Introducing Mr. Basketball Candidate #4: Owen Larson

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>As part of our preseason preview content, we're counting down the top dozen candidates for this year's Mr. Basketball award, presented annually to the top senior in the state. Our countdown continues with our No. 4 player, Estherville Lincoln Central point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1171659' first='Owen' last='Larson'].</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Name: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1171659' first='Owen' last='Larson']<br><strong>Height: </strong>6-1<br><strong>Position: </strong>PG<br><strong>School: </strong>Estherville Lincoln Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022-23 stats: </strong>544 points (27.2/game), 168 rebounds (8.4), 89 assists (4.5), 52 steals (2.6), 44.9 FG%, 31.1 3P%, 73.5 FT%<br><strong>Career stats: </strong>1,339 points (20.3), 386 rebounds (5.8), 285 assists (4.3), 162 steals (2.5), 46.7 FG%, 35.4 3P%, 76.3 FT%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>About Larson:</strong> A lightning-quick guard who is able to get to the rim seemingly at will, Larson ended his recruitment early on, committing to South Dakota State before his junior year. He's a high IQ guard who can score in bunches, as he showed last season, averaging over 27 points a game. But he's also very capable of taking over games as a playmaker, as he routinely did with [program_tooltip program_id='2075630' first='Martin' last='Brothers'], putting his teammates in positions to score. So he can play with or without the ball in his hands and is just as good when he's looking to score as he is when he's looking to facilitate. In addition to his dynamic offensive talents, he's a good defender who moves his feet and has a knack for jumping passing lanes and turning defense into offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Why he can win Mr. Basketball: </strong>His career numbers are going to be head-and-shoulders above the rest of the candidates on this countdown by the time his senior season wraps up. He could easily average 32-35 points a game this season, and those types of numbers are going to be really hard to ignore. Can ELC win enough for him to get serious consideration, though?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->