By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Basketball season is underway in Missouri. Below are the area’s Class 5 Boys Basketball Players to Watch this year.
NOTE: NAMES ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. THERE WILL ALSO BE A SEPARATE BREAKOUT PLAYERS LIST.
Braxton Boyer, Willard
Quietly, Boyer has developed into one of the top guards in the area after an All-COC junior campaign. The 6-foot-1 senior averaged 12 points and three assists, also emerging as one of the best shooters in the area. He doesn’t need much space, and he can go get it off the bounce as well. He also has a coach in JJ Adamson that isn’t afraid to let his players have some freedom.
Keion Epps, Central
All-state, all-district and All-Ozark Conference as a junior, Epps returns as one of the most decorated guards in the Ozarks. He also happens to be the most dynamic with the ball in his hands. He averaged 17.3 points and 5.8 assists while also shooting 49 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3. He’s the best player in the Ozarks and will be a candidate for Missouri POY.
Eli Govan & Dassiah Green, Parkview
Jack Simpson has two of the best players in the Ozarks, both are battle-tested and experienced. Govan is an elite defender that can also play with his back to the basket as well as on the perimeter, averaging 12 points and seven rebounds as a junior. Green is cut from a similar cloth, developing into a high-level defender as well as a 11.5 PPG scorer.
Taner Hicks & Kyrese Simpson, Hillcrest
Jordan Fielding has one of the area’s top backcourts in senior Hicks and sophomore Simpson. Hicks put up 15 points, six rebounds and three assists as a junior, while Simpson added 13 points and a pair of assists, showing drastic improvement throughout the year. These two are among the best at SPS and have it rolling for the Hornets.
Holton Keith & Eli Pace, Webb City
The first of two Webb City guards on this list, Keith has made a name for himself through his athleticism and motor; he’s impossible to keep out of the paint. As a junior he earned All-COC honors by averaging 14.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 steals. He’s a big, bouncy guard that forces opponents to help early and often. Pace’s pace is what makes him special, with the ability to get paint touches at will and make the right play when he gets there. He led the COC in assists last year, coming off a junior year where he averaged 11.5 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 steals. Pace has become one of the best two-way point guards in Missouri and this is a top-three backcourt in the Ozarks.
Brody Pant, Carl Junction
His sophomore season was nothing short of impressive as Pant earned All-COC honors behind 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals. Now he transitions to a league that isn’t as top-heavy as the COC and to a coach in Cort Hardy that has a much faster system than what Pant was in last year. Expect his numbers to go up across the board.
Devin Sanford & Jordan Pittman, Central
Putting four players from Central on here may seem like overkill, but it’s really not. If Sanford or Pittman went to any other school in the area, they would be superstars. They’ve willingly sacrificed individual honors for something greater as a team, which Central has done. Sanford averaged 13 points and four assists last year, Pittman stuffed the stat sheet and is an elite defender, averaging five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Bryce Walker, Central
Walker has been the Shaq to Epps’ Kobe for the last three years, averaging 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks last year. He’s also one of the area’s top finishers, collecting numerous head taps over the years. But what makes Walker special is that his game is expanding, making the undersized big more of a big guard and even more of a matchup problem.
OTHERS TO WATCH
Owen Borbe, Camdenton
Cael Carlin, McDonald County
Blake Daughtery, Willard
Jared Kraft, West Plains
Carlitos Sanchez, Parkview
Ethan Tuma, West Plains
Cooper Vediz, Carl Junction
