Tri-Rivers Conference: Class Of 2021’s Who Should Be Valued

<p>In an effort to provide new and unique ways to cover prospects, we thought it would be important to give some coverage to those that might not always get it. To do that, we will be digging deep into each conference in the state.</p> <p>We will be breaking down each conference starting with the Class of 2021 first to show college coaches who they need to be placing a value on heading into the year.</p> <p>We will continue to go through each conference to try and hit as many players as possible with the hopes of helping these seniors-to-be catch the attention of prospective college coaches. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964889" first="Carson" last="Michels"] - Bellevue Marquette</strong></p> <p>It was a tough year in the win-loss column for Bellevue Marquette, but the Mohawks will hope leading returning scorer [player_tooltip player_id="964889" first="Carson" last="Michels"] can help change that in 2020-21.</p> <p>Michels averaged over 20 points per game a season ago, shooting just under 44 percent from the field and over 72 percent at the free throw line. He also had 123 rebounds, 42 assists, 42 steals and nine blocked shots. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="796176" first="Kaleb" last="Cornilsen"] - Easton Valley</strong></p> <p>A double-double machine last year, Easton Valley’s [player_tooltip player_id="796176" first="Kaleb" last="Cornilsen"] averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds a night.</p> <p>The River Hawks won their first 23 games before a tough loss to Edgewood-Colesburg in the Class 1A substate semifinal. They did win the Tri-Rivers Conference East division title. </p> <p>Cornilsen finished with 364 points, 180 rebounds, 53 steals, 25 assists and 13 blocks, shooting 59 percent from the field. </p> <p><strong>Brady Buchmeyer - Calamus-Wheatland</strong></p> <p>Calamus-Wheatland’s Brady Buchmeyer nearly joined the 300-100-100 club as a junior. And the Class of 2021 prospect has a strong chance of doing it this coming season.</p> <p>Buchmeyer ended last year with 285 points, 129 rebounds and 115 assists, adding 52 steals and a handful of blocked shots. He made almost 41 percent of his attempts with 24 three-pointers for the Warriors. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964829" first="Alex" last="Koppes"] - Springville</strong></p> <p>One of the top shooters in the state is Springville’s [player_tooltip player_id="964829" first="Alex" last="Koppes"].</p> <p>The Class of 2021 guard scored 514 points last season, averaging just under 20 per game. He made almost 54 percent of his overall shots from the field, nearly 45 percent of his three-pointers and better than 81 percent of his free throws.</p> <p>Koppes sank 57 triples in all to go along with 111 rebounds, 89 assists, 86 steals and 19 blocked shots. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964854" first="Shane" last="Neighbor"] - Alburnett</strong></p> <p>Fitting the mold of "point forward" last season, Alburnett’s [player_tooltip player_id="964854" first="Shane" last="Neighbor"] was a difficult player to prepare for.</p> <p>Neighbor scored 356 points for the Pirates, adding 164 rebounds, 68 assists, 23 steals and a handful of blocked shots. He made nearly 52 percent of his attempts and also was a 60 percent free throw shooter. </p> <p>The Class of 2021 prospect helped Alburnett win 15 games and reach the substate quarterfinal before falling to eventual Class 1A state champion Wapsie Valley.</p>