey Hollis and 6'1 PG Landon LaMancusa. Plus 6'4 senior F Jayden Bayfield, 6'7 senior C Kyle Hogan and 6'1 super soph W KJ Perry. This is primarily a different varsity group from last year, but they reload better then most in state.

#9 Paradise Valley--Coach Corey Bardet has some senior studs to lean on with 6'7 PF Moses Demalek, 6'4 SF Nicolas Giliberto, 6'1 SG Alec Miller plus juniors 6'5 F Max Ryan and 5'11 PG Joseph Pompeo. Demalek is a legit POY candidate and makes everyone better. He is arguably the most unique player in 5A, and with the lights out shooting of Gilibero, they will be in every game.

#10 Catalina Foothills--Coach Doug D'Amore has a an older veteran team that almost run themselves. They are led by seniors 6'10 C Will Menaugh, 5'9 PG Cody Blumenthal, 6'5 F Trace Comeau, 5'9 PG Carson Peabody & 6'4 F Ben Pinckney. A well-coached older team who always play the right way is always a tough match-up.

Williams Field--Seniors 6'6 PF LeRoy Williams, 5'8 PG Montez Taylor, 6'1 SG Charles Temple & 5'9 freshman PG Isaiah Bronson.

Casteel--Senior 5'9 PG Drey Sherwood, juniors 6'7 PF Carson Ledbetter, 6'1 SG Liam Burt, soph 6'0 SG Nathan Ko & 6'4 senior PF Tyson Coleman.

Millennium--Senior 6'3 SG Coleman Fields, soph 6'8 PF Isaac Hymes plus freshman 5'10 PG Gabe Pickens and 6'1 SG Christian Holly.

Apollo--5'10 junior PG Ahamed Mohamed and 6'2 soph CG Lashy Perez.

Willow Canyon--Senior 6'5 PF Julian Taylor, juniors 6'2 SG Pike Tancil, 6'0 G Xavier Vaughn, 6'2 G Bryce Hanson, 6'3 W David Bright & 5'11 soph CG Jay Juan Gould.

Sleeper team:

Higley--6'3 soph PG Chuck Bailey, 6'8 Senior C Jediah Jones, 6'1 senior SG Jayden Ontiveros & 6'0 junior CG Deveraux Roberts.

6'5 Sr CG Bailon Black--Ironwood

6'6 Sr SF Colin Carey--Sunrise Mountain

6'7 Sr PF Moses Demalek--Paradise Valley

6'2 Sr PG Tony Elliott Jr--Desert Mountain

6'5 Sr SF Jamison Kay--Gila Ridge

6'4 Sr SG Max Majerle--Arcadia

5'10 Jr PG Ahamed Mohamed--Apollo

5'8 Sr PG Montez Taylor--Williams Field

6'4 Jr PF Jaylen Wesley--McClintock

6'3 Sr SG JJ White--Ironwood

6'6 Sr PF LeRoy Williams---Williams Field

6'6 Jr SF Ringo Aguek--Ironwood

6'2 Jr SG Cameron Coraggio--Horizon

6'8 Sr C Joseph Davis--Agua Fria

6'4 Sr SF Nicolas Giliberto--Paradise Valley

6'8 So PF Isaac Hymes--Millennium

6'0 Jr PG Jake Lifgren--Centennial

6'1 Jr SG Nikko Pentelute--Gilbert

6'2 So CG Lashy Perez--Apollo

6'3 Jr CG Easton Reagan--Desert Mountain

6'3 So SF Erenzo Scroggins--McClintock

5'11 Sr CG Rashid Smith--Arcadia

6'7 Sr C/PF Derek Sult--Campo Verde

6'2 Jr CG Pike Tancil--Willow Canyon

6'3 Sr SG Nate Williams--Cactus Shadows

6'6 Fr SF Jai Anthoni Bearden--Kellis

6'8 Sr C Joseph Davis--Agua Fria

6'7 Sr PF Moses Demalek--Paradise Valley

6'5 Jr PF William Dubuc--Desert Mountain

6'5 Sr SF Jamison Kay--Gila Ridge

6'7 Jr PF Carson Ledbetter--Casteel

6'10 Sr C Will Menaugh--Catalina Foothills

5'10 Jr PG Ahamed Mohamed--Apollo

5'10 Sr PG Tampa Scott--Gilbert

5'8 Sr PG Montez Taylor--Williams Field

6'6 Sr PF LeRoy Willimas--Williams Field

6'4 Jr PF Jaylen Wesley--McClintock

6'3 Sr SG JJ White--Ironwood

6'3 So PG Chuck Bailey--Higley

6'6 Fr SF Jai Anthoni Bearden--Kellis

5'9 Fr PG Isaiah Bronson--Williams Field

6'8 So PF Isaac Hymes--Millennium

6'4 So SF Carter Gittens--Sunrise Mountain

6'0 So PG Gray Ndagijimana--Agua Fria

6'2 So CG Lashy Perez--Apollo

5'10 Fr PG Gabe Pickens---Millennium

6'3 Fr SG Kendre Pride--Carl Hayden

6'3 So SF Erenzo Scroggins--McClintock

5'9 So CG DJ Williams--Carl Hayden

6'3 So SG Emery Young--Centennial

Region-1 (Central)

1. Willow Canyon

2. North Canyon

3. Independence

4. Glendale

5. Washington

6. West Point

Region-2 (Desert West)

1. Millennium

2. Agua Fria

3. La Joya

4. Canyon View

5. Verrado

6. Lake Havasu

Region-3 (Northwest)

1. Ironwood

2. Centennial

3. Sunrise Mountain

4. Apollo

5. Gila Ridge

6. Kellis

Region-4 (Northeast Valley)

1. Arcadia

2. McClintock

3. Cactus Shadows

4. Desert Mountain

5. Paradise Valley

6. Horizon

Region-5 (Metro)

1. Carl Hayden

2. Camelback

3. Central

4. Sierra Linda

5. Fairfax

6. Metro Tech

Region-6 (San Tan)

1. Gilbert

2. Williams Field

3. Casteel

4. Higley

5. Campo Verde

Region-7 (Sonoran)

1. Catalina Foothills

2. Marana

3. Mountain View Marana

4. Ironwood Ridge

5. Flowing Wells

6. Casa Grande

Region-8 (Southern)

1. Nogales

2. Sunnyside

3. Buena

4. Cienega

5. Desert View

1. Ironwood

2. Centennial

3. Arcadia

4. Sunrise Mountain

5. McClintock

6. Cactus Shadows

7. Desert Mountain

8. Gilbert

9. Paradise Valley

10. Catalina Foothills

11. Williams Field

12. Casteel

13. Millennium

14. Higley

15. Apollo

16. Willow Canyon

17. Gila Ridge

18. Nogales

19. Agua Fria

20. Horizon

21. Carl Hayden

22. Campo Verde

23. La Joya

24. Kellis

1. Marana

2. Canyon View

3. Marana Mountain View

4. Sunnyside

5. Buena

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