6 3A Players That Were Ready For Breakout Seasons

<p>We all miss the high school season, and everyone has their own valid reasons. From our perspective — covering the state landscape from a recruiting lens — we miss seeing a small-town senior become the hottest name on the local college recruiting trail after a deep tournament run. We miss watching the junior who improved all summer earn his first offer after being considered more of a D-III kid. We miss learning new names. We miss getting our first impression of the freshmen class throughout the year.</p> <p>After watching some ball in the summer and fall, however sparingly, and staying in contact with trusted sources, here’s who we believe would’ve had a breakout season in 2020-21, had things been normal. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="927131" first="Matt" last="Morton"] <em>6’5 SF Boulder City 2021 (#30PHN 2021)</em> - Morton had a terrific year last season, however, with realignment and the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="925451" first="Elijah" last="Jackson"], BC was expected to be one of the contenders for the 3A crown. It may be unfair to categorize Morton as a breakout player after nearly averaging a double-double a year ago. However in his senior year and playing alongside future D1 player [player_tooltip player_id="799308" first="Ethan" last="Speaker"], Morton’s numbers would probably have even been better than the 15 and 8 he averaged a year ago. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="985583" first="Avery" last="Strasdin"] <em>6’3 SG Churchill County 2021 (#67PHN 2021)</em> - This is kind of a gut play. Strasdin was a key contributor for the defending champs last season. This year he would have been counted on to be the man. I’m always partial to players that are part of winning cultures, and Strasdin has been part of two state titles. I thoroughly expected him to be the main player on a Churchill squad losing their top two scorers from the previous year. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1044822" first="Naurese" last="Meno"] <em>6’2 SG Somerset Losee 2021 (#77PHN 2021)</em> - This could have proved to be a major season for Meno. He put up solid numbers a year ago, but he’s improved a lot since last season. The guard always had a strap, evident by his nearly 35% from behind the line a year ago. Now he does more than just shoot the ball, a hard nosed competitor, I was looking forward to Meno filling up the boxscore for Losee this year. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="985614" first="Isaiah" last="Dahl"] <em>6’3 SG Elko 2022 (#47PHN 2022)</em> - Dahl was the second-leading scorer for Elko last season, however, the gap between him and [player_tooltip player_id="859645" first="Michael" last="Klekas"] was huge, with Klekas averaging nearly twice as many points per game. I expected that gap to shrink this year. If you can shoot the ball, there’s a place for you on the basketball court and Dahl does a little more than that. Besides knocking down 3’s the crafty guard has the ability to get to the rim and finish. Elko would have been the clear 3A favorite, however, it would have been difficult for them to reach the top of the mountain without a solid season from Dahl. </p> <p> [player_tooltip player_id="985595" first="Cameron" last="Reese"] 6’4 SF Moapa Valley 2021 (#86PHN 2021) - This one comes courtesy of some inside information. The rugged forward averaged nearly 14ppg last season. However, I’ve been told that he’s increased his vertical jump quite a bit since last season. His maturity combined with his increased R&amp;J athleticism easily makes him a candidate for a breakout season. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/7outzbballclub1">Follow Prep Hoops</a></p>