Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

NCAA All-State Tournament West Region

LWOS’ NCAA All-State Tournament continues with the West Region. As a reminder, the entire college basketball landscape was analyzed and a 32 team bracket was constructed based on players’ hometowns.

NCAA All-State Tournament West Region

Round 1

#1 Minnesota (Overall 4)

Starters: Tre Jones, McKinley Wright IV, Tyrell Terry, Zeke Nnaji, Daniel Oturu
Bench: Brad Davison, Sacar Anim, Steffon Mitchell, Nate Reuvers, Freddie Gillespie

The fourth and final number one seed is Minnesota. This group might surprise people but it is very talented. Jones and Wright make a great backcourt. Nnaji and Oturu are one of the best frontcourts in the tournament. The interesting thing about this team is that most players played together in high school and the AAU circuit so the team chemistry will be through the roof. 

#8 Midwest- comprised of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota (Overall 29)

Starters: Mitchell Ballock, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Cody Riley, Kristian Doolittle, Lindy Waters
Bench: Brady Manek, Tyler Hagedorn, Spencer Jones, Justin Bean, Marcus Weathers

This midwest group is rough. Robinson-Earl is really good, but the rest of the team is average. Ballack, Waters, and Manek will need to shoot 75 percent from three to compete here. 

Minnesota runs away with this one. They advance to the next round without difficulty.

#4 New Jersey/Delaware (Overall 13)

Starters: Myles Powell, Breein Tyree, TJ Gibbs, Cyril Langevine, Naji Marshall
Bench: Bryce Aiken, Scottie Lewis, Jagan Mosely, Nate Pierre-Louis, Ron Harper Jr.,

This team is led by First Team All-American Myles Powell. There are good guards here and almost no bigs. Langevine is a strong, physical big, but he is undersized. They should be able to score well, but they will have some potential difficulties against big teams. Their guards are also specifically small.

#5 Illinois (Overall 20)
Starters: Ayo Dosunmu, Cameron Krutwig, Trevion Williams, Luwane Pipkins, Isaiah Moss
Bench: EJ Liddell, Charlie Moore, Justin Smith, Jordan Goodwin, Nick Rakocevic

Illinois has some under the radar guys that are quite talented. Dosunmu, Krutwig, and Liddell should lead this team. They have a lot of guys that can handle the ball and make plays for others.

New Jersey/Delaware advances here. The guards are just a little bit too strong for Illinois. The bigs of Illinois are not the dominant paint type, so New Jersey can survive. 

#3 North Carolina (Overall 12)

Starters: Devon Dotson, Caleb Homesley, Nate Hinton, Ty-Shon Alexander, Jay Huff
Bench: Aaron Wiggins, Wendell Moore, Brandon Childress, Braxton Key, Patrick Williams

North Carolina is a strong, guard-heavy team. Dotson, Homesley, and Alexander form a solid guard combination. The concern for this group is the frontcourt. The only true big is Huff, with Williams, Hinton, and Key filling an undersized four position. 

#6 Southern Europe (Overall 21)

Starters: Filip Petrusev, Neemias Queta, Nico Mannion, Omer Yurtseven, Davide Moretti
Bench: Thomas Woldetensae, Nik Popovic, Alihan Demir, Balsa Koprivica, Ivan Aurrecoechea

This group has a great starting lineup. Petrusev, Queta, and Yurtseven are superbly talented. Mannion and Moretti add a great Italian flare to the backcourt and some much-needed shooting. The bench is relatively weak which dropped Southern Europe to the 21st spot. 

North Carolina squeaks this one out. While the bigs of Southern Europe will control the paint offensively, they are not great defenders. The matchups for North Carolina are favorable with their small-ball team destroying Southern Europe off the bounce. 

#2 South Carolina/Alabama/Mississippi (Overall 5)

Starters: Kira Lewis, Garrison Brooks, Aaron Nesmith, Trey McGowens, Trendon Watford
Bench: Austin Wiley, Tevin Brown, Tevin Mack, John Petty, DJ Jeffries

South Carolina is one of the stronger teams. This group would have had Zion Williamson and Ja Morant last season, but still comes up strong this year. Lewis and Nesmith are professional guards. Watford adds an interesting point forward aspect and Brooks is a dominant post player. The bench is full of athletes.

#7 Kentucky/West Virginia (Overall 28)

Starters: David Johnson, Dwayne Sutton, Quentin Goodin, James Bolden, Terry Taylor
Bench: Carson Williams, Mason Faulkner, Isaiah Tisdale, Adam Kunkel, Braxton Beverly

The Kentucky/West Virginia group is weak. They have a decent backcourt, but they do not have much size. There is just no way for this group to beat the loaded South Carolina group.

Round 2

#1 Minnesota vs #4 New Jersey/Delaware

Minnesota is too big for New Jersey. The guards can play to a draw but Minnesota will still run away with it. Nnaji and Oturu have a field day as potential first-round picks. 

#2 South Carolina/Alabama/Mississippi vs #3 North Carolina

The down south group is loaded. North Carolina had its hands full surviving the first-round matchup, but they can’t survive this one. Lewis and Nesmith roll forward to the Elite 8. 

Round 3

#1 Minnesota vs #2 South Carolina/Alabama/Mississippi

This might be the game of the tournament. The guard matchups here are incredible. Brooks will have his hands full with Nnaji and Oturu. The size of Minnesota makes the difference and they move on to the Final Four of the NCAA All-State Tournament.

Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images

Share:

More Posts

Send Us A Message