NMAA State Playoff Preview: Players To Watch Vol 1

<p>It’s that time of year! The playoffs are upon us. The 16 team bracket begins on Saturday, March 5th with home teams hosting first-round games. Every team dreams of making that magical run to the pit. To do that stars will need to perform like stars. In this article, we preview some of the top players to watch in the tournament. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076667" first="Isaiah" last="Carr"] <em>6’11 C Las Cruces 2022 (#1PHNM 2022)</em> - The Bulldawgs are the heavy favorite, on the heels of an undefeated regular season. Carr is a big part of the optimism. The agile big is one of the top shot blockers on in the West. In addition to his rim protection skills, Carr brings interior scoring and defense. The GCU signee was second on the team in scoring averaging over 18ppg. </p> <p><strong>William Benjamin Jr</strong> <em>6’1 CG Las Cruces 2022 (#2PHNM 2022)</em> - Carr and Benjamin make up one of the top 1 two punches around. What Carr brings to the interior, Benjamin provides on the perimeter. The lightning-quick guard can change the scoreboard with his defensive instincts. Benjamin averaged nearly 3 steals per game and turned almost all of them into buckets on the offensive end. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076706" first="Ely" last="Lovato"] 6’2 PG <em>Sandia 2023 (#5PHNM 2023) (featured image)</em> - Lovato can best be described as a player. Lovato has an unconventional game, that effectively throws opponents off balance. He does a little bit of everything well including handling and distributing. Now healthy, Sandia looks like a darkhorse pick to make a run. Lovato and his nearly 13ppg will need to be at his best in order to reach their goals. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076708" first="Tony" last="Pacheco"]<em> 5’9 SG Atrisco Heritage 2023 (#9PHNM 2023)</em> - If you have Pacheco on your team, you’ve got the toughest ballclub on the floor. Pacheco is a nosed way, two-way player. He may not be the most talented on the squad, however, he makes up for it with toughness and grit. The guard is going to defend both perimeter positions and will impact games with his ability to slash and finish at the rim. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1362490" first="Sean" last="Thompson"] <em>6’4 PF Eldorado 2022 -</em> Thompson combines skill with effort. He is more than willing to mix it up in the paint, grabbing his share of offensive boards. The senior forward is quick off the ground and uses his quick jump ability to grab the aforementioned rebounds and finish around the rim. Thompson will stretch the floor out to 15 feet, using a nice touch to knock down open jumpers. He will need to be at his best for the 12 seeded Golden Eagles. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076669" first="Jalen" last="Goar"] <em>6’1 SG Hobbs 2022 (#8PHNM 2022)</em> - The scoring of Goar has propelled Hobbs to a 22 win season. The sharpshooting senior used his three-point shooting to put up nearly 20ppg. He is part of a really good 1 - 2 punch, that has the Eagles poised for a deep tournament run. </p> <p>Follow </p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/7outzbballclub1"><em>On Twitter</em></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bruceprephoops/"><em>On IG</em></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/PrepHoopsNV"><em>Like Us On FB</em></a></p>