Highlight Performances by Northeast Kansas bigs

<p>With high school basketball season just a couple of months away, we’ll soon be making preseason looks at players, schools and leagues across the state.</p> <p>But it’s not too late to take a look back at some of the best performances turned in by players who will be back for another go round this fall.</p> <p>Here are some of the best performances by bigs in northeast Kansas last season:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="891911" first="Kaleb" last="Becker"], 6-foot-4 forward, 2022, Abilene (pictured):</p> <p>The third-team 4A star is incredibly consistent. So it’s hard to pick out any standout performances. But it’s hard to overlook the 23 points he had in a dogfight with Clay Center that ended in an Abilene victory. Two of Becker’s eight buckets were 3-pointers, and he hit 5-8 from the line.</p> <p><strong>Phillip Doebele</strong>, 6-foot-3 forward, 2022, Hanover:</p> <p>Hanover was so loaded you never knew who would come up big from night to night. But Doebele certainly was a big part of the state title run. He is perhaps the Wildcats’ best perimeter shooter, and one night he went off. He hit seven 3’s against Washington County en route to 23 points.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1139921" first="Jimmy" last="Dorsey"], 6-foot-5 forward, Wellsville:</p> <p>Dorsey exploded for third team 3A last year, scoring at an impressive rate and finishing with a 19.6 average. He lit up Prairie View for 29 points one night, dropping 11 buckets and hitting 7-8 from the line.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1139919" first="Pearse" last="Long"], 6-foot-5 forward, 2022, Lawrence:</p> <p>Long was so impressive as a supporting player to [player_tooltip player_id="599752" first="Zeke" last="Mayo"], he got ranked early last season, despite not racking up tons of points. He didn’t have to. But he had a few really productive games, highlighted by a breakout against Mill Valley. That night, Long dropped five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1146294" first="Jerrit" last="Norris"], 6-4 forward, 2023, Troy:</p> <p>One of the top big men in small-school action, Norris had a lot of big games as a sophomore. But none were bigger than the work he did against Hanover in a tough late-season loss. Norris got to the line 14 times, hitting 10 free throws. He also knocked down 12 shots from the field for a 34-point effort.</p> <p><strong>Raef Osterhaus</strong>, 6-foot-1 forward, 2022, Centralia:</p> <p>Hanover was a test for every team last year. Osterhaus was up to the challenge, and his 26 points were instrumental in a 68-56 win. Osterhaus hit 10 shots from the field, including two 3-pointers, and 4-5 from the line in that impressive victory.</p> <p><strong>Trent Spiker</strong>, 6-foot-2 forward, 2022, Doniphan West:</p> <p>Spiker averaged 11.3 points per game as a junior. But he turned in a 20-point effort against Mission Valley, dropping eight field goals and four free throws.</p>