2022 Rankings Update: Huge Jumps

<p style="font-weight: 400;">These five juniors took a huge jump this season, and it is shown in their rise in the rankings.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="967542" first="Kaleb" last="Mitchell"] — Fountain Fort-Carson</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In the most difficult year to be ready by the time that the season started, players like Kaleb took full advantage of the opportunity and had a huge year in return. Mitchell was a cornerstone piece of what the Trojans were able to do this season, and that was alongside another talented big to share the load. Mitchell more than doubled his averages in points, rebounds, and blocks. With the game starting to slow down for Kaleb, you can how easy it has become for him to get to his favorite spots on the floor for easy points, and he used his size to his advantage as well. He makes a huge jump and is one of the top bigs in the state.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="618866" first="Esmond" last="Griffin"] — Horizon</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">This year, Esmond took his game to another level as he stepped up to the plate and improved in every statistical category. Griffin looked more comfortable on and off the ball, which opened his offense , and Horizon played to his strengths. Giving him free rein to just play allowed him to take shots with confidence, and you saw that when he busted out with big scoring nights, including a career-high 21pts against Monarch early in the season. On defense, Griffin stands out with his quick feet and active hands. He’s aggressive and smart with how much pressure he applies when guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player. Solid year and a player to watch.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="918926" first="Trey" last="Reese"]— Montrose</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In his three years as a varsity player [player_tooltip player_id="918926" first="Trey" last="Reese"] has managed to progress. His junior year was the most complete. Trey is a do it all point guard that doesn’t have very many weaknesses to his game. He is a capable scorer, forces his way open for baskets but would much rather run the show and get everybody else involved. As his senior season approaches, I’m curious to what new components he can add to his game.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="618893" first="Chris" last="Watkins"] — Rangeview</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="618893" first="Chris" last="Watkins"] was a player that took a lot of teams by surprise this past season. The patience and toughness he had at the point guard spot helped keep the Rangeview offense fluid, and he is also able to break a defender down off the dribble. Watkins is a capable scorer that showed flashes of what he could actually do throughout the year and had his moments where he popped. Whether it’s getting to the rim, finishing over the bigs, or knocking down open jumpers, he made things happen on that Rangeview team that continued on their impressive streak. Watkins’s most dangerous feature is his ability to make things happen off the dribble and willingness to get others involved and what stands out most about Watkins is his desire to want to get better. He tags us in videos of him working out, putting the time in out of the gym, and implementing it into real-time, and that is what I enjoy most about him. He makes the jump for us in the rankings after a solid season.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1050926" first="Connor" last="Yslas"] — Cherokee Trail</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">It wasn’t a year that Connor had expected for his Cherokee Trail team, but he made the best of it. He led the team in scoring this past season and took his offensive game to a new level with the new role. Connor was a man against boys in the paint, and used his 6’6 frame to get whatever he wanted. He also was about to step out and knock down the 3 occasionally when left open and was lockdown on defense as well. Solid season for him, and he was able to turn a few heads along the way.</p>