Five 2020 Breakout Scoring Candidates
Up next in our daily season preview articles are the five seniors who I look to have a break out season scoring. The eighth article in a series of 73 highlights the five 2020’s who are poised to finally have…
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Continue ReadingUp next in our daily season preview articles are the five seniors who I look to have a break out season scoring. The eighth article in a series of 73 highlights the five 2020’s who are poised to finally have their shot scoring the ball. Let’s take a look at the seniors who have a big year in score this winter. Up next will be five 1A teams who finished under .500 last season to keep an eye on.
Alaina Applegate — 6’1 PF — Central Decatur — 5.0 PPG last season
Fresh off of a season that saw Central Decatur make it to the State Finals, they are going to need some new players to step up. Applegate seems like the prime player to do that as she shot the ball at a 43 percent clip last season. The top three scorers on this team are gone and with them exits 733 shot attempts and 42.2 points a game. Applegate is going to have to have a big year if they want to get back to the tournament. She has the ability to score it and when her confidence is high she’ll have no problem doing so.
Rachel Puok — 5’9 SG — Des Moines East — 2.2 PPG last season
Puok was impressive this summer with Beyond Ball, and not she’ll have to be even more impressive to carry the load for Des Moines East. Of the 11 players on the team last year eight of them were seniors. This is going to force Puok into more of a ball handling and scoring role than she is used to seeing. Look for her to be a player and step up immensely this winter. She has some length and her motor is going to dictate just how good she is this year.
Emma Willett — 5’6 SG — Belle Plaine — 2.0 PPG last season
I would venture to guess that none of you have heard Willett’s name before, but after she scores 10 points a game you will. On a Belle Plaine team that went 12-7 last year Willett is going to shine this season. Gone are the team’s top five scorers and left behind is a scattering of underclassmen and Willett. Willett has the ability to shoot the ball from behind the arc but she can also get to the rim. As a smart guard look for Willett to choose her spots carefully.
Lillie Kramer — 5’6 SG — Central City — 1.6 PPG last season
Kramer’s efficiency is going to need to get better this high school season if she wants to lead her team. I think it will, and she’ll end up really proving herself at a high level. Last season she only scored 1.6 points a game but had four seniors and a couple underclassmen carry the load. Now in her senior campaign, Kramer is going to have to step up. She illustrates a solid feel for the game as well as a really solid motor that should prove to work for her this winter.
Kaitlyn Couchman — 5’7 SG — Seymour — 1.6 PPG last season
As a team that hit triple digits once and won 20 games in a row before falling in the tournament, expectations are high. After losing five of their top scorers, including three that scored more than 11.7 points a game, Seymour is looking to reload. I don’t think this is going to be a rebuilding year for them, but likely a year that they figure out their new identity. Keeping them afloat will be Couchman as she has always had the ability to score but just never really needed to. A fluidly athletic guard, look for Couchman to nearly quadruple her scoring total.