Blue Valley Northwest Well Represented at 2027 Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending 6A champs graduated the state's best 2023, Grant Stubblefield and five other seniors from last year's squad. But that doesn't mean they will be devoid of talent this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You could make a case for 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1461338' first='Joey' last='Matteoni'] as the best big man in the state. Fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1300838' first='Jacob' last='Fritz'] is getting college looks after a great tournament run. There are several other guys returning who contributed to the title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But if you look a little further down the road, you can see some other talents on the way for the Huskies. Five of them showed up at the Kansas Freshman Showcase last Sunday and looked impressive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are five Blue Valley Northwest 2027s we learned about at the showcase (in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205712' first='Elijah' last='Bwami']</strong>, 5-foot-11 guard, 2027, Blue Valley Northwest, MoKan:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've written quite a bit about the impression Bwami made at the freshman showcase already. He stood out as a big, physical guard who might be ready for varsity competition soon due to his sturdy frame and handle. He showed toughness and determination to get to the goal through contact. He ran transition and scored the ball, but never got away from the leadership and distribution you need from a point guard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205725' first='Tommy' last='Chapman']</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, Blue Valley Northwest, MoKan:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've also covered Chapman's performance Sunday, having been impressed by the smooth versatility he showed off. He played with intelligence and unselfishness, moving the ball and setting up teammates for buckets. He scored and passed really well in transition and also scored at all three levels in the half-court set. He's got the length, vision, and touch to be a really effective passer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205720' first='Lincoln' last='Elliott']</strong>, 5-foot-11 guard, 2027, Blue Valley Northwest:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elliott stood out as a shooter, effective from deep and on the bounce in the midrange. He's got good size and played with energy and toughness. He has lots of range on the 3-ball and a nice handle. He hustles in transition and on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205711' first='Dylan' last='Hotze']</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2027, Blue Valley Northwest:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hotze played like a Swiss Army knife at the showcase, demonstrating the talent and physicality to play a guard or forward spot. He showed good all-around skills to handle the ball, drive into traffic, distribute it, defend and rebound. He's tough, energetic and unselfish. He could prove to be a very versatile piece in the future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205705' first='Aidan' last='Ihm']</strong>, 5-foot-11 guard, 2027, Blue Valley Northwest, MoKan:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One more fundamentally sound guard who can shoot it, Ihm is highly skilled and competitive. He picked pockets and intercepted passes to disrupt at the defensive end. He finished at high speed in transition and pushed the ball to create tempo. He attacked the defense on the dribble effectively, and of course he dropped several 3s. Ihm is a playmaker, a shooter and defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->