2021 class: 4 players (plus 1 in 2022) who will blossom in 2020

<p>This is the third installment on four players in the 2021 class plus one kid in the 2022 class. In this piece, I will be discussing five sleepers that could have productive seasons.</p> <p><strong>Andrew</strong> <strong>Payne</strong>, <strong>Fayette</strong> <strong>Academy</strong>: Head coach Brandon Bradford will have experience in the backcourt in 2020. Payne, a 6-foot point guard is expected to take the next step as he has used the summer to make improvements on the offensive side. Payne had a productive junior season, averaging 7.8 points, 7.2 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in a reserve role.</p> <p>He’s expected to be the Vikings’ starting point guard in 2020 and will play alongside senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1039102" first="Caleb" last="Smith"], who’s also expected to be huge for the program.</p> <p><strong>Caleb</strong> <strong>Smith</strong>, <strong>Fayette</strong> <strong>Academy</strong>: Smith attacked the basket at a high rate last season and will need to do so in 2020 for the Vikings. When the opportunity was there, the 6-3 guard knocked down shots from 3-point range. Smith played a lot of minutes last season at point guard. In 2020, Bradford will start him at shooting guard, which is better for Smith since he’s always in scoring mode. He’s coming off a junior season averaging 10.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks.</p> <p><strong>Isaiah</strong> <strong>Regular</strong>, <strong>Overton</strong>: The Wolverines got an upgrade in the 6-7 small forward. Regular, a junior, is more versatile than Anterrio Jeffries, who played for Overton last season. The Southaven transfer averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds last season for the Chargers. Regular can put the ball on the floor and loves to finish strong at the rim.</p> <p><strong>Markelion</strong> <strong>Hines</strong>, <strong>Cordova</strong>: Hines didn’t get to have a solid junior season, because he was dealing with injuries. Going into 2020, he’s at full strength and will give the Wolfpack solid offensive productivity, thanks to his long range shooting. His points could come easy with [player_tooltip player_id="1021654" first="Cedquavious" last="Hunter"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1019411" first="Caleb" last="Jackson"] in the backcourt. Cordova also has [player_tooltip player_id="1021716" first="P.J." last="Hillman"], a wing with athleticism. Hines could average anywhere between 8-10 points per game if he’s able to stay healthy.</p> <p><strong>Amyan </strong><strong>McGowan</strong>, <strong>MUS</strong>: The 6-3 guard can really score, and he makes it look easy. I was impressed by his shot release and patience within the Owls’ offense, which featured a lot of half-court sets and 10 passes before a shot attempt. Going into 2020, McGowan should shoot close to 40 percent from 3-point range and average at least 15 points per game. A big year is coming for him.</p>