Unranked Seniors to Watch in 1A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finishing up our look at unranked players who are set for big senior seasons, we close with the 1A divisions. These guys tend to miss out on recognition, but we will do our best to shine the spotlight on them this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some unranked 1A guys ready for big senior seasons (in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heath Howell</strong>, 6-foot-5 center, 2024, South Central:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A big man in the smallest class, Howell helped the Timberwolves to the third-place finish in 1A Div. II. He dominated in the paint with 4 blocks a game to go with his 10 points and 6.5 boards. Howell was huge in a couple of the tournament games, going for 14 points against the proven big men of Stafford, then racking up 8 in the third-place game win against Axtell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brody Kerschenske</strong>, 6-foot-4 center, 2024, Stafford:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another big in the smallest class, Kerschenske will be the man at Stafford with the graduation of an all-state caliber post in <strong>Josh Hildebrand</strong>. He nearly averaged a double-double with 8 points and 8 boards on a state tournament team.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan McCarty</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2024, Cheylin:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cheylin will be loaded this year, a team to watch. They have several seniors who will vie for ranking with Prep Hoops this year. We'll feature McCarty here because is arguably the most versatile of the bunch. Though not overly big, McCarty plays with football-type toughness, gathering in 7.5 boards per game. He finds teammates to the tune of 4 assists per contest too. Keep an eye on the Cougars to make a lot of noise this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387736' first='Grayson' last='Shoemaker']</strong>, 6-foot-1 forward, 2024, Lebo:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shoemaker battled back from a significant knee injury to help lead the Wolves back to state. He was a harmonious second fiddle to star senior <strong>Landon Grimmett</strong>, averaging 16 points and 6 boards during the season. He blew up for 30 points in the first round of state against St. Johns/Tipton. He racked up 49 points in the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387789' first='Blake' last='Skalsky']</strong>, 6-foot-5 center, 2024, Olpe:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One more big man to discuss, this one in the Div. I class, Skalsky will have to step up to make up for some graduation losses at Olpe. As part of a deep and balanced team, he averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds last year. He had a couple of big tournament games, including 19 points against South Gray.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->