Prime Time Prospects: Open Run Standouts
Kipp Adams (Red Wing, 2017). Tough guard who refuses to be screened. Adams battles you and simply won’t allow a guy to get a body on him without an aggressive response. Loved his transition push as well as his ball pressure. Chased guys threw the passing lanes denying all the way. Loved his effort.
Jared Bakken (Century, 2016). Combo forward who was one of the hardest working players at the event. Defended with effort, started his team’s transition game that was mid-season worthy, hustled after the play every time, finished with contact regularly. Really impressed with the way he played.
Oakley Baker (NHREG, 2017). Said this last weekend too but Oakley looks on the verge of a breakout scoring year. I see him doing more to produce points than he’s done in the past. This is more than just a shooter, he’s also using the dribble to score and doing things off the ball to add to his point total like true scorers do.
Courtney Brown Jr (East Ridge, 2019). This is the second best freshman in the state coming into the year. We know the physical gifts of course. What I also liked is attention to making a box-out hit, shuffling his feet to beat opponents to the spot on defense, helping over to contest shots. Showed a matured game for an extremely long wing.
Broc Finstuen (Pine Island, 2017). Broc continues to look more and more like a three. His open floor run to throw down, open floor play making, and his lateral movement are that of a three. His ability to rebound from anywhere on the floor with a physical battle or an agile grab is better than you would see of a small forward though. Big number guy. Big production.
Parker Fox (Mahtomedi, 2017). Long, skilled, and yes explosive. We’ve said a lot about what Parker could be since seeing him excel at the NHR state tournament last Memorial Day but his growth has been rapid. Had some open floor throw downs with a little extra flare. Physically he was able to put the ball down and get to the front of the rim and opponents could do little with him.
Nick Gehlen (Woodbury, 2016). First time seeing Nick play and we were impressed. Has a nice little one dribble game and definitely a good touch. Was comfortable handling the ball in the open run and at about 6-foot-4 he also rebounded well.
Austin Greenwaldt (New Prague, 2016). Well built three man who rebounded like a four, pushed the ball in transition like a guard, and worked harder than most. Nice touch with feet set, did some of everything. Type of guy that will score as a senior but can also play a nice role at the college level as a worker.
Jake Guse (Waseca, 2017). A very active but simple post and that is a good thing. The young man just works. When he has the ball on the perimeter he gets it back to a guard and then cuts hard to catch and score or he dives hard into the post to get a seal and ask for a return pass. Good size for a Class AA school at about 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6 and really liked his rim run.
Michael Hurt (Rochester JM, 2016). The Gopher commit just loves to play. He is in here hitting threes, directing teammates, hitting in the post, chasing down boards to putback score, and pretty much play the way he always does regardless of the situation. A gym rat without question.
Trent Jerome (KCC, 2016). Good talk throughout the open runs directing his defense, like his touch on the perimeter, constant effort guy. Seems to have good ball handling skill so he’d be comfortable moving around the perimeter against pressure and does a nice job moving without the ball to get into position to catch and attempt.
Theodore Johnson (Centennial, 2016). Rough and rugged senior who instantly battled his way to a board and finish in the paint. Strong kid who looks to make box-out hits quickly. Uses the pump fake extremely well to score displace size. All over the offensive boards the entire time during the open runs. If there were point and rebound totals it would be a safe bet that Johnson finished with the best.
Jack Kortes (Prior Lake, 2016). Jack is a guy that will definitely come out of this thing is a big stock raiser. Between the skill drills and the work in the open runs he showed that he can play a couple positions. Knows how to play as an undersized four man but he’s really a wing who scored with touch at the arc and moving off the ball to find ways to catch and finish. Excellent showing.
Elliott Lyden (Centennial, 2017). Looking forward to seeing how he works with Tyler Peterson and Alex Facon this year. Elliott can be the second ball handler for this team but he also has the physical gifts to run off the ball and then move to position and make plays. Impressed with what he’s become physically.
Garrett Maag (St. Croix Lutheran, 2018). Who is going to be the fourth scoring option for the Crusaders? Could be Maag who hit a good share of his long range shot attempts. When he gets his feet set chances are good he will finish.
Zak Olson (WEM, 2017). Olson has definitely working on his perimeter skill. Mid-range shot looks good and he played some lead guard during the open runs showing off some improved ball handling skills. He’s also the strong rebounder that he’s always been.
Tessy Pal (Fridley, 2016). Pal’s best basketball is three years ahead or more. He’s so long, agile, and getting more skilled by the day. As that skill grows with his physical development this is a young man that could play a lot of three as long as he continues to work. Can definitely get time at the four with the length and frame he possesses.
Jacob Pazdernik (Detroit Lakes, 2016). Nice four man from Detroit Lakes. Has the potential to be very good for them this winter. Seemed to play both forward spots very well.
Derek Pendleton (Redwood Valley, 2017). The young man from Redwood is still scorching nets. Doesn’t matter what situation you put him in Derek loves to show off the range and the final swishing result. He was especially on fire in round two of open play.
Tanner Ranslow (WEM, 2019). Young guard who is a really good shooter. Decent guard size for a player that just entered the ninth grade and a stroke to go with it. Could play either guard spot as he gets older.
Dalek Roberts (Tartan, 2016). Tartan is so deep that a guy like Dalek may go unnoticed but he did some good things today hitting at the arc and especially making plays in the passing lanes or deflecting the ball and pushing the other way. Solid athlete, played hard.
Savion Scott (Mpls Henry, 2017). An open floor constant who scored several times beating opponents to the rim and finishing despite the hand in his face. Very comfortable in the open floor plus he’s a strong guard that is tough to knock off balance when he’s on the attack.
Logan Sendle (WEM, 2017). Excellent ball handler who quickly got to each spot on the floor with sudden dribbles. Head up, ball moved quickly to hit cutters and reverse the ball. Definitely should be a nice PG at WEM for the next couple years. Liked his vision too. Instantly had three assists at the start and scored a floater over some ridiculous length.
Isaiah Walden (Rochester JM, 2017). Isaiah had a really nice day. Played with energy on both ends. He was quick to transition the ball and the opposing defense had trouble retreating to stop him or stop his first pass. Liked how he attacked to score in traffic and I really appreciated his defensive efforts to make a stop and turn around attack the other direction.
CJ Woda (Heritage Christian, 2017). Woda could definitely be a scholarship guy. That’s not something that I really noticed until this fall as he looks physically more advanced plus the skill is there. He’s a guy that has had to play an assortment of roles in his time and it’s really helped him evolve, as has the physical maturation.
Lamarr Wood (Mpls Patrick Henry, 2017). Another productive day for the Patriot new big. Right now it’s obvious that at his size he’s toughest to deal with when he’s moving up the floor with the pace and then gets a step to the ball ahead of others allowing him to use his physical size to be productive. So much potential there.