By Ken Hansard
Emmitt Peters, a senior combo shooting guard / point guard for St. James Academy, enters his final year for the Thunder with some lofty goals, “As a team, we’d definitely like to win the EKL and go on a deep state tournament run. Personally, I would like to earn MVP of the EKL as well as First Team All-State.” As impressive as those targets may seem, when one considers Peters’ past contributions, those goals appear to be within reach.
As a junior, Peters was named 2nd team All EKL and Honorable Mention All-State. He led the team in scoring in both his sophomore and junior years. He led the EKL last season in three-point field goals made, dropping 44 on the year, while also leading the league in three-point percentage, shooting at a 37% clip.
The Thunder compiled a record of 9-14, culminating in a season ending loss at sub-state to Bonner Springs. Peters knew that, if he and his teammates were going to make a deeper dive into the postseason, he would have to put in the work in the off-season, “I worked on finishing in traffic and utilizing my teammates’ strengths better to improve our team. I have gotten stronger in the weight room. I put some emphasis on my mid-range game as well.”
Emmitt understands that his physical contributions on the floor are key to the success of his team, but he also realizes he has other roles to play, “We are a pretty young team, so new players learning their roles quickly will contribute to our success as a team. I see myself as a leader on and off the floor. I will be leaned on as a scorer, rebounder, and as someone who will need to make an impact on the defensive end.”
Peters, who wants to continue to play basketball after high school at the collegiate level, and hopefully someday at the D1 level, aspires to major in business, and says of this year’s Thunder squad, “I have a great feeling about this team, and I think we have many factors and contributors to help us win more games this season.”
