Thursday Night Round Up Dec. 2nd

<p>Before a full slate of games Friday night in Kansas, let’s take a look at some of the top performers from Thursday night, from big stars showing out on the big stage, to some quality performances from stock risers.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="787626" first="Mark" last="Mitchell"], 6’8 Wing, Sunrise, 2022: One of the top prospects not only in Kansas but in the country did his thing last night against national powerhouse IMG Academy. Mitchell showed off the ever increasing arsenal of move on the offensive end. Had the up and under with the soft touch off the glass, knocked down a three, rip drove off the bounce, and made some quality moves off the dribble into tough made shots and finishes. Finished the game with 22 points and 5 rebounds, a true statement game from Mitchell.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="787613" first="Gradey" last="Dick"], 6’7 Guard, Sunrise, 2022: The future Kansas Jayhawk was also in command against IMG Academy last night, going for 20 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the three point line. His body control, IQ, and shot making ability make him an absolute problem for opposing teams, and it showed last night against some of the best competition in the country. Dick also showed his ability to make plays in crunch time by hitting some monster shots with the game in the balance.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080917" first="Kamryn" last="Kaniper"], 6’5 Wing, Silver Lake, 2023: Scoring wise, Kaniper was pretty methodical in his 9 point effort in an opening night win but he was really efficient from the field and impacted the game in multiple ways. Finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist in the ball game and used his length to really cause havoc on the defensive end of the floor. Solid opening performance for one of the rising 2023 wings.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1139929" first="Zach" last="Clark"], 6’4 Guard, Cair Paravel, 2022: Had a big time shooting effort in a close loss for CP last night. Clark is one of the under the radar top three point shooters especially in the Topeka area, and shot it well last night. He finished 5 of 8 from 3 and finished with 15 points in the ball game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Matthew Lierz, 6’ Guard, Holton, 2023: Lierz is a rising name in the big 7 from the guard spot and is a talented multi sport athlete. In Holton’s win last night over Burlington he scored 18 points and controlled the back court game throughout the night. Running mate junior Tyson Snyder was also terrific scoring 22. Lierz makes a ton of winning plays in games dating back to last year and last night was more of the same. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1212171" first="Jailen" last="Thompson"], 6’5 Wing, Free State, 2023: Was a stat sheet stuffer last night for Free State in their large win over Great Bend. Finished with 15 points, near 10 rebounds, and multiple assists in the ball game. He imposed his physicality in the ball game and was a matchup nightmare. The 2023 wing/forward group in Kansas is a special one, and Thompson showed the flash last night that he is up there with some of the best in that class. Will rise up the stock board massively this year.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>