Season Preview: Best Small Town Prospects

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bright lights and big cities will always deservedly draw plenty of preseason buzz and attention. However we can't forget the players from the small rural areas. In the Mitten state that usually means players from Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After covering [player_tooltip player_id='1441371' first='Oskar' last='Kangas'] in our national overview. I'll give you four more players from schools with fewer than 100 students enrolled. I would say that safely constitutes a “small town”. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1441371' first='Oskar' last='Kangas'] 6-6 2025 Iron Mountain (pictured) </strong>Hailing from “the cradle of coaches” (i.e Izzo and Mariucci) Kangas is a versatile 6-6 forward with plenty of upside and potential. Has tested himself well beyond the Iron Mountain borders. Standout for the Wisconsin Crusaders the past two summers on the Prep Hoops Circuit. Put up a standout year on the gridiron as well. Contributed as Mountaineers advanced the quarterfinals. Coming off a 21-2 season as a sophomore. Kangas is looking to replicate that success on the hardwood. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1598818' first='Asher' last='Garrison'] 5-10 2024 Watersmeet</strong> If you are a sports fan of a certain age. The name “Watersmeet” should sound vaguely familiar. The school mascot— “Nimrods” was the subject of a popular Sportscenter ad campaign in the 90's. The high school with an enrollment of 51 has a player starting to generate his own headlines. The scoring guard put up eye popping numbers in his junior campaign. Averaging 28 points and eight assists. Perhaps more impressive was averaging eight boards and three blocks at 5-10. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1616017' first='Jayden' last='Hanson'] 6-5 2025 Bellaire </strong>From well known Upper Peninsula communities. To a bucolic Northern Michigan town known for its microbrewery and ski slopes. At a high school with an enrollment of 85. Hanson is at the forefront a group players in leading an Eagle resurgence. The multi faceted forward averaged just shy of a double double last season and should be in for a big junior campaign. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ethan Bennett 6-5 2024 McBain Northern Michigan Christian </strong>We'll keep moving south to a small agricultural community, with an an even smaller parochial school. The school with an enrollment of 63 students is only one year removed from an undefeated regular season. Bennett will look to keep the Comets at that standard. He has a frame that is simply built to play basketball. With a wingspan that allows him to play taller than his listed height. Playing for a new coach and a new system. Bennett could see increased opportunity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1437982' first='Bradley' last='Richards'] 6-5 2025 Fruitport Calvary Christian </strong>Richards has been stuffing the stat sheet for two years at his Western Michigan parochial school. Averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds last year for the Eagles. Coming off a 14-10 record. The school with an enrollment of 51 should be improved. As they will add some young talent outside of Richards. These players contributed with Hardwood Midwest on the Prep Hoops Circuit this past summer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->