NHR State: Friday Night Standouts
The Northstar Hoops Report state tournament kicked off Friday night and I was focused on courts 1 and 4 of the Collin Powell Center. Who stood out? Who played the best? Who caught our attention? Those players are listed below.…
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Continue ReadingThe Northstar Hoops Report state tournament kicked off Friday night and I was focused on courts 1 and 4 of the Collin Powell Center. Who stood out? Who played the best? Who caught our attention? Those players are listed below.
Jesse Bergh (Crossfire Weege/Lake Park-Audubon). First look at Bergh this spring and completely loved what I saw from the big 6-foot-9 center in warm-ups moving very well at his size and easily finishing about the rim. Looks like a long, lean post prospect. Unfortunately during the game he didn’t get to play much at all so we saw only one shot, a couple boards, a nice post to post assist, and a block in about seven minutes of time total.
Trae Berhow (Powerhouse MN/Watertown-Mayer). Had a tough day shooting making 4 of 12 for 11 points but did battle for eight boards and open teammates up for shot (3 assists). Berhow will always battle and that was obvious today even when his touch couldn’t be found as often as he would like.
Jake Binley (Select Ohnstad/Simley). There were a lot times that I felt that Binley was the second best player on the floor after Pickford. He scored five times, grabbed six boards, defended well, and played harder than anybody on the floor. Jake is going to be a big scorer for Simley the next two years but what I’ve liked about the way he’s played with Select is you know he is also going to defend well, defend in position, and fight for every board, loose ball, and position.
Zayne Engel (Fury Kallman/Truman). At first my thought was a worker in the Aaron Ertz way because of the strong frame and the will to throw the body around. Then Zayne hit two threes and battled for post position and eventually made all six foul shots. Not 6-foot-7 like listed but about 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5. Scored 14 for the game and is definitely a player we want to see again.
Johnny Erickson (Crossfire Weege/Hope Academy). The Hope Academy lead guard pushes the ball so hard that initial defenders have to give up on their shuffle and turn and chase. Often it’s too late as Erickson had already started the offense and faded off a ball screen for the next play. Tied for the team lead in rebounding plus scored three times so there is a lot of desire to his every play.
Mykal Howard (Fury Kallman/St. Louis Park). A smooth crafty player that scored 11 on seven shots and the Crossfire really didn’t have a guy that could defend him. Very quick with the dribble and does a nice job in recognizing his defenders lean and then pouncing with a play made.
Andrew Kallman (Fury Kallman/Chaska). Opened the contest in a scoring role hitting a couple trey and then attack for a score giving him the first eight points of the contest. Scored 14 hitting three treys and he is really shooting confidently in his 6-foot-4 frame. Has the making of a long MIAC two guard that can also handle quite well and most of the time makes the right decisions with the ball.
Rocky Kreuser (Fury Kallman/Totino-Grace). Looks every bit of 6-foot-8 these days but with that growth the shooting touch is still present. Knocked out three treys against Crossfire and was quick off his feet for seven boards and a couple finishes. Really like his frame, agility, length, quick feet, and much else. Definitely a “bag full of D2 offers” guy in my opinion.
Luke Martens (Select Ohnstad/Apple Valley). Took two shots, made two shots. Rebounding hard. Defending as well as any player in his grade. All out maximum effort and it’s always an intelligent effort.
Josh McGreal (Select Ohnstad/Centennial). Made a couple jumpers in this game highlighted by a corner trey but his quick bounce to the glass is what caught our eye as he totaled a game high ten boards. One of the quickest players off his feet in the state I have to believe.
King Myles (Powerhouse MN/Tartan). Kingston is very interesting. He scored 21 including five treys and only needed ten shots to get that total. Also created shots for others and did a nice job defending down the stretch. Every time we’ve seen him Myles is making some big plays and if this is what he gives consistently this is a guy to seriously watch as a stock raiser.
Tywhon Pickford (D1 Minnesota/Maple Grove). Pickford’s ability to dribble separate as well as his cutting and sprinting around screens has me thinking his leg is feeling good and he is close to being 100 percent. Definitely looks stronger and the three point stroke looked good Friday night. Nailed five in the first half and those five helped keep his team with Select. Then in the second half when his team played better Pickford scored on the attacking totaling 21 for the game.
Logan Rezac (Crossfire Weege/Andover). A player that I’ve been waiting to see as everybody is talking about the way he competes and his confidence in his ability. That was all there as Logan missed his first five shots but then went on to make seven treys as the majority of his 23 points. Rezac has a look of competitive fire on his face at all times, is a strong guard, and whenever he sees some space he gets shoulders squared and releases.
Savion Scott (D1 Minnesota Prospects/Mpls Henry) . Scott was very aggressive with every touch putting the ball on the deck and forcibly taking action. Savion is one of the stronger guards/wings you will see so he is able to get to an angle and then hold his defender off working to make a play. Scored four times on the attack and competes hard enough that teammates seem to follow his lead.
Brian Sitzmann (Fury Kallman/Prior Lake). Started the game with a couple treys and then later in the contest did a nice job in distribution. Liked how he competed defensively for the Fury in this game.
Devin Schultz (Crossfire Weege/Sibley East). The Sibley East 6-foot-8 center finished the game with two scores and six boards playing about a third of the contest. There were only so many times to see him with the ball but the touch around the basket is pretty good. He’s already a big kid and when some of his frame is turned to muscle he will have the core strength to stay on balance and complete more plays as well as stay on balance when getting positon.
Brian Smith (Select Ohnstad/Champlin Park). Smith had an excellent first half defending Isaiah Walden very well, dishing out six of his seven assists and hitting all three of his shots. A water bug with one of the cleanest shots in the state.
Jordan Thompson (Select Ohnstad/Tartan). Tartan guard scored 15 points with most of them coming down the stretch to try and keep his team in the game. Made six of eight field goals and was the guy with the ball in his hands confidently trying to play make down the stretch.
Joevon Walker (Powerhouse MN/Tartan). The Tartan four man had a two hand tip dunk that seemed to energize him. Scored immediately three times after that including a couple putbacks. Played with a lot of life and brought in a dozen points with seven boards playing one of his better games of the year.
Osirus Washington (MN Phenom/Park Center). The Park Center guard could not be kept in front so he was going left to right into his pull-up constantly as well as separating and getting to the rim. Also hit a couple threes on his way to 27 points as nobody could keep him in front at all.
Michael Wexler (Powerhouse MN/BSM). The BSM lead guard helped put an end to Phenom runs a couple times with his clean stroking treys. Made three of them and also showed a lot of toughness in the way he pushed the ball up the court.
CJ Woda (Crossfire Weege/Heritage Christian). The long wing opened the game making two treys and attacking for two more scores. If CJ hadn’t been able to get space on his defender in the first half the game would have never been close the rest of the way. Woda had a tough finish but always competes with an edge.
Lamar Wood (D1 Minnesota Prospects/Mpls Henry). Lamar was a key factor in the Prospects beating Select as he rim ran for six scores and grabbed seven boards. His effort to get to the front of the rim and either finish putbacks or finish the creations of others was crucial. Also did a nice job using his length to slow down the Select interior. One of the most active games I’ve seen Lamar play.