Best of the Midwest: Sunday Recap
Games I saw 8:00 a.m.: Championship Sunday started out with a 17U all-Iowa game between All-Iowa Attack and Shoot It Academy. Attack was too much for the boys from Pella, despite yet another huge game from Ryan Van Wyk, and…
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Continue ReadingGames I saw
8:00 a.m.: Championship Sunday started out with a 17U all-Iowa game between All-Iowa Attack and Shoot It Academy. Attack was too much for the boys from Pella, despite yet another huge game from Ryan Van Wyk, and Attack controlled this game throughout. They held a 37-23 lead at the half, and cruised to a 65-49 win. Jailen Billings led Attack with 19 points, and Collin Hill had 15, as Attack moved into the semifinals. Ryan Van Wyk had 26 points in the loss for Shoot It.
9:05 a.m.: Moving over to a 16U quarterfinal, where Wisconsin Hoops Select jumped out of the gates quick, grabbing an 18-2 lead over Iowa Intensity before they knew what hit them. Intensity slowly chipped away, eventually cutting the lead down to just one before the half, with Select leading 37-36 at the break. An amazing second half from Ethan Mitchell helped lead Intensity to a dominant second half performance, as they came all the way back to win 78-71 to move into the semifinals. Mitchell scored 21 second half points, including five 3-pointers, and had 27 points overall in the game. Garrett Sturtz added 20 points.
10:10 a.m.: Another 16U game, this time between Iowa Dynasty and Minnesota Heat, in a Gold Bracket game. A slow start for Dynasty on the offensive end sent them into the break down 27-24. The second half was close throughout, but the second half emergence of Seybian Sims ultimately proved to be the difference for Dynasty. After going scoreless in the first half, Sims scored 12 second half points, controlling the paint for Dynasty, as they beat the Heat 57-54. Hakeem Odunsi had 18 points, Evan Flitz 17 and Sims had 12.
11:15 a.m.: Shortly after the second half of the 16U Dynasty game started, the 17U semifinal between All-Iowa Attack and Ray Allen Select tipped off, so I missed a majority of the first half of this one. Attack had a 26-16 lead at halftime by the time I got to the court. The second half was all about the inside-out tandem of Connor Kasperbauer and Austin Roetman for Attack, with Kasperbauer knocking down big three after big three, and Roetman establishing great position and finishing every time he touched the ball on the block. Attack controlled the second half en route to a 57-40 win, advancing to the championship game.
12:20 p.m.: Checking out Iowa Intensity 16U again, this time in a semifinal against Wisconsin Academy – Nelson. Intensity briefly broke open a close game behind strong shooting from Cade Crall, who knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first half, helping Intensity take a 40-35 lead into the half. Intensity controlled the second half, winning 79-67 to set up a championship game against Wisconsin Academy’s top team. Unfortunately, I don’t have stats for this game, as I was trying to keep track of the Attack 17U game as well, which tipped around halftime of this game.
1:25 p.m.: This final time slot was extremely busy, as Attack’s 17U team was playing in the championship against Minnesota Heat, Iowa Intensity 16U was playing in the championship against Wisconsin Academy – Kostroski, and Iowa Dynasty was taking on the Iowa Wolves in the 16U Gold championship game. I did my best to keep an eye on all three games.
In the Attack game, the Heat jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead, and were in control throughout. Attack cut the lead to six at one point in the second half, but never got any closer.
The Gold championship game between Dynasty and Wolves was controlled by the Wolves, who had an 11-point (36-25) lead at the half, and they held off a strong second half en route to a 61-58 win to take the Gold title.
The game I saw the most of ended up being Intensity, for the third time of the day. They played fantastic basketball all day, and this game was no exception. They jumped out to a 34-23 halftime lead, and controlled the second half, even after Wisconsin Academy turned up the defensive pressure. Intensity became the Platinum champions with a 74-63 win, capping off a fantastic weekend for this group.
Congratulations to 16U @IowaIntensity for winning the Best of the Midwest Platinum Bracket Championship! #BOM pic.twitter.com/sCrtVQXy8K
— BEST OF THE MIDWEST (@BestofMidwest1) April 24, 2016
Top Performances
5-10 G Jailen Billings (All-Iowa Attack Red 17U/Sioux City East) — Billings continued his strong play with another great shooting day in their quarterfinal win over Shoot It, leading the team with 19 points. I’ve never seen him shoot as well as he did this weekend, an improvement that should make colleges happy.
6-5 GF Collin Hill (All-Iowa Attack Red 17U/South Hamilton) — The combo wing was effective throughout the tournament with his dribble penetration, seemingly getting to the free throw line at will.
6-4 SG Connor Kasperbauer (All-Iowa Attack Red 17U/Ankeny Centennial) — The rangy wing hit a number of big shots to help keep RAS at bay in the semifinals. A smooth perimeter shooter.
6-4 GF Ryan Van Wyk (Shoot It Academy 17U/Pella) — Van Wyk’s final game of the weekend was another fantastic one, as he scored 26 points and grabbed double-digit rebounds in their loss to Attack.
6-0 SG Ethan Mitchell (Iowa Intensity 16U/Grinnell) — Mitchell scored 21 second half points to help Intensity erase an early 16-point deficit in their quarterfinal win. He scored 27 in that game, and his strong play continued in the semifinals and championship games, helping lead Intensity to a title.
6-2 SG Garrett Sturtz (Iowa Intensity 16U/Newton) — He was Intensity’s most consistent player throughout the tournament, routinely showing the ability to score from anywhere, and constantly hitting big shots.
6-6 GF Hakeem Odunsi (Iowa Dynasty 16U/Iowa City West) — One of the state’s better players that people don’t know about, Odunsi lived up to his reputation as a playmaker in Dynasty’s win over Minnesota Heat. He’s fantastic getting to the rim and finishing, and he’s a good facilitator as well.
6-0 PG Evan Flitz (Iowa Dynasty 16U/Iowa City West) — Keeps getting better every time I see him. Scored 17 points in Dynasty’s win over Heat, and is able to get to the rim much more consistently now that he’s gaining physical strength.