Small Private-School Guards Making Waves

<p>Big private schools like Bishop Miege, Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Aquinas have asserted dominance in basketball at various times over the years.</p> <p>Getting less notoriety but still impressive is the number of top players making an impact at the small school level.</p> <p>A couple of the very best seniors in the smaller school ranks last year – [player_tooltip player_id="1188957" first="Jackson" last="Schulte"] of TMP and [player_tooltip player_id="1188954" first="Lucas" last="Hammeke"] of Hutchinson Trinity – were at private schools. And don’t forget [player_tooltip player_id="1188962" first="Chase" last="Wiebe"] of Berean Academy, Andre Ibarra of Central Christian and Zach Stucky of Elyria Christian. Each of them earned some all-state recognition.</p> <p>Here are a handful of small private school guards to watch next season (in alphabetical order):</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1212167" first="Jordy" last="Dolloff"]</strong>, 5-foot-10 guard, 2024, Wichita Classical:</p> <p>Earning third team 1A Div. 1 as a sophomore is something special. Dolloff will probably do a lot more before it’s all done. He’s a slick and smart point guard who does some of everything. He scored 12.8 points and recorded 2.5 assists at the offensive end. He also stuck his nose in for 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1195614" first="Jared" last="Eitzman"]</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2023, Beloit-St. John’s:</p> <p>A stud quarterback who does the tough work on the court too, Eitzman earned third team 1A Div. 2. He had some big nights shooting from behind the arc, like the six 3’s he hit against Natoma. He averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 boards and 1.9 steals as a junior.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1080184" first="Wesley" last="Fair"]</strong>, 6-foot-2 guard, 2024, Wichita Collegiate:</p> <p>Fair earned some all-state honors in 3A for his work for Collegiate. He’s got two more seasons to leave a big mark and lead the Spartans to state, after coming up just short this past year. Fair does some of everything for Collegiate, notching 12 points and five rebounds, while also moving the ball and finding shooters.</p> <p><strong>Rex Robinette</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Maranatha:</p> <p>A big scoring threat, Robinette averaged 20.6 points as a junior, earning him honorable mention in 2A. Defenses are hard pressed to hold him below that average, and he occasionally goes for 30 or more. The multi-sport star dealt 1.3 assists and ripped off 1.2 steals per game.</p> <p><strong>Jalen VanBecelaere</strong>, 5-foot-11 guard, 2023, Colgan:</p> <p>A rugged football star, VanBecelaere picked up honorable mention in 2A in basketball too. No stats are available for the rising senior, but he bears watching for more reports this year.</p>