Blue and Gold Tournament 2023: 5 things we learned from this year's holiday classic

The 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament is over and it gave us a memorable four-day stretch. We also learned plenty about our local teams heading into the next two months of the regular season.

Top teams emerged and young players made names for themselves throughout an entertaining week. Here's what we learned from our hours and hours spent at Great Southern Bank Arena this week.

Central cemented itself as the team to beat in the area

When your average winning margin turns out to be 36.5 points in a four-game championship run, you have established yourself as the team to beat in the Ozarks.

Central will carry that target on its back heading into the remainder of the year. The Bulldogs proved themselves to be the most overwhelming team in southwest Missouri after one of the most dominant four-day stretches we've seen.

More: Central wins first Blue and Gold title in 40 years after Gold Division win over Glendale

Add on to that, Central already has a one-point victory over Nixa, the Blue Division champion, this season. That easily puts the Bulldogs a slot above the Eagles if you were to power-rank teams in the area. You may be able to slot it as the current favorite to win the Class 6, District 5 postseason tournament.

The biggest caveat is that Central has yet to play Kickapoo when the Chiefs remain one of the elite teams in the Ozarks. The Chiefs' lone loss came to Blue Valley Northwest out of Kansas and they have a two-point win over Nixa. The Chiefs, unfortunately, weren't a part of this year's Blue and Gold Tournament.

Write down the Jan. 30 date between Central and Kickapoo at The Pit as maybe the biggest game of the regular season. You can never count out Kickapoo from being the top team even when Central looks as great as it is.

Wow, wow, wow that Class 6, District 5 race is going to be amazing

When four teams out of one district all make the Blue and Gold championship games, you know we're going to be in for a show come postseason time.

The four championship finalists were all out of the Class 6, District 5 field. That's not the biggest surprise considering they're the biggest schools in the area but it further hammered the point that there are quite a few teams capable of winning the district and making a deep postseason run.

And the four didn't even include Kickapoo when it wasn't a part of this year's field.

More: Nixa repeats as Blue and Gold champions with Blue Division victory over Republic

We've known since the districts were announced that there was potential in this field. Central, Kickapoo, Nixa, Republic and Glendale all have had spurts where it's looked like any of the teams can win it. Ozark will likely turn into a scary team late in the year as it usually does.

There are going to be a few teams in this group that are going to have great regular seasons and lose a first-round matchup.

The Blue and Gold Tournament is made worse by not having the other Springfield Public Schools programs

Year after year, the Blue and Gold Tournament is special. The tradition behind the event and the play on the court keeps fans coming out year after year.

One of the great parts of the tournament is that it helps us crown who the best team in the Springfield area is. The tournament may have done that this year but it also might not have.

The rotation of Springfield Public Schools led to the exclusion of Kickapoo, Parkview and Hillcrest this year. The Chiefs and Vikings are two of the best teams in the area who were both capable of winning either bracket. Hillcrest had some turnover from a state quarterfinal appearance last year and hasn't taken many steps back.

More: News-Leader 2023 Blue and Gold All-Tournament Teams, MVPs, Breakout Performer

The biggest argument against bringing in a few more big schools would be the possibility of losing some of the tournament's charm. Would Sparta have made a run to the championship game last year or made the semifinals this year if it had to play Kickapoo?

But we've seen small teams make special championship runs before. Hartville didn't mind beating Nixa or Logan-Rogersville in 2019 or 2020. Pleasant Hope's run in 1990 is still talked about to this day and it had to beat tough teams to get there.

Allowing the SPS teams it wants in the tournament would raise the level of play and open the door for better games on an annual basis. There are too many teams who show up to get blown out and sent on their way every year. Getting teams who deserve to be on one of the Ozarks' biggest stages would make for a better four days.

The high-level young talent in the area is ridiculous

This year's Blue and Gold served as a showcase for (most) of the best teams in the area and it offered a glimpse into the future. So many freshmen and sophomores are already proving to be among the elite players in the area.

Glendale sophomore Amare Witham has already established himself as one of the best players in Springfield. He could easily be touted as the best sophomore prospect the area's had since Aminu Mohammed first arrived at Greenwood.

More: Glendale's Amare Witham has the 'it factor' and looks like the city's next great prospect

You can also add the likes of sophomores like Catholic's Ryder Rowden, Republic's Ryder Tan, Willard's Nahmy Kelley and Willow Spring's Kolby James as those to keep an eye on. Kickapoo's Reese Kimrey and Rolla's Ethan Brown can't be forgotten as potential superstars in the 2026 class.

There's also a batch of freshmen who are starting to show that they're the next area stars as well. Logan-Rogersville's Chase Branham is as impressive of a freshman prospect as the area's seen in years while Nixa's Adam McKnight and Ozark's Kylan Pickren look to be top-tier players as well.

The present and future of the Ozarks basketball is extremely bright.

More: Why Logan-Rogersville freshman Chase Branham has chance to be special in his coach's eyes

Willard should contend for a district title

The growth of the Willard basketball program was very evident over its four days en route to a Blue Division third-place finish. Along the way, the Tigers beat Hartville and Fair Grove.

The Tigers won the games impressively. They have one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the area and you're seeing great ball movement and effort defensively.

Willard has a group that went 9-18 last year in its first year under J.J. Adamson and was 14-13 the year before. The Tigers are already at 9-3 this season and looking like a team that's going to continue to improve as the year goes on.

This could be a team that contends for the Class 5, District 6 championship. Rolla, Parkview and Hillcrest were the ones you probably would have circled as being the favorites heading into the year but Willard has rightfully claimed a spot at the table — along with maybe Branson which made a run to a Blue and Gold semifinal.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Blue and Gold Tournament 2023: What we learned from the tournament