Adidas Gauntlet: Minnesota Thursday
NHR was in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Thursday to see the Minnesota talent compete against the best in the nation on the Adidas circuit. All teams won and move on to Friday bracket play. D1 Minnesota 15U PG Jacob Beeninga…
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Continue ReadingNHR was in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Thursday to see the Minnesota talent compete against the best in the nation on the Adidas circuit. All teams won and move on to Friday bracket play.
D1 Minnesota 15U
PG Jacob Beeninga (Wayzata). The biggest thing I will remember about Jacob is that he was constantly on the move. Even during dead balls he was talking to teammates, pacing, consulting with the coach, etc. And on the floor, he was on the move. Had a gorgeous behind the back pass for an assist, he had a tear drop finish, and scored on the attack plus hit late game treys.
PG Tyrell Terry (DeLaSalle). One of my favorite things to watch is Tyrell near halfcourt seeing things develop and sending a pass on a zipline to a teammate perfectly to his hands for a score. Does the job of leading teammates and creating open looks for them as if he was a Jones family member. Not comparing his overall game to Tyus or Tre, I am saying he seems to have that type of vision and makes similar reads with similar results. Good shooter too.
SG Jamison Battle (BSM). Speaking of shooter! Somebody ice this guy’s hand at night because its glowing red like that villain in Iron Man 3! The 6-foot-5 Battle was getting into space and knocking out feet set treys in every corner of the hotbox middle school gym the team was playing in. A game changer.
SF Tyler Wahl (Lakeville North). I’ve heard a lot about the potential of 6-foot-5 Wahl and when he just missed two-hand dunking an alley-oop attempt over a 7-foot-4 center from Utah I almost fell forward in amazement. Did not expect that agility.
SG Kerwin Walton (2020 player undecided on a school). One of the smoother players I’ve seen at this age Kerwin gives no expression but he does give his team soft touching results. At about 6-foot-2 with length he will grow into a big guard prospect.
D1 Minnesota 17U
Ishmael El Amin (Hopkins). Had the game clinching overtime shot at the shot clock buzzer, scored nine points, grabbed nine boards which was a team high, and was needed on the floor late to balance the floor.
Matthew Hurt (Rochester JM). Faced foul trouble against Texas Pro but scored a dozen points with seven boards and most importantly hit clutch free throws with few seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime. Complete composure from the youngest guy on the floor. Watching was Xavier, Minnesota, North Carolina, Duke, Wisconsin, Virginia, and many others.
Goanar Mar (DeLaSalle). Loved his open floor finishes after turnovers that he created, defended with a load of effort, scored nine points and really liked his mature And1 finishes. Played at a strong level on both ends and offered schools George Mason, South Dakota State, Xavier, Nebraska, and others were looking on.
McKinley Wright (Champlin Park). Had 16 points, nine assists, and seven boards that included key steals, free throws, and attacking finishes late in the game as well as making the right reads to teammates including the pass to Nathan Reuvers for a trey. All around big performance again and his team is moving on. Head coaches from Minnesota, Dayton, Nebraska and Xavier were watching as were assistants from Texas.
Jericho Sims (Cristo Rey Jesuit). Nine points, nine boards, a memorable early block, a memorable six point stretch that included an alley-oop dunk, a hard cut to the rim on a baseline in-bounds play to score, and a turn around out of the post. Had head coaches from Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas State, Xavier, and others watching plus assistants from Texas, UNLV, and too many others to recall off the top of the had.
Nathan Reuvers (Lakeville North). Playing in front of future head coach Greg Gard, Reuvers scored 19 points on 16 shots in 20 minutes of time including four three-pointers. One of those three-pointers was a late three that was maybe the biggest shot of the game.
Others
Race Thompson (Robbinsdale Armstrong). The 6-foot-7/6-foot-8 forward maybe had his best all around game of his 16U life on Thursday playing point forward at times, throwing down several shots at the rim later in the game, and knocking out treys early in the game. Big time performance.
Adam Trapp (Esko). Playing with the Wisconsin Playground Warriors Adam rebounded on the defensive end and then quickly moved the ball up the floor for several outlets that became baskets. It was like an assembly line: Adam rebound, Adam outlet, teammates fly, teammates score. It was over and over and nobody on the court seemed like they wanted to even try and board with him.