6 Small School Bigs to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summer brought two big men to the fore, making them Prep Hoops' top bigs at the small school level: [player_tooltip player_id='1270299' first='Eli' last='Lawson'] from Bennington and [player_tooltip player_id='1155933' first='Nash' last='Johnsen'] from Conway Springs. (You can remove [player_tooltip player_id='1378441' first='Gus' last='Hawkins'] name from that list because he's now at Mill Valley.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While those two shot to the top over the summer, that leaves a nice group returning that can be considered the best bigs at the small school level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300835' first='Savailio' last='Smith']</strong> exploded at the Kansas Top 250 Expo in October and will be a player to watch. He will line up next to Lawson at Bennington after transferring from Minneapolis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are six more small-school bigs to watch (in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6362bd6402e43","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jace Gosch","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2023 ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Norwich","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Norwich was upended in the first round of the 1A Div. I playoffs, but Gosch went down swinging. He led the Eagles with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Solomon. During the season, Gosch was a workhorse, contributing 12.5 points and 7 boards.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1213186"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Kuckelman leads one of the most experienced and deep teams in the small school ranks. Macksville graduated just one player from last year. Kuckelman didn't have to produce big stats to lead the Mustangs, but he was consistently productive with 11 points and 9 rebounds a game, for which he was named first team 1A Div. I.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Jaron Lindsay","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"6'5u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"77243","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Bucklin","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Bucklin graduated some studs from last year. Lindsay may have to assert himself a little more now that a couple of high-scoring guards have moved on. He could see his 10 points and 7.5 points per game tick up quite a bit.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1378399"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Hill City missed out on a trip to state despite a 17-5 season. Long was a big reason for the success, averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds as a junior, en route to honorable mention honors in 2A. The Ringnecks will have to overcome the loss of senior Derek Keith, but bring back a ton of last year's club.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1146294"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Norris helped lead Troy to the state tournament a year ago and earned second team 1A Div. I. He tossed in 15 points and 9.5 rebounds as a junior. Troy will be a team to be reckoned with this year and Norris should be viewed as one of the top bigs in 1A.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["1378446"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Dighton played some young guys last year, so they could really improve on their 15-7 record. Shimer was a stud as a sophomore, leading the team in scoring with 16 points and 11 boards per game. He also contributed 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He was recognized as third-team 1A Div. II for his performance.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /-->