CLASS 5A: Juniors who Impressed

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">The opening round of the Kansas 5A state championships opened on Wednesday with quarterfinal play at Emporia State University in Emporia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Andover (1) defeated Blue Valley Southwest (8) 60-59; Wichita Kapaun Mt Carmel (5) got past DeSoto (4) 49-42; Basehor-Linwood (2) defeated Andover Central (7) 76-72; and Hays (3) held off Topeka Highland Park (6) 46-43.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">The Kansas High School Activities Association announced on Thursday the remaining state tournament games will not be played.</span></p> <p><b>15 — Nathan Barnhart, 7'0, F, 2021, DeSoto</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">A big man with an emerging skill set, Barnhart brings activity and the ability to protect the basket at the defensive end of the court and step away from the basket and spread the court at the offensive end of the floor. He has an emerging skill set, is able to knock down 3-pointers and score around the basket. But Barnhart is largely at his best at the defensive end of the floor where he is terrific at blocking shots and protecting the basket. He didn't put up big scoring numbers in the quarterfinal round, but had seven rebounds and five blocked shots.</span></p> <p><b>5 — [player_tooltip player_id="889490" first="Kaleb" last="Gaddis"], 6'0, G, 2021, Andover</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaddis has been a fixture on the summer circuit running with NLHA and has earned his stripes on the varsity in recent years as well. He is a crafty ball handler who brings a high basketball IQ to the floor. He is strong with the ball, and can lead an offense, setting up teammates and finding the open man. He scored six points for Andover in a hard fought quarterfinal win over Blue Valley Southwest.</span></p> <p><b>1 — Tiger Jones, 5'11, G, 2021, Kapaun Mt Carmel</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Jones brings energy, hustle and a hard work attitude to the court for his team. He is a skilled guard who can handle the ball, plays solid defense and plays solid defense, pressuring the ball and creating turnovers. He has the ability to knock down outside shots and help his team spread the floor and also gets to the free throw line as well.</span></p> <p><b>13 — [player_tooltip player_id="891926" first="Isaiah" last="Maikori"], 6'1, G, 2021, Andover</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Maikori is an athletic wing player who excels at the defensive end of the court using good length, quickness and anticipation to his advantage. He handles the ball well, gets to the basket and is a strong transition player who can finish or create easy opportunities for others. Maikori scored 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the field and added four rebounds and three steals.</span></p> <p><b>2 — Cory Powell, 6'7, F, 2021, Highland Park</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Powell has terrific size for an inside-out wing. He uses his size well in the paint, can score around the basket and rebounds well. But at the offensive end of the court, he is most comfortable on the perimeter where he is shooting from the arc, handling the ball or making smart, on time passes to open teammates. He scored 14 points, hauled in five boards went 4-for-11 from the field and 3-for-7 from 3-point range.</span></p>