Who’s the best? Tulsa World says KHS
Newspaper tab Yellowjackets as top basketball team in Oklahoma
Who has the best team in all the land?
It’s an annual debate that’s rarely settled unless one team is clearly head and shoulders above everyone else.
The 2021 basketball season was no exception. Proof?
The Class 6A champ lost to the Class 4A runner-up.
The 6A runner-up beat the 4A champion.
Class 5A’s king got beat on its home floor by the eventual 4A champ. It also lost to - and beat - the 4A runner-up.
There are 100 different scenarios and arguments to try to name the best team in the state regardless of classification.
The Tulsa World annually does its best to answer - or at least fuel the debate - on exactly what team sits above the rest.
This year, the World’s staff says that team is Kingfisher.
The Yellowjackets sit at No. 1 in the newspaper’s end-of-season rankings for all classifications after running up a 25-1 record and winning the Class 4A championship.
Heritage Hall - the team KHS beat for the 4A crown - was ranked second.
Del City, which beat Edmond Memorial for the Class 6A championship, was ranked third.
Carl Albert took home the fourth spot after winning Class 5A and Edmond Memorial was fifth.
The Jackets went 3-1 against other teams ranked by the World.
They beat No. 2 Heritage Hall, No. 4 Carl Albert and No. 9 Edmond North.
They suffered their only loss to No. 5 Edmond Memorial.
This was the third straight year Kingfisher was among the top-five teams, according to the World.
Kingfisher was ranked No. 3 in 2019 after winning Class 4A and was No. 5 last year after qualifying for state, which was never played.
The Jackets were the highest-ranked 4A team each of those seasons.
Tulsa World’s Top 12 Boys Teams of 2020-21
1. Kingfisher - Class 4A champion. Went 3-1 against other teams on the list.
2. Heritage Hall - Class 4A runner-up.
3. Del City - Class 6A champ.
4. Carl Albert - Class 5A champ.
5. Edmond Memorial - Class 6A runner-up. Handed Kingfisher its only loss.
6. Lawton MacArthur - Class 5A runner-up. 7. Tulsa Memorial - Class 5A quarterfinals. 8. Putnam City North - Class 6A semifinals.
9. Edmond North - Class 6A semifinals.
10. Norman North - Class 6A quarterfinals. 11. Crossings Christian - Class 3A champ.
12. Oklahoma Union - Class 2A champ.