Rankings Deep Dive, 2023 Small Forwards
The start of the fall high school sports season puts a hard stop on the summer club season. Still, individual camps and especially exposure events targeting the individual player, like the basket full of upcoming Prep Girls Hoops Top250 Exposure…
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Continue ReadingThe start of the fall high school sports season puts a hard stop on the summer club season. Still, individual camps and especially exposure events targeting the individual player, like the basket full of upcoming Prep Girls Hoops Top250 Exposure events, are setting up to get players some quality playing time; skills training; and sight time in front of scouts and college basketball coaches. The hard stop also enables some extra dive time into the ranks to look over players … especially in preparation for the next rankings update. In this article I share a look at a smattering of 2023 small forwards.
Claire Suchma Claire Suchma 5'8" | SF Blue Valley Northwest | 2023 State KS , 5’8″, Blue Valley Northwest, KC Next Level Eclipse – Suchma is a player I hope to get a chance to see more of this fall since I did not get that chance over the summer. Early in the 2021 season she showed against Lawrence that she has the athleticism and quickness to play on the top of the press and the scrappiness to gather rebounds. She had 8 against the Chesty Lions including 3 offensive.
Kelsie Kinniburgh Kelsie Kinniburgh 5'9" | SG Sunrise Christian Academy | 2023 State KS , 5’8″, Sunrise Christian Academy, Wheat State Elite – Kinniburgh heads to Sunrise Christian Academy after three years with Valley Center. While she missed most of the 2019 season due to injury, Kinniburgh showed herself to have a strong motor and good three point range. She also is able to avoid fouling on the shot block.
Anna Martin
Anna
Martin
5'9" | SF
Cheney | 2023
State
KS
, 5’9″, Cheney – Martin’s 2.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game average in 22 games for the 3A state champions does not exactly reach out and grab you. With more than half of the team’s 62.7 points per game being scored by two players, including 22 by Emporia State bound Kylie Scheer, and incoming transfers causing the top ten players to carve out a few minutes of playing time it becomes a little more clear why her stats were not greater. This is the same player who, as a freshman, had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals in 3A state tournament quarterfinal win over Phillipsburg the year before. Martin is far from a garbage time player and I expect with more touches and minutes this winter, her ability will be much more visible.
Molly McClendon
Molly
McClendon
5'11" | SF
West Elk | 2023
State
KS
, 5’10”, West Elk – McClendon is a returning 2021 South Central Border League first team selection. A very capable perimeter shooter, she averaged 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.1 assists. It is not a stretch to expect her to push into the mid-double digits this upcoming season as she improves upon her field goal percentage and perimeter shooting.
Keeli Knobbe
Keeli
Knobbe
5'9" | SF
Sylvan-Lucas | 2023
State
KS
, 5’9″, Sylvan-Lucas – It is pretty easy to see why Knobbe earned Northern Plains League first team in 2021. She shot 44% (27-61) from three point land and 62% from the foul line to complete a sophomore season averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Jordan Sears Jordan Sears 5'10" | SF McPherson | 2023 State KS , 5’9″, McPherson, SSA Gameball 2023 Ingram – I first saw Sears a summer ago at the MAYB Reign the Plains event. My notes, “Good handles in transtion. Fast, athletic, long. Passes well and creates off the bounce.” Fast forward ahead to late this past July and she and her teammates flat put it to a bunch of teams on both ends of the floor. A sequence where she grabbed an offensive rebound, took off in a end-to-end sprint, and finished with a challenged layup says a great deal about her potential. Sears is transferring to McPherson after attending McPherson Homeschool.
Kynlee Lakey Kynlee Lakey 5'8" | SF Frontenac | 2023 State KS , 5’8″, Frontenac – Lakey has shown good elevation on her challenged mid-range jumper, quick hops, streaking scoring ability, and can thrown in a quick whirl in going from point A to point B with the ball. She is a core part of this strong team that has reached back-to-back 3A state tournaments.
MaKinsey Jones MaKinsey Jones 5'11" | SF Topeka West | 2023 State KS , 5’11”, Topeka West – Jones’s break and butter is rebounding and shot blocking. She looks to box, jumps well on the rebound, and is a problem for opposing teams with her length and transition speed. As she gains strength and keeps polishing her mid-range and perimeter shooting ability she make serious strides in getting attention to play at the next level.