5A Playoffs: Top Guards in Larry Farmer Region

With the playoffs approaching this week, we take a deeper look into each region at some of the key position players. This piece will look into the top guards in the Larry Farmer region of the 5A state playoffs. Teams in this region are: (3) Ralston Valley, (6) Valor Christian, (11) Eaglecrest, (14) Horizon, (19) George Washington, (22) Overland, (27) Rock Canyon, (30) Arapahoe, (35) Fort Collins, (38) Rocky Mountain, (43) Castle View, (46) Pomona. Ralston Valley - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caden-gigstad/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caden-gigstad/">Caden Gigstad</a></a> 15.3 PPG, 3.7 APG, 2.7 RPG, 1.8 SPG, shooting 37% from three-point range in the regular season (67/183). He is a four year varsity player that averaged 8.0 points per game his freshmen year and has only improved in each year. He leads the team in assists this year and is second in scoring. He is a guard that can get it done in a number of different ways for his team, he has great vision and plays under control. In four season of playing twenty-three games or more he has a career average of 35% from deep (224/638) as well as 79% from the charity strip (182/234). Ralston Valley is a senior led team that has several different players on their roster that impact the game nightly for them, they have three players that average double figures along with a couple that are close. Arapahoe - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/bryson-stevens/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/bryson-stevens/">Bryson Stephens</a></a> & Korey Hess Bryson finished third overall in the centennial league in scoring this regular season at 20.9 PPG to go along with. 3.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.9 SPG for Arapahoe. Hess is his counter part in the backcourt and has had a very solid senior season as well, he averaged: 14.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.0 SPG. He is a downhill attacking guard that does not take a play off on either side of the ball. He has good handles and is a crafty finisher in the paint. Stephens is more of the scorer between the two, he is able to stretch the defense and get hot from distance, he shot 31% from deep during the year. He is also a very strong ball handler that is able to create for himself and has great footwork down-low. He does a lot of his damage from inside the arc, with his crafty finishes and smooth mid-range game. Horizon - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/xavier-harris/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/xavier-harris/">Xavier Harris</a></a> & <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/daric-conkright/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/daric-conkright/">Daric Conkright</a></a> Horizon has a very young core and part of that is sophomore guard Harris who averaged: 10.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG for the Hawks during the regular season. He played in twenty games as a freshmen for Horizon and his game should continue to grow these next two years. He has a good feel for the game and attacks the rim relentlessly. Conkright is the senior leader in the backcourt, he averaged: 13.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.7 SPG and is a threat from all three levels on the court. He is second on the team in scoring and leads them in assists this year. This will be a fun team to keep an eye on going forward this year and years to come. George Washington - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kendale-johnson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kendale-johnson/">Kendale Johnson</a></a> & <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jarmell-johnson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jarmell-johnson/">Jarmell Johnson</a></a> Kendale is a well built 6'4 junior guard that can get it done in a number of different ways for George Washington. He averaged: 12.5 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.9 RPG, 1.0 SPG, shooting 44% from distance on the year (28/64) and 61% from inside the arc (83/137). Jarmell also a junior averaged: 12.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.4 SPG shooting 41% from distance and 68% from two-point game. Both have the ball in their hands a lot for the Patriots and cause opposing defenses problem with their size and athletic ability. Valor Christian - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/aj-kula/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/aj-kula/">AJ Kula</a></a> & <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/amondo-miller/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/amondo-miller/">Amondo Miller</a></a> Kula is a 6'5 shooting guard for Valor who has a number of different players who impact the game nightly. During the regular season he averaged: 9.5 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.2 RPG, 1.4 SPG while shooting 71% from inside the three-point arc (55/78). His 3.2 assists per game this year leads the team and he is second on the team with three-pointers made (26/86). Miller is another junior guard with good size at 6'5 that is tied for first on the team in scoring this year at 11.9 PPG, he also averaged 3.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG for the Eagles. Eaglecrest - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/zion-ruckard/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/zion-ruckard/">Zion Ruckard</a></a> Ruckard had a very impressive senior regular season for the Raptors, he averaged: 17.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 SPG. He led the team in both points, assists, steals per game and was second in rebounding behind their big man. He is a guard that can score from all three levels and is very crafty in the paint and around the rim with a number of skilled finishes and soft touch on his floater. He has scored double figures in every game during the regular season and stuffs the stat sheet each night effecting the game in different ways. He comes in at the tenth ranked player in this senior class and any school will be lucky to pick him up. Overland - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/hezekiah-swanson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/hezekiah-swanson/">Hezekiah Swanson</a></a> & <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trevon-deden/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trevon-deden/">Trevon Deden</a></a> Swanson has had a nice bounce back season after a knee injury last year. During his senior season this year, he averaged: 7.3 PPG, 3.1 APG, 2.5 RPG for the trailblazers. He's a player that has seen major varsity time ever since his freshmen year and did everything in his power to come back strong for his senior season. Deden is more of the shooting guard in the backcourt, he averaged: 11.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, shooting 36% from distance during the regular season (31/85). He scored double figures in the final five games of the season for Overland, including 20 in the final game against Arapahoe in which the trailblazers needed all 20 to get the win to end the regular season. Rock Canyon - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-ashley/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-ashley/">Jalen Ashley</a></a> & <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chris-schlesinger/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chris-schlesinger/">Chris Schlesinger</a></a> Ashley is the senior leader for Rock Canyon, the 6'3 guard averaged: 15.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG and is a guard that can score from all three levels on the court. From distance this year he shot 36% on the year (39/109) as well as 67% from inside the three-point arc (83/123). He has scored double figures in all but two games this year, with 26 points being his season high in a tough loss to Chaparral earlier this month. Schlesinger is a sophomore guard who sees the floor a lot for Rock Canyon, he leads the team in assists this year at 3.1 assists per game and is also averaging: 5.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG. It will be fun to watch his game grow these next few years. Rocky Mountain - Joseph Naddy & <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/aidan-kuhl/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/aidan-kuhl/">Aidan Kuhl</a></a> Naddy is the senior leader in the backcourt for Rocky Mountain, he averaged: 14.1 PPG, 3.3 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 SPG and is a guard that can score in a number of different ways. He ended the regular season tying his season high of 29 points in a tough loss to Fossil Ridge. Kuhl is the sophomore shooting guard in the backcourt for the Lobos, he averaged: 17.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG during the regular season. Shooting 32% from distance on the year (48/148) and 55% from inside the arc (86/156). He is currently ranked 26th in the class of 2022 rankings. Fort Collins - <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/hugo-veloso/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/hugo-veloso/">Hugo Veloso</a></a> & Raymond Johnson & Hunter Ogden Fort Collins has three different guards that make an impact each night for them. Veloso is the sophomore of the bunch while Johnson and Ogden are the senior leaders of the group. Veloso averaged: 11.2 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, shooting 35% from distance on the year (33/95). He is second on the team in scoring this year and leads them in terms of three-pointers made this year. Johnson leads the team this year in both scoring at 12.0 PPG and rebounding at 5.4 RPG to go along with 2.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 BPG and scored double figures in the final six games of the regular season for Fort Collins. Ogden is the other senior, he averaged: 7.4 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.7 RPG, 1.1 SPG, his 3.5 assists per game leads the team.