Five Underrated Albuquerque Metro Region Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top players in the Albuquerque Metro Region are well known as we inch closer to March and the state tournament. But who are the underrated players, those high performance standouts flying under the radar? Here are five:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chase Atkinson, Oak Grove Classical</strong>: Oak Grove is a 2A school, so they get very little mainstream media coverage. But Atkinson is a scoring machine for the Owls, averaging 21.4 points per game, to lead OGCA to a 12-6 overall record (7 wins in last 8 games) and a perfect mark (5-0) in District 2A-2. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2306016' first='Rashaud' last='Morris'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: Atrisco Heritage is overshadowed in the Albuquerque region by the bigger name schools. But the Jaguars are off to an excellent start in district play (3-1) and are 14-8 overall. Morris is the leader. He's averaging 23.7 points per game, putting him atop the state leaderboard, per MaxPreps. Also averaging 3.4 assists per game. Atrisco Heritage and Albuquerque High (4-0 in District 5A-5) clash Friday night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nico Sanchez, Highland</strong>: Sanchez has stepped up in a big way for the Hornets so far in the 2025-26 season following the graduation of Jesus Licon. Sanchez didn't even play varsity last season, but he's currently Highland's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game along with 6.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Highland is 17-4 overall and 4-0 in District 4A-5, one-half game ahead of Belen. As always, Highland will be a dangerous team in March. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300000' first='Bryant' last='Scales'], Legacy Academy</strong>: Scales is an outstanding two-sport athlete for the Silverbacks. After starring for the football team in the fall, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Scales has excelled on the hardwood. He's averaging over 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game. Legacy Academy, though, is 7-14 overall, so they probably need to win the district tournament to make the postseason. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2309741' first='Josiah' last='Wilson'], Bosque</strong>: Wilson is one of the best all-around players in Albuquerque. He's helped lead Bosque to a 4-1 start in District 3A-5. Thursday night, Wilson scored 22 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, handed out 3 assists and made 4 steals in Bosque's key 55-40 victory over East Mountain that catapulted the Bobcats into sole possession of first place in the district standings. Through 19 games, Wilson is averaging 15.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bobcats get another district win defeating east mountain 55-40. Non district game Saturday against Menaul. Here are tonight's stats v. EMHS <a href="https://twitter.com/KJ_Ford4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KJ_Ford4</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AJBRAMLETT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AJBRAMLETT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_KMitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_KMitchell</a> <a href="https://t.co/2g6E0xGvmX">pic.twitter.com/2g6E0xGvmX</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2309741' first='Josiah' last='Wilson'] (@JosiahWilson54) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosiahWilson54/status/2019636848449187991?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">School record holder for most points in a game 💥<br>1,000+ career points. 500+ rebounds.<br>Grateful for the journey.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Goe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Goe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SilverbackStrong?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SilverbackStrong</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HardWorkPaysOff?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HardWorkPaysOff</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StudentAthlete?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StudentAthlete</a><a href="https://twitter.com/LegacyAcademyNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LegacyAcademyNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_NMAA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHSCA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmhsca</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hqsportsmag?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hqsportsmag</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/krqesports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@krqesports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UNMLOBOS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UNMLOBOS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a>… <a href="https://t.co/vgMRAxwqRN">pic.twitter.com/vgMRAxwqRN</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2300000' first='Bryant' last='Scales'] (@Bryant_Scales24) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bryant_Scales24/status/2015997436938826125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->