Top Hoopers Stand Out in Spring Championships

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's no surprise that some of the top basketball players in the state are also standouts in other sports. These multi-sport athletes deserve special recognition. Here are some of the top performances by basketball standouts during the state week of spring sports:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1747705' first='Blake' last='Garrett'], 6-foot-7 forward, 2023, Blue Valley North:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Garrett exploded in his senior year, earning all-state honors for leading the Mustangs to fourth place at the 6A basketball tournament. He may be even better on the diamond than on the court, however. Garrett is committed to play baseball at Pittsburg State, and he helped his team to a second-place finish at 6A state last week. Worthy of mention as well is Garrett's teammate Jaxon Goldberg, the star shortstop for the Mustangs baseball team. He was an essential guard for the Blue Valley North hoops team last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1270301' first='Peyton' last='Ryan'], 5-foot-9 guard, 2024, Central Plains:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The highly productive guard is one of the most accomplished tennis players in the small school ranks. The same eye-hand coordination and agility played well on the tennis court this spring, as Ryan ran off a 31-0 regular season record. He advanced to the finals of the 3-1A state tennis before falling in the championship match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1454191' first='Owen' last='Evans'], 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Heritage Christian Academy:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a senior year this guy is having. Evans led Heritage to the cusp of the 3A playoffs, picking up all-state mentions along the way. He showed his skills in a different sport this spring, finishing second at the 3A golf championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1269981' first='Spencer' last='Coup'], 6-foot-1 guard, 2024, Solomon (pictured):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top guards in the small school ranks for three years, Coup was slowed by injuries as a junior. But he certainly wasn't hampered on the golf course. The junior recently won the 1A 1A golf championship. No big surprise there, he finished second as a sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2147812' first='Michael' last='Matteucci']</strong>, 5-foot-9 guard, 2024, Sacred Heart (Salina):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matteucci just missed out on being ranked by Prep Hoops in our most recent update. He will certainly receive close attention for future updates. He averaged 16 points and 5 assists for a team that narrowly missed reaching the 2A state tournament. But Matteucci more than made up for that on the golf course this spring. He shot a blistering three-under 139 to run away with the 2A golf championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kolt Ungeheuer</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2023, Columbus:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another guy who didn't crack the Prep Hoops rankings but deserves mention is the mult-sport phenom Ungeheuer from Columbus. He earned first team in the CNC Conference for averaging 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game. But that's nothing compared to what he did this spring. He wasn't able to pull off the two-sport schedule at state, so he wasn't able to show off his 6-foot-10 high jump or his sub-11 second 100 meter dash. But on the baseball diamond, he hit a couple of home runs to lead the Titans to second at 3A state baseball. The seniors' freakish combination of talents deserve recognition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->