Check out the teams and players to watch during the Whataburger Orange tournament

For the past six decades, the Whataburger tournament has been one of the premier holiday basketball tournaments in the state.

Returning to the Thomas Coliseum in North Richland Hills, the Whataburger tourney enters its 60th year and looks just as competitive as ever.

Among the 16 teams in the Boys Orange Bracket, 14 are state-ranked, including last season’s champion, Class 6A No. 1 Denton Guyer (18-0) and Arkansas’ Class 5A No. 3 team Little Rock Parkview Patriots.

Class 3A No. 2 Brock and 4A No. 25 Kennedale are in the Boys Blue bracket.

This year’s orange tournament starts at 10 a.m. Thursday and finishes 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Teams to Watch

Denton Guyer (19-0): The Wildcats defeated Garland Lakeview Centennial 75-73 in last year’s championship game. Guyer is averaging 84 points per game.

Waxahachie (11-3): The Indians are No. 1 in Class 5A — their only losses came against Guyer, 6A No. 6 South Garland and an undefeated team from Chicago.

Mansfield Timberview (12-3): The defending 5A state champs are ranked No. 2.

Justin Northwest (13-3): The Texans are No. 3 in Class 5A. Northwest was a state semifinalist in 2016.

North Crowley (15-2): The Panthers, No. 13 in 6A, have won 23 games at the Whataburger tournament since 2007.

Birdville (15-1): The Hawks, No. 8 in 5A, are outscoring opponents by 26 points per game.

Parkview (6-2): Home to former NBA champion Derek Fisher, the Patriots have won 12 state titles from 1977-2012.

Other state-ranked teams: Class 6A San Antonio Wagner (4), DeKaney (5), South Garland (6), Houston Sam Houston (8), Katy Tompkins (9), DeSoto (11), South Grand Prairie (20).

Players to Watch　　

Avery Anderson, Jr., Northwest: Offers from LSU, SMU, TCU, A&M, Oklahoma State.

Jamal Bieniemy, Sr., Tompkins: Committed to Oklahoma.

Grayson Carter, Sr., Guyer: Committed to Georgetown.

Daraun Clark, Sr., Wagner: Committed to Colorado College.

Kendric Davis, Sr., Sam Houston: Committed to TCU.

Devion Harmon, Jr., Guyer: Committed to Oklahoma.

Ethan Henderson, Sr., Parkview: Committed to Arkansas.

Mason Hix, Sr., Northwest: Committed to UT-Arlington.

Feron Hunt, Sr., DeSoto: Committed to TCU.

Isaac Likekele, Sr., Timberview: Committed to Fresno State.

Chris Mullins, Sr., Timberview: Committed to Rice.

DJ Peavy, Sr., DeKaney: Committed to Mercer.

Grant Sherfield, Jr., North Crowley: Committed to UCLA.

Kristian Sjolund, Sr., Tompkins: Committed to Georgia Tech.

Noah Wheeless, Sr., Birdville: Committed to Texas Wesleyan.

Larry Wise, Sr., Waxahachie: Committed to Drake.

Jalen Wilson, Jr., Guyer: Offers from Kansas, Baylor, LSU, Oklahoma, A&M and more.

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Check out the teams and players to watch during the Whataburger Orange tournament."