Top Storylines of 2022 HS Basketball Season

Nars Martinez

January 3, 2022 @ 12:31 PM

With the turn of the new year there are multiple storylines that are worth following as the high school season develops. Can anyone knock off Garfield? Will we see a regular state tournament? Who will be Gatorade Player of the Year? <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Can Anyone Knock Off Garfield?</strong></span></h4> The Garfield Lady Bulldogs have started out the season 6-0 with several wins by 40+ points and event a 100+ point win. Some programs have even gone as far as forfeiting games against Garfield. The 3A Metro League is down to say the least and 3A around Washington is down for a typical year as well with the majority of talent competing in the 4A or other classifications. Garfield is loaded with players like [player_tooltip player_id="279612" first="Katie" last="Fiso"], [player_tooltip player_id="115413" first="Malia" last="Samuels"] and [player_tooltip player_id="144532" first="Jada" last="Walters"] and they have shown no signs of slowing down. Who will be their most difficult opponent? Some people around the state believe it is Mead out of Spokane, but we still have a lot of basketball to be played to really see who is who. <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Will we see a regular state tournament?</strong></span></h4> Unfortunately, Covid is still looming and the season has been impacted. Game cancellations, stricter testing guidelines and postponed games have all been regular headlines in the media. The WIAA was unable to have a state tournament in 2021 due to statewide restrictions and guidelines. Some are starting to question whether we will be able to have a state tournament and operate under somewhat regular conditions or at all for that matter. As with anything, we will have to take things day by day and hope for the best for these hard working student-athletes. <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Who will be Gatorade Player of the Year?</strong></span></h4> Past winners have included Hailey Van Lith (2x), Brittany McPhee (3x), Lexi Hull (2x) and many more players who completely dominated the high school game for many years. As of today in 2022, there is no clear front-runner for Gatorade Player of the Year. While there are several potentials, who will set themselves apart with dominant statistics and leading their team deep into the state tournament? This is a big storyline to follow and it will be interesting to see who in eventually chosen. <h4></h4>