2022 Rankings Update: 3-Point Specialist
With the 2019-20 high school basketball season officially over, we finally shift over our focus to our latest update. Prep Hoops has released its latest Colorado class of 2022 rankings update based on the 2019-20 season. The 2022 class is…
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Continue ReadingWith the 2019-20 high school basketball season officially over, we finally shift over our focus to our latest update. Prep Hoops has released its latest Colorado class of 2022 rankings update based on the 2019-20 season. The 2022 class is an interesting one as we had a significant shakeup in the Top-5 as well as plenty of movement throughout the rest of the rankings while adding prospects as well. Here, we focus on some of the classes’
Elijah Knudsen Elijah Knudsen 5'10" | CG Mead | 2022 State CO – Mead
Knudsen is highly regarded as the best shooter in the class – with reason. Knudsen is a hard-working small guard that plays on and off of the ball, and he is a difficult player to defend as he is always moving, shoots off of screens, and finds holes in the defense. Knudsen averaged in double figures and was a pivotal part of a 25-1 team that looked like the favorites to win it all. Knudsen averaged 11.6 points a game while he knocked down 60 3-pointers on the season on 40% shooting. Knudsen was a marksman from deep, but what I enjoyed about his game and what separated him from the pack was never settling. After teams started to realize that slowing him down and doing things like double-teaming and face-guarding him made Mead have to find alternate ways to score, he showed resiliency. He didn’t just get frustrated and keep jacking up bad shots to try and overcome the different defensive looks, but he did other things to contribute. That meant back-dooring for easy layups, quickly swinging the ball or providing spacing with his gravity for others to score as well. Knudsen proved that although he is one of, if not the best shooter in the class, he can still contribute in other ways. He dropped a bit since the last ranking and that is not so much because of anything he did in particular but what the others in the class did. I’ll tell you what, if there is a prospect that will take it as fuel, he is the one. Let’s see how he gets back into the Top-10.
Coby Jiminez – Horizon
Jimenez is a player that I certainly see as a standout in the future and a player to keep an eye on as he does so many things that a coach enjoys. He is an unselfish team player that gives his all in every game, is a skilled guard that has a high IQ, and buys in both offensively and defensively. This season, he did all of the little things for Horizon as he gave a spark off of the bench, fit in seamlessly with the starters, and led by example despite being a young buck. This was a season that he got his feet wet and learned the ropes. There were a few highlight games like when he had four steals against Legacy that brought energy to Horizon or him erupting for a career-high of 19 points against Greeley West. Next year I see Jiminez being more of the offense and showing off his talent. That Horizon team will be something to watch if they stay together.
Will Yebio Will Yebio 6'0" | CG Bishop Machebeuf | 2022 State CO – Bishop Machebeuf
Machebuef was one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the state last season. If you have not gotten out to a Machebeuf game, make sure you do because it is one of the highest paced experiences that you have. Their coach preaches, if there is an open shot, take it – how fun is that!? One of their best scorers this season was an underclassman, Will Yebio Will Yebio 6'0" | CG Bishop Machebeuf | 2022 State CO . Yebio found a groove last season and showed that he could really score the basketball. He averaged 13.5 points a game, and most of that came from beyond the arc. Yebio made 53 3-pointers on the season, and in his 33-point explosion versus Stargate School, he hit seven 3-pointers. Yebio is the No. 51 player in the class and will have to show consistency if he plans on rising.
Ethan Smith – Discovery Canyon
We don’t have him on the list, but we are adding him. Last season he was able to show that he was one of the best shooters in the conference and finished 11th in the sophomore class with 3-pointers made. Smith hit 47 3-pointers on the season on 38% from the field. Smith was one of the team’s go-to scorers and a player that Discovery Canyon relied on as he put up nine points a game. Next season, Smith will have to prove that it was not just a good season but a building block. Discovery Canyon should be a team that has solid pieces; they just have to come together.
Anthony Flint – Durango
He was not only the best and most efficient shooter in the sophomore class, but when you take a look at 3-point percentage throughout the year, he was one of the most deadly shooters from beyond the arc in the entire state. Flint was No.4 in the whole state, regardless of class in field goal percentage, and made sure that teams knew that they would not be able to zone Durango and make sure that you know where the 6’2 shooter was at all times. Flint averaged 10.1 points a game and showed off deadly range. Next season it will be about opening up the rest of his game while also being a sniper. He will surely make the next rankings update as we somehow dropped the ball here.