Few things in a high school basketball game are as fun as big game breaker moments. The big shots are great. The big shooters are even better. A fun debate is who people would put the ball in the hands of at the end of the game when you need a knock down shot.
And area fans can name a lot of big shooters. But we wanted to highlight five shooters who don’t get looked at as much. These people may do other things very well too, but here are five the areas top overlooked ‘pure’ shooters.
NATE DICKSON, EAST NOBLE
We kick off the list with the guy that certainly isn’t overlooked by opposing scouting reports, yet doesn’t get enough overall credit for his shot. Dickson (pictured) is arguably the best shooter in the entire area. Last season, he made himself known as a marksman from the corner, drilling huge shots that opened up East Noble’s big man centric game and allowed everyone more freedom.
This season, he has had to work harder for shots. That comes both because he caught people’s attention last year, but also because he is the number two scorer for the Knights now. Either way, he’s still stroking threes and the best way to stop is to have a hand or two, or three, on him when he puts up a shot. Dickson is knocking down 38 percent of his three point shots this season and is his team’s leader it total triples.
PEYTON GULLEY, CONCORDIA LUTHERAN
The Cadets have a lot of three point threats and Gulley may be most forgotten of them. While Elle Fritcha is keyed on and Annaka Nelson is grabbing attention as a freshman, Gulley knows how to sneak her way around the perimeter to get open. She has hit a team best 13 three pointers as of this writing in the 2019-2020 season and is hitting a team second best 37 percent from behind of the arc of players with 10 or more games.
Gulley is scrappy too on the perimeter. You’d think that face guarding her would be an option but she is great at shedding her defender off ball. That is a severely underrated quality in a great shooter and Gulley can get away from almost anyone.
KARSON JENKINS, SNIDER
If you aren’t worried about the damage that Jenkins can cause if he gets hot, then you certainly have not seen enough of the Snider sophomore. Like others on this list, the fact that he has quality shooters in front of him lends to why he can be overlooked. In fact, as of press time, he is just sixth in his team in three pointers made yet his 35 percent success rate is second among Snider players with 10 or more attempts.
Jenkins is a dead eye shooter and has mostly unlimited range and successful positioning. He is not a player who you can trap into shooting outside of a certain spot, Jenkins can hit from almost anywhere around the perimeter and has near NBA range. What he will need now is just more experience, but he’s already day and night better than he was in limited freshman varsity experience a year ago. Don’t lose Jenkins on defense, he will make you pay.
LAUREN LEACH, ANGOLA
On a team with Hanna Knoll, it is possible to get lost in the shuffle even if you don’t mean to. Leach may not be most active shooter on this team behind the likes of Knoll but she is a very strong shooter who is looked at by many as more of a mid range to post threat because of her length. But the joke may be on you because it is her length that makes her such a threat from long range.
She is shooting a team best 42 percent from long range while hitting the teams third best total of triples. Guarding Leach on the perimeter is a challenge because of her ability to change directions and do so smoothly with that length. The angle of the shot is hard to defend because she is so tall with a really good wing span. Leach doesn’t seem thrown off or particularly challenged by a lot of three point shot defenses and it allows her to shoot with a great confidence in her eyes and flow.
NOAH WOLFE, CHURUBUSCO
Everyone knows that Wolfe is a lights out shooter but there are also a few factors in people forgetting just how dangerous he is. Not only has Wolfe really expanded his game in the last 18 months to be concrete in the midrange and as an – also underrated – defender, he has spent a chunk of this season on the bench with a knee injury, but is expected back soon.
Wolfe is scary with the ball in his hands because he has no conscience when shooting it. Coach Chris Paul told us in the preseason that Wolfe could go 0-of-10 (though, that isn’t ever likely) and then he will not hesitate to put that eleventh shot up. Wolfe is looking to dagger you every time he can and it makes him so dangerous.
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