Overlooked Guards

<p>Inevitably, a few players fail to receive the notoriety they deserve. Sometimes it’s someone in the shadow of a teammate. Sometimes it’s a player at a small school that doesn’t receive much attention (particularly true in Western Kansas). And sometimes its a member of a team that fails to achieve much success.</p> <p>Here are a few Kansas guards who deserve some attention (in alphabetical order):</p> <p><strong>Sergio Chavez</strong>, 5-foot-8 guard, 2022, Southwestern Heights:</p> <p>The quick point guard for the school from Kizmet, Chavez was first team Hi-Plains League and received some all-stat mentions. He produced some well-balanced stats, including 16.1 points and 2.7 assists per game. Despite his size, he pulled in 4.7 rebounds. As a junior, he had games of 31, 29 and 28.</p> <p><strong>Keagan Dimler</strong>, 6-foot-2 guard, 2022, Hanover:</p> <p>Dimler is a classic case of a guy who benefits from playing on a talented team, but misses out on some notoriety for it. Dimler was a key part of the unbelievably deep and talented Hanover team that won state. With a team that scores a ton of points, someone is bound to rack up a bunch of assists. That was Dimler. He averaged 5.3 last year, one of the tops in the state. Dimler posted an impressive and diverse stat line: 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 steals, 1.1 blocks.</p> <p><strong>Eli Hestand,</strong> 5-foot-11 guard, 2022, Labette County:</p> <p>It’s not like Hestand is an unknown. He earned first team in the Southeast Kansas League, putting him in the company of players like all-stater [player_tooltip player_id="889458" first="Javon" last="Grant"]. Hestand averaged 16.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, with more than one assist and one rebound per game. Prone to big nights, Hestand had seven games with more than 20 points, including 28 against Parsons and Circle. He can score from deep, and he gets to the line a lot. He hit 13-14 free throws in one game.</p> <p><strong>Chance Hilger</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2022, Norwich:</p> <p>Hilger did it all for Norwich, earning all Reno County in the process. He averaged 13.0 points and 8.5 boards. The versatile Hilger added 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals. He was remarkably consistent, scoring fewer than 10 points just three times.</p> <p><strong>Tyler Stuhlsatz</strong>, 6-foot-2 guard, 2023, Ellinwood:</p> <p>Stuhlsatz is one of several talented members of the 2023 class at Ellinwood. He tends to be overshadowed by [player_tooltip player_id="1080178" first="Britton" last="Dutton"], but 6-foot-2 rising junior deserves credit. He averaged 12.7 points and a versatile stat line. He recorded 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.8 steals for the up-and-coming Eagles. As a sophomore, he dropped 48 3-pointers, shooting 40% from deep.</p>