Friday Topeka-area Performances of Note

<p>There were, of course, great performances in the Topeka area Friday night by the usual suspects:</p> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1146270" first="Keller" last="Hurla"] was his usual brilliant self with 32 points for St. Marys in a win over Mission Valley</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1076260" first="Elijah" last="Brooks"] did [player_tooltip player_id="1076260" first="Elijah" last="Brooks"]-type things in a blowout of Topeka High. The Topeka West junior dunked repeatedly on his way to 29 points</li> <li>The Seaman guard trio of [player_tooltip player_id="889508" first="Ty" last="Henry"], Mateo Henry and [player_tooltip player_id="1080196" first="Kaeden" last="Bonner"] continues to play off each other effectively. They combined for 56 points in a win over Emporia</li> </ul> <p>But there were other players who merit notice for their work Friday night:</p> <p><strong>Xavier Alexander</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Topeka West:</p> <p>A reserve who saw important minutes on the run to the state championship game a year ago, Alexander’s role has grown a ton this year for the Chargers. He’s scoring in double figures, hitting the outside shot and making free throws as a key option to Brooks.</p> <p><strong>Troy Heiman</strong>, 6-foot-2 guard, 2023, Silver Lake:</p> <p>Heiman is a versatile player who can produce in a lot of ways. With his length, talent on the dribble and ability to elevate, his pullup jump shot is an effective weapon that he can use seemingly at will. He can hit from the outside, rebound and defend and is a reliable ball handler for the Eagles.</p> <p><strong>Carson Johnson</strong>, 6-foot-1 forward, 2022, Silver Lake:</p> <p>Johnson is a rugged and physical forward who brings a lot of toughness to the Silver Lake front line. He is a productive scorer, but doesn’t need to score to make an impact. He is a strong presence in the paint, allowing [player_tooltip player_id="1080917" first="Kamryn" last="Kaniper"] to roam away from the goal at the defensive end.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1300870" first="Isaiah" last="Lyons"], 5-foot-8 guard, 2024, Topeka High:</p> <p>Lyons made his way from Topeka West over to Topeka High this year, giving the Trojans a versatile guard to build around. He’s not big, but he plays very smart, and is dangerous from deep. Lyons has a knack for running an offense and getting the ball in the right places. The Trojans are struggling to build a competitive unit. Watch for Lyons to be an important piece.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1300863" first="Jacob" last="Padilla"], 5-foot-6 guard, 2024, Hayden:</p> <p>Padilla is about as scrappy and tough a guard as you’ll find. He is really reliable with the ball in his hands, and showed what a clutch player he is when trying to wind down the clock in a nail-biter against Manhattan. He does a lot more than what shows up in the scorebook, and should be considered one of the best young point guards in the area.</p> <p><strong>Tre Richardson</strong>, 5-foot-9 guard, 2023, Highland Park:</p> <p>Coming off a brilliant football season, Richardson hasn’t been called upon to score a lot yet for the Scots. But as you would expect from such a great athlete, Richardson is playing lock down defense and is providing another capable ball handler to the high-octane Scots. Richardson scored 4 points in a win against Washburn Rural Friday, but more importantly he harassed the Junior Blues guards and kept the pace up.</p>