1A Div II Statistical Standouts at the Break

<p>The holiday break is here. Time to take stock in how teams and players have performed in the first month of games.</p> <p>As has been so well documented on Prep Hoops, the top ten teams in the state rankings have been led by some fine performances early in the season. But we don’t want to overlook some of the great individual work that was done in the early going.</p> <p>Here are some of the 1A Div. II statistical standouts at the break (in alphabetical order):</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1212165" first="Alec" last="Carlson"], 6-foot-2 guard, 2023, Pawnee Heights:</p> <p>One of the best small school ballers for the past two years is at it again. The first-team 1A Div. II returner is averaging 21 points so far this year. This athletic and versatile guard is stuffing the stat sheet. Look at his 4.5 steals and 2.0 blocks to see what he brings at the defensive end.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1195614" first="Jared" last="Eitzman"], 6-foot-1 guard, 2022, St. Johns/Tipton:</p> <p>Off to a great start with a 5-1 mark, the #10 ranked Blujays are led by this stud senior. Eitzman is scoring 18 points per game, and grabbing 7.3 rebounds. Add to that his 3.5 steals, and you see why Eitzman will probably improve on his third-team 1A Div. II honor as a junior.</p> <p><strong>Aiden Hoopes</strong>, 5-foot-6 guard, 2025, Burrton:</p> <p>The freshman are tearing it up at Burrton in the early season. Hoopes is handing out 8.2 assists per game, a lot of them going to freshman teammate Cam Schmidt. Hoopes is also scoring 11. 5 points himself.</p> <p><strong>Cam Schmidt</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2025, Burrton:</p> <p>Schmidt is scoring like crazy to start his high school career. He poured in 40 against Peabody-Burns, 36 against Canton-Galva, and 35 against Fairfield. He’s letting it fly from deep and hitting 42% so far. His averages this year: 28.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1195621" first="Bailey" last="Sides"]</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2022, Northern Valley:</p> <p>The #2 ranked Huskies are led by senior Sides, who is putting up an impressive stat line. Most eye-popping are his 3.9 steals and 5.9 assists per game. But his 17.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game are pretty decent too.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1195613" first="Dylan" last="Van Laeys"], 6-foot-4 forward, 2022, Logan/Palco High School:</p> <p>This third-team 1A Div. II returner is leading the #6 ranked team with a double-double. VanLaeys is scoring 15 points and pulling down 14.8 rebounds this year. Add in his 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals, and you get a well-rounded senior leader.</p>