Recruiting Report: Gunner Rigsby (2017)
With a name like Gunner, it’s really know surprise he ended up becoming a talented basketball player. “My dad played for Western State, so he had to name me something cool,” said Gunner Rigsby, a 5-foot-11 rising senior at Fruita Monument,…
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Continue ReadingWith a name like Gunner, it’s really know surprise he ended up becoming a talented basketball player.
“My dad played for Western State, so he had to name me something cool,” said Gunner Rigsby, a 5-foot-11 rising senior at Fruita Monument, one of the state’s best-kept secrets from the Western Slope.
Rigsby often does live up to his first name, a shooter with long range who has the ability to punish a defender who dives under a screen with a quick release from behind the arc. But Rigsby’s bread and butter is his ability to get to the basket.
“I try to get to the hole as often as I can,” Rigsby said. “I’m more of a slasher than I would be a set shooter. I really try to focus on my defense, too. I like to get turnovers and run in transition. If we’re in a set offense, I like to attack the hole and dish.”
We saw Rigsby, who averaged 19.0 points and 3.8 assists per game as a junior, put his attacking talent on display during last season’s Class 3A quarterfinals, when he was playing for Grand Valley in Parachute. Though he suffered an injury in the second half that pulled him out of the close game, he had kept Grand Valley in it against Lutheran by continually getting to the basket, thriving in transition and finishing through contact at the rim.
Rigsby’s talents have garnered him some small-college attention. The University of Jamestown, an NAIA school in North Dakota has called and expressed interest. He’s also heard from Colorado Northwestern Community College, where his former teammate at Grand Valley, John Parker, recently signed.
The athleticism for Rigsby to play at the next level is there. He can play consistently above the rim despite standing below six feet, and he finished second in the state in 3A in the triple jump earlier this spring.
Transferring to Fruita Monument will give Rigsby to test himself against the enhanced competition of the 5A Southwestern League. He’ll get an opportunity to take over the point guard position for the Wildcats, and he said he is already fitting in well after playing with the team during a couple team camps this month.
“I’m looking forward to playing different teams, the competition,” Rigsby said. “It’s a good atmosphere down in Grand Junction, really competitive. There’s three 5A schools down there.”
As for what he wants to improve on going into his final high school season?
“I want to improve my shot a lot,” said Rigsby, who shot 32 percent (49-of-152) from 3-point range last year. “I just want to get it a lot more consistent. I want to be at 50 percent from the three so that they have to guard me outside, which will open lanes a lot better.”
And he’s proven he knows how to attack those.