Top Ranked Players at 6A State

<p>It doesn’t take star players to make the state tournament. But it sure doesn’t hurt.</p> <p>Some of the best players in Kansas will gather in Wichita for the 6A state tournament, which tips off Thursday, headlined by three top-10 seniors from Free State.</p> <p>Rest assured there are some players who aren’t yet ranked who soon will be based on their recent work, most notably [player_tooltip player_id="1080206" first="Harrison" last="Kisling"] (pictured), who is blowing up at Olathe West.</p> <p>Here’s a look at Prep Hoops’ top-ranked players who will be in Wichita for 6A state:</p> <p>2024 #1 [player_tooltip player_id="1270090" first="TJ" last="Williams"], 6-foot-4 guard, Wichita Heights:</p> <p>The top-ranked player in the 2024 class as based primarily on his fantastic freshman campaign has not slacked off as a sophomore. He’s a long, athletic slasher who can shoot it from anywhere. He posted 12 points and 5 boards as a sophomore. He’s just one of three highly-ranked players on the Falcons, joined by…</p> <p>2023 #2 [player_tooltip player_id="1080161" first="Marcus" last="Zeigler Jr"], 6-foot-1 guard, Wichita Heights:</p> <p>The Falcons may not win the state title, but they certainly come with some highly ranked players. Williams and Zeigler are joined by the 83^rd ranked senior, [player_tooltip player_id="1075925" first="Chase" last="Harris"]. Zeigler makes it all go. He can penetrate to dish or score, and he’s always in command.</p> <p>2022 #4 [player_tooltip player_id="891899" first="Mozae" last="Downing-Rivers"], 6-foot-3 guard, Free State:</p> <p>The brilliant senior guard is just one of three Firebird in the top 10 of the 2022 class. He doesn’t always have to score, but he’s capable of stuffing the stat sheet. Put #5 [player_tooltip player_id="952433" first="Jordan" last="Brown"] and #10 [player_tooltip player_id="891903" first="Cooper" last="Jackson"] on the court with Downing-Rivers, and you’ve got one dynamic backcourt that can shoot, handle, defend and board.</p> <p>2022 #8 [player_tooltip player_id="891904" first="Damare" last="Smith"], 5-foot-10 guard, Shawnee Mission Northwest:</p> <p>Yet another great guard headed to Wichita, Smith is a blur with the ball and physical enough to handle contact and make plays. He can score at any level and penetrate to create opportunities for others. He averages 18 points, 4 boards and 4.5 assists as the consummate point guard. Smith is joined in the rankings by teammates 2022 #40 [player_tooltip player_id="1076261" first="Landon" last="Wagler"] and 2021 #18 [player_tooltip player_id="1080177" first="Malik" last="O’Atis"].</p> <p>2023 #17 [player_tooltip player_id="1080174" first="Jack" last="Wilson"], 6-foot-6 center, Manhattan:</p> <p>He’s the number one center in the 2023 class, and he’s really been showing why lately. In the upset of Wichita Heights, Wilson got 24 points. He’s a powerful post with good fundamentals and a soft touch in the midrange.</p> <p>2024 #26 [player_tooltip player_id="1270297" first="Jaxon" last="Klein"], 6-foot-5 forward, Blue Valley Northwest:</p> <p>Klein is technically the highest-ranked member of the Huskies, but he’s playing a supporting role to several older ranked players. 2023 #32 [player_tooltip player_id="1378390" first="Grant" last="Stubblefield"] leads this deep and diverse team with 19 points and nearly 4 assists per game.</p> <p>Some other ranked players coming to Wichita include:</p> <p>2022 #27 [player_tooltip player_id="1075926" first="Jayson" last="Luse"], 6-foot-4 forward, Olathe West</p> <p>2022 #33 [player_tooltip player_id="952448" first="Joey" last="Robinson"], 6-foot-1 guard, Blue Valley Northwest</p> <p>2022 #43 [player_tooltip player_id="946266" first="Mikey" last="Pauley"], 6-foot-4 forward, Blue Valley Northwest</p> <p>2023 #72 [player_tooltip player_id="1212171" first="Jailen" last="Thompson"] 6-foot-5 forward, Free State</p> <p>2022 #89 [player_tooltip player_id="1372658" first="Cooper" last="Scheck"], 6-foot guard, Dodge City</p>