Oklahoma high school basketball: McGuinness Classic bracket, players to watch
The atmosphere was drastically different for Edmond Santa Fe around this time a year ago.
Troy Lallemand's Wolves were destined to pick up where they left off following a state tournament bid in 2022. However, the start of its 2022-23 campaign began bumpy, losing six of its seven games heading into the McGuinness Classic.
Despite picking up their play midway through January, it was evident that their start to the season derailed them from the beginning.
"I don't think anyone was proud of how we jumpstarted our season a year ago," Lallemand said. "Us going 1-7 in December fueled our entire offseason and preseason heading into this year. We knew we had to change our approach."
With 2024 underway, it appears Edmond Santa Fe's New Year's Resolution came early.
The Wolves have been on a tear in Lallemand's fifth year under the helm, entering the 64th Annual McGuinness Classic with a District 6A-2 best 7-1 record. They garnished momentum after going 2-1 in last year's tournament, winning seven of their next eight contests in January.
Lallemand believes the annual tournament brings the best out of the team due to the competition level amongst the field.
"The energy from this tournament is riveting in a way," Lallemand said. "It's such a fun experience for the players and me as a coach, too."
"Then when you add in the new element of the districts being in play now, there will be district matchups that'll happen this weekend that will create a somewhat playoff environment too. Tournaments like these are what this is what it's all about."
The Wolves will start play with a matchup against tournament host Bishop McGuinness at 6 p.m. Thursday. Eight teams will battle for the first-place trophy as reigning champion Deer Creek looks defend it's tournament win a year ago.
Here are more storylines and players to watch:
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Deer Creek clicking on all cylinders to start season
Mike Donnelly is confident his player's belief in one another is sky-high.
The Antlers' eighth-year coach instilled that trust in his players after last year's McGuinness tournament win over Choctaw, which helped them to win 14 of their final 17 regular season games.
"We have just a terrific veteran group of guys that play for each other every night," Donnelly said. "They've been together for a while now, but the luxury about these guys is that they do as much on the defensive side of things as they do on the offensive side.
Deer Creek enters the McGuinness Classic with a record of 6-2 while sitting fourth in the District 6A-1 standings. The Antlers have outscored opponents by an average of 17 points in their first six wins behind solid efforts from its electric backcourt of Hudson Linsenmeyer and Clyde Davis.
As a senior, Lisenmeyer is currently averaging 13 points while shooting above 40% from beyond the arc and leads the Antlers in steals and deflections.
"Our defense has been the key for us lately," Donnelly said. "Our consistent effort has been the focal point over winter break so that when the ball goes up tomorrow night, we'll be prepared to play three complete games and value each possession on both sides of the ball."
Deer Creek will open their McGuinness tournament journey against Casady at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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5 players to watch
Bryson Buckingham, Sr., Casady: Buckingham has had a strong start to his senior campaign, recently scoring 28 points and grabbing 17 rebounds for the Cyclones in the CCS Tournament.
Trashaun Combs-Pierce, Sr., Norman: The 6-foot-7 wing is considered one of the best players in the metro area and led the Tigers to its first Joe Lawson Tournament championship at Norman North a few weeks ago.
Clyde Davis, Jr., Deer Creek: Davis is currently averaging 16 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Antlers as they've began the season 6-2.
Nik Rhodes, Sr., Edmond Santa Fe: The 6-foot guard leads Edmond Santa Fe in points, assists and shooting while serving as the primary playmaker for the 7-1 Wolves.
Ja’Mon Valentine, Sr., Choctaw: Valentine enters the tournament playing some of his best basketball since being name to The Oklahoman's 2023 Big All-City third team a year ago. The 6-foot-2 guard has led Choctaw to a 5-1 start and recently eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark for the Yellowjackets.
Bishop McGuinness Classic bracket
Thursday
Choctaw vs. Del City, 2 p.m.
Norman vs. Edmond Memorial, 3:30 p.m.
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Bishop McGuinness, 6:00 p.m.
Casady vs. Deer Creek, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Deer Creek-Casady loser vs. Norman-Edmond Memorial loser, 2 p.m.
Choctaw-Del City loser vs. Edmond Santa Fe-McGuinness loser, 3:30 p.m.
Deer Creek-Casady winner vs. Norman-Edmond Memorial winner, 6 p.m.
Choctaw-Del City winner vs. Edmond Santa Fe-McGuinness winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Seventh-place game, 2 p.m.
Fifth-place game, 3:30 p.m.
Third-place game, 6 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: McGuinness Classic boys & girls basketball brackets, players to watch
