Wildcats prepare for loaded Leavenworth tournament

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

As they have every year under Washington Wildcats boys basketball head coach Eric King, the Wildcats begin their journey to a state crown in Leavenworth, Kan., this year.

And as it is every year, the tournament appears loaded on paper.

"Leavenworth is always one of the best tournaments," King said. "You can always expect some dogfights. The competition is tough, but I expect us to be the victors."

Joining Washington in the tournament will be the host-school Leavenworth, along with Hogan Prep, Raytown South, Topeka High School, Word of Life, North Kansas City and Wyandotte.

Washington draws Word of Life to open things up and would take on the winner of the Hogan Prep/North Kansas City game in the second round if they were to win.

"This is valuable experience for us," King said. "You get some different styles and different teams from all around Kansas and Missouri. It prepares us for state and league."

KCK Preps Game of the Week: Previewing Wyandotte-Washington

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

For the first time in at least five years, the Wyandotte Bulldogs-Washington Wildcats football game will matter significantly in terms of a league championship.

And KCKPreps.com will be providing a live broadcast of the game. 

For most of the last decade, the Wyandotte Bulldogs football program was near the bottom in terms of success among those programs in the Kansas City metro area.

For the last three years, Washington was even worse than Wyandotte.

Wyandotte enters Friday night 4-1 overall and coming off a huge victory against the Schlagle Stallions last Friday. Washington, meanwhile, is on a bit of magic carpet ride after an 0-2 start.

Sandwiched around an easy victory against Harmon, the Wildcats have upset Atchison and Sumner Academy two of the last three weeks - improving their overall record to 3-2.

The Wildcats enter with a three-game winning streak and the winner of the game will leave Washington High School with at least a share of the lead in the Kansas City Kansas - Atchison League.

Blue Dogs sweep tournament, win two titles

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

For the fifth and sixth times during 2012, the Kansas City Blue Dogs can say they are champions.

The Blue Dogs eighth and ninth grade teams won the Sunflower Classic last weekend held at Shawnee Mission North and Shawnee Mission West.

The eighth-graders were led by the Zach-and-Zach combination, along with JaMarkus Dawn. Zach Cahill is an explosive guard who makes big things happen, while Missouri big man Zach Burch dominated down low in the paint.

Burch, a native of Buckner, Mo., averaged 27 points during the tournament and dominated inside the paint. Cahill provided some great defense last weekend for the Blue Dogs.

"He's a beast," said head coach Derrick Estelle. "His game is very polished for an eighth-grader."

Guard Jordan Young and JaMarkus Dawn also provided some great contribution in the victory for the eighth graders.

Later on during the day on Sunday, the ninth graders claimed their second tournament championship of the season.

The ninth-grade team features local products Kendall Dale, Kalem Harrison and James McNeal. Dale is a great leader at the point guard position and can make things happen.

Harrison is one of the great all around athletes in KCK and can easily dunk despite being just a shade over 6'1.

McNeal is a dangerous scorer who can penetrate inside and drill long-range shots from the arc.

In the championship game for the ninth-graders, it was McNeal who had a 40-point game, whic led the way for the Blue Dogs.

"He's a great pure scorer," Estelle said.

The two titles push the program's all-time title amount to 108 since it began. The Blue Dogs have won six titles alone in 2012.

It's title number four for the eight-grade team, while it's the second for the ninth-graders.

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Disclosure: I'm a volunteer assistant coach for the program.

Blue Dogs win 105th, 106th titles over the weekend

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

The Kansas City Blue Dogs AAU basketball program won their 105th title all-time as a program this weekend.

Hours later, the program won title 106.

The Blue Dogs 8th Grade team prevailed in a local tournament sponsored by ADIDAS, while the 9th Grade team in the program conquered the Bears of Tomorrow tournament at William Chrisman High School on Sunday.

Point-guard play by Kendall Dale was one of the reasons why the Blue Dog ninth-graders won the title, according to head coach Derrick Estelle. Estelle also said the play of Kalem Harrison, James McNeal and William Jefferson was critical to the victory.

"Those guys helped us set the tone for the game," Estelle said. "James hit three straight three-point shots when we were down 12. William Jefferson's rebounding came alive in overtime."

During the ninth-grade game, Harrison displayed tremendous athleticism on the boards and defense, while also earning a dunk in the game.

It was the first title for the ninth-grade team in the program. Meanwhile, the beat goes on for the eighth grade team.

In two separate tournaments last weekend, they went 7-1 and claimed one championship.

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