Looking Ahead: Top Returners to 2A

<p>It’s football playoff time! That means basketball season is about a month off. Basketball practices will be tipping off soon. So it’s time to start looking ahead to the season. Let’s start with a look at the top returners by class.</p> <p>Some really good guards return to 2A, a couple of whom locked up in the state finals. There’s a high likelihood that [player_tooltip player_id="1080187" first="Brekyn" last="Ratzlaff"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1147992" first="Brayden" last="Meseke"] will cross paths again come playoff time.</p> <p>Here are the top returners to 2A:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080187" first="Brekyn" last="Ratzlaff"], 6-foot guard, 2023, Hillsboro:</p> <p>A flashy point guard with some edge to his game, Ratzlaff challenges defenses. He spearheaded Hillsboro’s march to the state title, and was the best player on the floor for much of the game. He competes at a high level during the summer, so high school ball is his place to shine. He was the lone non-senior on the 2A first team.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080178" first="Britton" last="Dutton"], 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Ellinwood:</p> <p>Ellinwood will be a team to watch this year, with a group of returners who have already played a ton of minutes. Dutton is an offensive dynamo, not just scoring but also feeding his teammates and generating turnovers that lead to fast break opportunities. Dutton is one of the top scorers in the state, having averaged 20-plus points his first two seasons. He earned second-team 2A as a sophomore.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1147992" first="Brayden" last="Meseke"], 6-foot guard, 2022, Wabaunsee:</p> <p>Meseke joined Dutton on the second-team 2A, and he deserves as much credit for his leadership as for his stats. When Wabaunsee could have thrown in the towel last year, Meseke helped keep the team afloat. The turnaround led all the way to the state title game. He’s a tough, gritty guard who creates opportunities at the defensive end. He is athletic, handles the ball and finds open teammates.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1268859" first="Cade" last="Burdette"], 5-foot-10 guard, 2023, SE-Cherokee:</p> <p>Burdette is a shooter and an athlete who will build upon a solid sophomore season in which he averaged 16.6 points per game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="946256" first="Dameion" last="Hatten"], 6-foot-3 forward, 2022, Sedan:</p> <p>Hatten has sort of flown under the radar at Sedan, but he gets a lot of appreciation for his work during the summer with Buddy Buckets. That level of competition has the senior prepped for a huge senior season. He’s a big-bodied athlete who can play every position on the floor. He averaged 19 points and 9 boards as a junior and should get a lot more recognition this year.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1139918" first="Charlie" last="Russell"], 6-foot-4 forward, 2022, WaKeeney-Trego:</p> <p>Russell made quite an impression this summer for Western Kansas Elite, showing that his talents aren’t strictly suited for the small-school game. He does all the dirty work and makes the tough-guy plays that coaches love. He averaged 15.5 points and 6.3 boards as a junior, but also dished out nearly 3 assists. He blocks shots and turned in 2.4 steals per game as a junior.</p> <p>Other top returners to 2A:</p> <p>Nehemiah Byrd, Riverside</p> <p>Alex Disberger, Sacred Heart</p> <p>Avery Gatzmeyer, Valley Falls</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1268860" first="Dale" last="Gillespie"], Pleasanton</p> <p>Cade Oliver, Wabaunsee</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1268861" first="Trey" last="Sommer"], Humboldt</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1195622" first="Theron" last="Wedel"], Medicine Lodge</p> <p>Wesley Young, West Elk</p>