New Year, New Names: 5A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emporia's <strong>Jalyn King</strong> is pretty much the definition of a “new name” on the Kansas hoops scene.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unless you followed Emporia High football, you didn't know that this dazzling athlete had transferred from out of state and was about to ignite the Spartans basketball team. He's a ballhandler who's a constant threat to blow up the defense set. That's freeing returners [player_tooltip player_id='1290136' first='River' last='Peters'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1200613' first='Parker' last='Leeds'] to play off the ball exploit holes. King is averaging 12 points per game, but he turned in 20 in two different wins over Hayden, and 19 against Ottawa. He gets most of his hoops in the midrange and at the rim. The Spartans are off to a surprise 7-1 start after finishing just 4-18 last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some other new names to know in the 5A classification:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Camden Carr</strong>, 5-foot-5 guard, 2023, Newton:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a serious rough patch for the Railroaders. They are rebuilding and looking for leadership. Carr is doing his best as a senior to make the team competitive. He's a deadeye from deep who can heat up and keep the team in games. He went for 25 against Eisenhower and 24 against Campus, getting most of his buckets from behind the arc. He can break down a defender and blow by him and hit the floater on occasion too. He's handsy and quick on the defensive end. He got 22 when the Railroaders finally broke into the win column against Salina South last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jace Humphrey</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2025, Salina South:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This newcomer exploded out of the gate with 24 points against Eisenhower. He's been solid as a sophomore for this rebulding team, providing 14 points and 7 boards a contest. He's a long post who releases the ball high and gets after it on the glass. As this team develops, Humphrey will be a player to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Terrell King</strong>, 5-foot-8 guard, 2025, Hutchinson:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hutchinson had two things going for it this year. It had a group of seniors who have had a ton of success, and it dropped to 5A. The emergence of point guard King has been a third big development. His ball handling and attacking style is freeing up shooters [player_tooltip player_id='1080175' first='Garrett' last='Robertson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1486811' first='Wade' last='Meyer'] and helping post <strong>Nic Lange</strong> get touches. King is quick on the attack and gets to the rim, or he can hit from deep when defenses collapse.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jack Weimer</strong>, 5-foot-9 guard, 2024, Hays:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hays had to rebuild almost entirely after a 20-2 season. Notably, they graduated their all-state point guard <strong>Carson Keiffer</strong>. One of the few non-seniors to play last year was Weimer, who spelled Keiffer at times at the point. Weimer has stepped into the opening and taken off. He was named to the Hays Shootout All-Tournament team. He went for 23 points against Wichita South to go to the holiday break. Weimer can really hit from deep and is a quick and pesky defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->