The 2023 Rankings Small School All-Stars (First Team)

<p>The 2023 Rankings All-Star Team is a collection of all the players ranked by their position. Based on their positional rankings, we came up with the following teams:</p> <p>First team: PG [player_tooltip player_id="1080161" first="Marcus" last="Zeigler"], CG [player_tooltip player_id="1080176" first="Avery" last="Johnson"], SG [player_tooltip player_id="1080165" first="Will" last="Rost"], SF [player_tooltip player_id="1080162" first="Caleb" last="Wiese"], PF [player_tooltip player_id="1080159" first="Will" last="Anciaux"], and C [player_tooltip player_id="1080174" first="Jack" last="Wilson"].</p> <p>Second Team: PG [player_tooltip player_id="1080166" first="Jordan" last="McGowan"], CG [player_tooltip player_id="1080170" first="Kobe" last="Smith"], SG [player_tooltip player_id="1080189" first="Eli" last="Shetlar"], SF [player_tooltip player_id="1080163" first="Eli" last="Sawyers"], PF [player_tooltip player_id="1080164" first="Tyler" last="Little"], and C [player_tooltip player_id="1080186" first="Will" last="Mlynek"].</p> <p>Third team: PG [player_tooltip player_id="1080175" first="Garrett" last="Robertson"], CG [player_tooltip player_id="1080168" first="Jack" last="Bachelor"], SG [player_tooltip player_id="1080178" first="Britton" last="Dutton"], SF [player_tooltip player_id="1080185" first="BJ" last="Redic"], PF [player_tooltip player_id="1080180" first="Jack" last="Voth"], and C [player_tooltip player_id="1080188" first="Joe" last="Otting"].</p> <p>Recognizing that many of our ranked players could play several different positions (and some of the top players defy a position category), this is by no means a grouping of the best players into teams. But just for fun, we made teams of the players based off their rankings.</p> <p>You will notice, just three of the players on those three all-star teams (Sawyers, Little and Dutton) comes from a school in the 3A classification or smaller.</p> <p>So to give the small school guys their due, here’s the 2023 Small School First Team, the top player at each of our six positional classifications from a 1A, 2A or 3A school (listed by position, name, state ranking/positional ranking, size and high school):</p> <p>Small School First Team:</p> <p>Point Guard: [player_tooltip player_id="1080187" first="Brekyn" last="Ratzlaff"], #24/#8, 6-foot, Hillsboro HS (2A):</p> <p>Ratzlaff’s in a class with some really good point men, but he certainly takes a back seat to no one. He has competed at a high level on the club circuit, and he’s left no question of his ability on the high school scene. He thoroughly dominated the first half of the state championship, a win over Wabaunsee. He’s got the athleticism, the handles, the shot, and a flair for the exciting play.</p> <p>Combo Guard: [player_tooltip player_id="1080184" first="Wesley" last="Fair"], #22/#4, Wichita Collegiate HS (3A):</p> <p>Because Fair plays in the summer with top-level club teams, he doesn’t really seem like a ‘small-school’ player. For Team Buddy Buckets he played a diverse supporting role, using his size and athleticism. He’s a football and basketball star at Collegiate who carries a big load, averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds as a sophomore.</p> <p>Shooting Guard: [player_tooltip player_id="1080178" first="Britton" last="Dutton"], #18/#3, 6-foot-1, Ellinwood HS (2A):</p> <p>One of three players from small schools to make the top three in the positional rankings, Dutton is listed on the 2023 Rankings Third Team. He has been tearing up the small schools for two years already, scoring at an impressive clip while also elevating his teammates. During the summer, he plays up and challenges himself against the top competition in the state.</p> <p>Small Forward: [player_tooltip player_id="1080163" first="Eli" last="Sawyers"], #6/#2, 6-foot-6, SE of Saline HS (3A) (pictured):</p> <p>The highest-rated 2023 from a school 3A or smaller, he’s on the 2023 Rankings Second Team for all classes. Sawyers has been a standout on the club scene for a while now. He continues to grow, so his game will just keep getting more diverse, and tougher for small-school opponents to match.</p> <p>Power Forward: [player_tooltip player_id="1080164" first="Tyler" last="Little"], #7/#2, 6-foot-5, Galena HS (3A):</p> <p>Like Sawyers, Little is listed on the 2023 Rankings Second Team for all classes, due to his #2 ranking at power forward. Little is hardly ‘little,’ now standing 6-foot-5 and weighing in at around 240. That makes him one of the most powerful big men in the state, a big man who can move, chase down plays in transition, and compete above the rim.</p> <p>Center: none</p> <p>There are just three centers currently in the 2023 rankings, all from schools in higher classifications.</p>