Big Early Impressions from Small Schools

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're always working to bring attention to small school guys. Here are some players from the 1A-3A levels who are making a big impression early in this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2314835' first='Isaac' last='Briar']</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2024, Sterling:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Briar has flown under the radar in large part because media reports about the Black Bears are sparse. Last season, Briar was a team leader for a really good team that failed to go to state because of the incredibly tough substate they found themselves in. Briar is a deadeye who was named to the Kingman Eagle Classic all-tournament team last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2321590' first='Reed' last='Friesen']</strong>, 6-foot-5 center, 2025, Hesston:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We don't know how they do it, but the Swathers are good every year despite heavy graduation losses. So we're not surprised new guys like Friesen are off and running this season. We assumed Friesen would be a load as a rebounder and shot affecting big man. The question was how much he would get involved at the offensive end. Well if his 21 points against Garden Plain are an indication, Friesen is in for a big junior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Connor Fowler</strong>, 5-foot-10 guard, 2025, Fairfield:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fowler was really solid as a sophomore, but he's taking it to much higher level as a junior. He's tallied at least 17 points in every outing, and went for 29 in his most recent game. He isn't just bombing away from distance. He's a threat at every level and is using defense to create a lot of offense. He's turning opponents over at a high rate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan Skillett</strong>, 6-foot-6 center, 2024 LaCrosse:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Skillet has been a really solid center, dominating the paint, grabbing rebounds and affecting shots. He hasn't always scored a ton. So when he went for 30 points in a game last week it was certainly eye opening. The Leopards are blowing out their opponents to the point it's hard to read much into the stats. But keep an eye on this senior big man to make a big impact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2321601' first='Eli' last='Jones']</strong>, 6-foot-2 forward, 2025, Norton:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones is a guard on the rise. We knew about him last season, but he's really making a name for himself this year, going crazy with 78 points in a three-day tournament. He really opened eyes with 4-5 shooting from deep en route to 24 points against Goodland. He's really stepped up to fill the loss of some solid seniors from last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->