Spreading the Love: Kansas Boys Assist Leaders

<p>The craftiness, electricity, and game control that great players can possess can alter a games outcome. The game does not just come down who can go get a bucket, but being able to get others involved and setting your teammates up for success in games can be an even bigger indicator of who is dictating the outcome of a game. Whether it is breaking down defenses, putting them in stressful situations, making the pass before the assist, or recording the assist, these players below have done a great job at controlling games through their use of playmaking and assist dealing. (Not listed in any particular order)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889490" first="Kaleb" last="Gaddis"], 6ft Point Guard, 2021, Andover (pictured): Gaddis is a great point guard and off ball guard as well. He brings so much to the table, guarding 94 ft, moving on the perimeter without the ball, and has a great stroke from 3 while always being ready to knock down shots. The Andover point guard is also averaging a eye popping 6.7 assists per game this season, getting guys great looks in both transition and in the half court, with his ability to play off the catch and to break guys down off the bounce. He is a tremendous court general and his steady play and ability to control the game in a large variety of ways, especially getting his teammates going, proves that.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889487" first="Isaac" last="Patterson"], 6’5 Wing, 2021, Blue Valley North: The new William Jewel commit is as versatile as they come, and they got themselves quite the playmaker for the next couple of years. A constant stat sheet stuffer, and also a tremendous rebounder, Patterson is also a gifted passer with a high IQ who knows how to get his teammates good shots. Patterson is averaging 4.92 assists per game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889472" first="Preston" last="Reynolds"], 6’4 Guard/Wing, 2021, Shawnee Mission East: Another versatile prospect on this list, Reynolds has been lighting up the stat sheet, but much like Patterson, he is a great passer and his length provides him with great passing windows to hit cutters or to hit shooters off of drives. Reynolds is also unselfish and never worried about making the extra pass to turn a good look into a great one. He is currently averaging 6.2 assists per game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="730611" first="Alston" last="Mason"], 6 ft Point Guard, 2021, Blue Valley Northwest: Mason and his high school team have just continued to make their marks as both one of the best point guards in the state and best teams in the state. He is coming off an absolutely dominant performance on Saturday in a win over Greenwood Missouri where he scored 32 points, 5-7 from 3, and 9 of 9 from the free throw line. As electric as a scorer as he can be, Mason makes his money controlling the tempo of the game and very few point guards can do both of that better. With solid bigs and guards surrounding him, his ability to get into gaps and collapse defenses has allowed him to rack up the assist totals as well, averaging 4.7 assists per game. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="602156" first="Devon" last="Junghans"], 5’11 Point Guard, 2021, Salina South: The South point guard continues to do what he has done best over his high school career, lead his team both vocally and physically on the court, while winning a  lot of basketball games. He is crafty with the ball in his hands, has a nice change of pace, and plays with relentless energy. Junghans currently is averaging 4.8 assists per game, and gets his teammates tremendous looks from 3, on cuts, dump offs, and in transition running lanes. He is another tremendous point guard on this list. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Nate Bowman, 5’10 Point Guard, 2022, Bucklin: Doing his work in the smaller school setting, Bowman is putting together quite a season averaging almost 16 points a game while dishing 4.8 assists per game. He is a crafty lefty who has a nice handle and shoots it a high percentage from 3. He draws a lot of attention from opposing teams and does a great job at finding open teammates and giving them easy opportunities to find success scoring the ball.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889540" first="Mason" last="Haxton"], 6 ft Point Guard, 2021, Hoisington: Haxton is a very solid point guard who does great things in transition from what I have been able to see so far from him. He is great at navigating in transition with the ball in his hands and kicking it ahead to teammates running their lanes, or dropping off passes after drawing the defense over. He has some solid finishes as well and can shoot the ball off the catch. His playmaking and getting teammates into the scoring column are what stuck out to me though, and he is averaging 4.7 assists per game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="891912" first="Nahcs" last="Wahwassuck"], 6'5 Guard/Wing, 2022, Royal Valley: Another extremely versatile player on this list who can guard all over the floor on defense, and fill a variety of needs on the offensive end. He has had to play a lot of point this season for Royal Valley and he has accepted the role and eased into the transition really smoothly. Recently he posted a 10 assist game to go along with 15 points, and is currently averaging 5.1 assists per game on the year. As crafty a scorer as you will find and he has hit some huge shots this year, Wahwassuck is also a killer playmaker.</p>