Flying Under the Radar (Part 2)
Part two of this series will look more into the 2021 class and some players who are off to a hot start to the year. Some of these players are currently in our rankings, and a couple are not. Be…
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Continue ReadingPart two of this series will look more into the 2021 class and some players who are off to a hot start to the year. Some of these players are currently in our rankings, and a couple are not. Be on the lookout for these players to end their junior year strong and to make a big impact come their senior season.
Griffin Lauritano – Evergreen (2021)
Griffin, the 6’4 junior has helped lead Evergreen to a 6-3 start to the season so far. He is currently averaging: 18.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, scoring double-figures in all their games to start the year. His season high of 29 came in a win against D’Evelyn last week, he also posted his second double-double of the year in that game, grabbing 13 boards as well. He was great defensively in that game as well, blocking five shots and creating four steals. He is shooting fifty-two percent from inside the three-point arc, but will also stretch the floor every so often knocking down the long range shot. He is a player that gets it done on both ends of the court for Evergreen, it will be fun to watch his game grow.
Tristan Smith – Elizabeth (2021)
Tristan is having a strong junior season so far, averaging: 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.6 SPG for Elizabeth as they are off to a 5-4 start to the year. He has scored twenty or more points in four of the nine games, as well as double-figures in eight of the nine to begin the season. At 6’2, he is a guard that is able to score from all three levels on the court, he is shooting fifty-one percent from inside the three-point arc. He has not shot the ball well from deep to start the year but that hasn’t stopped him, he’s currently (17/61) for twenty-eight percent. His season high of 29 came against a tough loss to a good Thomas Jefferson team, in that game he went three of six from deep and twelve of fifteen from the charity strip.
Nate Gravagno – Englewood (2021)
Englewood is off to a hot 7-0 start with a young roster. They only have one senior, the rest includes four sophomores and the remaining juniors. Nate leads the team in scoring with 17.1 PPG, he is also adding 4.4 RPG, 2.7 SPG for them on a nightly basis. He has scored double-figures in all seven games, with 23 being his season high so far. He is a stat stuffing guard, doing a little bit of everything to help his team win, he rebounds the ball well and is a good defender. He is shooting thirty-nine percent from long range on the year (16/41) and sixty-five percent from inside the arc.
Michael Bennett – Lakewood (2021)
Lakewood is off to a 5-4 start to the year, and they are led by junior guard Michael who is averaging: 16.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.6 APG on the year. He is shooting the ball at eighty-five percent (39/46) from the foul-line on the year, as well as forty-six percent from inside the three-point arc. He is a player that can hit the long shot, shooting (9/31) for twenty-nine percent. His impact on the games goes beyond scoring, he is a great passer and rebounder, and he works hard on the defensive side of the ball as well. He had a double-double in a loss against Arapahoe earlier in the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds. His best performance of the year was against Hinkley when he scored 22 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out nine assists.
Isaiah Thompson – Fountain-Fort Carson (2021)
Isaiah has good size at 6’5, he is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 PPG and he leads the team in rebounding at 12.2 RPG. He has posted double-doubles in nine of their thirteen games to start the season. He does majority of his damage from inside the paint, shooting sixty percent (75/126), he is a great offensive rebounder which leads to many put backs for him. He posted a 28 point, 20 rebound effort early in the year in a loss against Widefield.
Schafer Reichart – Doherty – (2021)
After a health scare last year, Schafer is off to a very solid junior season, he is leading the team in points at: 14.1 PPG and he is also grabbing 3.6 RPG. He has scored double figures in all ten games so far, with a season high of 22. He has made a three in every game so far, shooting thirty-eight percent from deep (23/60). He is also shooting eighty-five percent from the charity strip. He does a little bit of everything on a nightly basis for Doherty, stuffing the stat sheet with, rebounds, assists, and steals. It has been fun to watch Schafer bounce back from a very scary situation last year. It will be fun to see how he continues his strong play going forward.