NHR On Location: Watertown-Mayer vs Providence Academy
Game Notes It was great to see both teams start the game with five guys on each unit defending deep in stances and talking on D possession after possession. Tip of the cap to the coaches from both teams and…
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Continue ReadingGame Notes
- It was great to see both teams start the game with five guys on each unit defending deep in stances and talking on D possession after possession. Tip of the cap to the coaches from both teams and the kids for their defensive efforts.
- The best players on the floor were Dominic Miller and Trae Berhow and both of these kids were deep in a stance, talking on defense, and busting over and around screens. When the best players defend like that it's easy for the rest of the players to follow suit.
- This was my first ever trip to watch a game in the Royals gym and it was a great experience. They had a great crowd, a lively student section, a solid concession stand (to TC the Hoop Czar, the pizza was solid and they have Icee freezes!), and a nice gym.
- Berhow took a lot of shots and he will need to. His teammates are better than I expected them to be but Trae has the ball in his hands a lot and his teammates are okay with that. Berhow's teammates bounce off the bench for everything he does and it's nice to see a team cheer for a guy that does a lot rather than sulk.
- Providence Academy is missing two returning starters because of ACL injuries that happened in football. Tough break for them as they will be missing some key pieces.
- Drake University had an assistant watching the game to see Berhow, Minnesota Lockdown had three coaches watching, former Minnetonka coach Tom Dasovich was in the building as he is now the Watertown-Mayer athletic director, and the crowd for the game made the gym about 70 percent full.
W-M Player Notes
- Trae Berhow. Berhow started cold from the field as he had a guy denying him all game long but as the defenders went from working like crazy to tired Trae was able to create more for himself and others. Had 29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. I really liked how he created for others, loved his defensive effort, rebounded well. We are going to break his game against the Lions down more in an individual article this evening.
- Ben Theisen. A senior point guard that played offensive guard on the football field this fall. Love his toughness. Strong guard with a good touch who hit two threes and three jumpers overall. Scored a dozen points and gave his team a tough guy effort.
- Ethan McCleary. Scored two points but was on the floor because he defends with an outstanding effort. Love his deep stance, his length working to distract and get deflections, and my favorite part was seeing the motor never stop as he laterally forced guys into bad spots on the floor.
- McKinley Gehlhausen. Stands 6-foot-7 as a junior, is tough to move at about 230 pounds I would guess, and his touch on the low block is really good. Has a nice deep one dribble move turning his shoulder left and knocking the defense off balance allowing him to hit the five footer. Also did a great job getting into position to finish off creations from Berhow. A guy to watch, he could keep growing.
Providence Academy
- Dominic Miller. I was simply caught off guard at how he good Miller is. Physically he has good size at about 6-foot-2 and very well built, Miller is a better athlete than I expected and his work rate is at a high level. Made four one dribble pull-ups and scored 23 points. I will go more in-depth on him in the next 24 hours in an individual article but this guy is a prospect moving up.
- Henry Van Dellen. Henry is a scholarship quarterback who is every bit of the 6-foot-4, 200 pound prospect that runs a 4.9 in the 40. The future Bison QB scored 16 points in a physical way from his forward position. Physically he will give this team another option of production plus he passes the look test as a top FCS QB prospect
- Drew Lahr. Drew plays next to Van Dellen up front and is one of the guys who is having to do more up front than expected because of injuries. He was a nice role player a year ago but he looks like he should be able to give the Lions another scoring option after scoring 15. He's a longer athlete that runs well which should allow him to keep scoring in transition and actively off the ball.
Bottom Line
- Watertown-Mayer. They will be better than I thought (I expected them to be in the 18 win area, now I think they could be 20 plus this season). They have a scorer, a tough lead guard, an interior scorer, and role players that battle. Have the potential to be a back end top ten team in Class AA although I think they are a second playmaker away from being a true contender.
- Providence Academy. The Lions will miss the size that is hobbled on crutches. They will be above .500 for sure but when it comes down to contending for things they likely won't have the talent/depth now to grab a title. Good team though that will battle.