The rest of this month is, to use a golf term, “moving day” for area basketball teams.

Approximately two weeks of games are left before the seedings meetings occur. Classes 2A-4A are Feb. 1 and 6A-5A Feb. 4. That gives teams a handful of games, as little as two and as many as seven, to put themselves in a position for a district or regional host spot.

Below is an assessment of what’s been seen so far.



As good as advertised

Fort Gibson girls – The area’s preseason No. 1, defending Class 4A champion and preseason 4A No. 1 has had shooting woes and are still 11-1 with its only loss coming in the Tournament of Champions to Tulsa Washington.  Others should have this much trouble.

With a slowly improving inside game among its freshmen core, any shooting improvement like it had in a 52-point rout of Hilldale just makes this team plumb scary.

Oktaha girls – Chester Pittman’s team’s balanced offense and depth has them No. 2 in 2A and a great bet to atone for missing last year’s state tournament with back-to-back area finals losses.  Plus they’ve proven themselves of late against the likes of 3A No. 13 Sequoyah and No. 8 Henryetta.



Better than advertised

Sequoyah boys – Yeah, they’re Sequoyah but at 9-4 against its juggernaut of a schedule they’re finding themselves deeper than perhaps anticipated. With three starters out most or all of Saturday’s game against 5A No. 9 Stilwell, they found a way to win their sixth in a row since a 19-point loss at then No. 2 Victory Christian. Stilwell beat Sequoyah by 13 in the Indians’ opener.

Oktaha boys – Last year’s regional elimination was apparently an aberration and not the start of a bad trend for the Tigers, who at 11-2 won the Bedouin Shrine Classic when the popular theory was that the winner would come from defending champion Spiro or the top two teams in the Phoenix’s area preseason poll, Porter and Haskell.  They were upset by Henryetta coming off the tournament but appear to be solid. Great offensive balance and the return of Daniel Hayes off a year-long injury have the Tigers poised for a return to the state tournament. One concern is last week’s ankle injury to another starter, Dustin Leach, which may be long-term.

Fort Gibson boys – They were hit by graduation but the Tigers are again generating the inside-outside game in Steven Lanham and 6-foot-5 Thomas Keith that has given them the success in recent years.  Coach Gary Hendrix has been encouraged by the work ethic. “Some teams that have had a winning tradition have players that take that for granted,” he said after Saturday’s 23-point win at Hilldale. “These kids haven’t done that.”

Eufaula girls – The transfer from Checotah, Alyssa Banks, has helped the Lady Ironheads to a 9-3 start, including a win over 3A No. 3 Morris. Right now, the team is on the edge of the 3A top 10 at No. 11, and the stock is rising.



Disappointing

Muskogee girls – Winning the Bedouin Shrine Classic has become easy. Carrying that momentum into the Frontier Conference has not. Second-half collapses have happened in back-to-back games against Bixby and Union. Those are either mental or a failure to adjust to an opponent’s adjustments. While the run of top 6A foes will come at home in the stretch to the postseason, regional host seeds will have been set by then, thus putting Muskogee’s chances of hosting one in a bind. This is too athletic a team with two of the area’s best players (Kelsey McClure and Alexus Wilson) and a rapidly improving third one (Coco Epps) to not go several rounds deep in the playoffs rather than have an eighth consecutive first-round exit.

Haskell and Porter boys – For their classifications (3A, 2A) and definitely loaded with talent, both went a disappointing 1-2 in the Shrine Classic. Haskell, No. 10 in 3A, then lost by a whopping 31 at home to No. 15 Kellyville;  Porter, No. 12 in 2A, by 18 to Oktaha. Both have slipped behind Sequoyah in 3A and Oktaha in 2A as the teams to beat in the area. Porter also got beat by Gore in the Greenleaf Invitational.



Keep an eye on:

Sequoyah girls – Bill Nobles’ group is young but is showing signs of jelling, taking Oktaha to the wire in the Shrine finals.  It may be next year’s team that brings the program to another peak, but keep an eye on them down the stretch.

Gore boys – 10-2 and a win over Porter, but these Pirates lost to an inconsistent Vian team last week.

Tahlequah boys – Strong guard play makes this team, 8-4 at this point, a darkhorse.

Tahlequah girls – Win over top 10 Bishop Kelley was impressive and if not for a first-round stumble against McAlester in the Shrine Classic, the Lady Tigers might have won the thing.  Very athletic and disciplined.  A key matchup comes Jan. 28 at home against Fort Gibson, one day after a rematch at home with Bishop Kelley.