Nothing Small About These Small School Bigs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The club events held in Kansas tend to attract a lot of players from KC, Wichita and Topeka. Thus you tend to see an more kids from big schools than small. But sprinkled in you do get to see some small school players who are measuring themselves against big city opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of guys we've gotten used to seeing on the club scene are Beloit's [player_tooltip player_id='1270292' first='Bryce' last='Beisner'] and Goodland's [player_tooltip player_id='1580561' first='Noah' last='Shinette'], both from the 2024 class. Those two have paid their dues, driving long distances to compete against big city competition. In their cases, it's certainly paid off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are four more small school bigs who are more than measuring up against big school competition (in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1438363' first='Abe' last='Hilbert']</strong>, 6-foot-6 center, 2024, Nemaha Central, SSA:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You have to love this guy's combination of size, power and agility. College football coaches certainly find it an intriguing package. On the basketball court, Hilbert is a workhorse in the paint, getting after the boards and using his strength to body up opposing posts. He has good footwork and has obviously honed the fundamentals of post play. Hilbert can look forward to a big senior year on both the gridiron and court, where there aren't many guys his size in the 3A class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2393784' first='Noah' last='Porter']</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2025 Anderson County, LTD Select:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A new name to us this spring, Porter has really popped for LTD Select. Against all levels of competition, he stood out for his ability to handle the ball in transition and his energy running the floor. He regularly outruns opposing bigs. He triggers breaks with defensive rebounds that he quickly turns the other way with aggressive passes up court. Porter is a long, springy athlete who loves to attack. He has flown under the radar on the high school scene. We're excited to see what he can do as a junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1957156' first='Jasper' last='Sallee']</strong>, 6-foot-3 forward, 2026, Osawatomie, LTD Select:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sallee demonstrated ability to play in the role of a more traditional “big” this summer after getting some good varsity experience as a wing as a freshman. He's developing more rebounding and shot-blocking ability in the paint for LTD Select. Regardless of where he's positioned, this 2026 can really shoot it. This will be a guy to follow as he continues to grow and develop physically.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2169817' first='Guy' last='Tubbs']</strong>, 6-foot-3 forward, 2025, Colby, SSA:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tubbs can do so much to affect the game without trying to be the offensive star. He has the combination of strength and explosiveness to dominate on the glass, and he has the quickness and length to guard just about everyone on the floor. He is content to scoring on offensive boards or on transition buckets, but he certainly has the talent to be a primary option for an offense. He can put the ball on the floor and get to shots in the paint. He can outjump opponents to get shots off, or just dunk over them. This unranked 2025 is a fast riser.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->