Breakdown State Tournament: Class AAA
Who is the second best team in Class AAA basketball this year? That’s a tough call. This past weekend at the Breakdown State Tournament Delano made their claim as the top contender. DeLaSalle is the heavy favorite and are very…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWho is the second best team in Class AAA basketball this year? That’s a tough call. This past weekend at the Breakdown State Tournament Delano made their claim as the top contender.
- DeLaSalle is the heavy favorite and are very likely to win their sixth straight Class AAA title. So who is the top contender? Many would say Marshall again, but they keep hitting snags. They hit the Waseca snag, they lost this weekend to Delano, and just haven’t proved it with a big Class AAA win yet.
- So Delano? With wins over Patrick Henry, Marshall, and a hammering win over rival Orono they would seem the pick. That said, didn’t they lose to Austin just a month ago in a Breakdown event with both teams fully benched? Yes they did. Is it Austin then? They did beat defending runner-up Fergus Falls (another contender) and Patrick Henry this weekend, but then what about the loss to Mahtomedi?
- Back to Delano, they have likely earned the top contender spot, although it’s pretty shaky. Calvin Wishart has earned a spot among Minnesota’s best. Because of his dancing? No. He does have a lot of shake off the dribble though. Opponents have no way to defend him at this level, Calvin’s burst is so much better than people understand and he can attack in either direction. He loved one direction more than the other but you can’t play for that because his separation is so quick and so fast that he can turn guys inside out. Wishart is going to have a wonderful final two years. My favorite move was the behind the back dribble into a step-back. Nothing one could do with it. He had 22/7 and none of the Henry athletes could stop Wishart from getting where he wanted.
- Supporting cast? It’s getting better. At 6-foot-7, about, Keegan O’Neil is showing off a touch at the arc. He hit four treys in the title game and can touch in a shot from many places. He’s a talented 2018 while Derek Techam is a marksman 2019 who is hitting shots from all over as well. Add in the fantastic all around play from senior Dylan Gilmer and I like the versatility and talent from this team.
- Austin. This is another versatile squad and you know that zone is going to be working at a high level come next March. They have the length and agility to do it too with Both Gach, Duoth Gach, Moses Issa, Oman Oman, Kyle Oberbroeckling, and the very underrated point guard Tate Hebrink plus others. Duoth Gach is a prospect that will start garnering much attention as a 2018 recruit, the young talent does a lot with or without the ball.
- I think Patrick Henry is going to be better than people think too, nevermind this weekend’s pair of losses. They have a three-headed group of Savion Scott, Lamar Wood, and Jordan Lynn who I think are all on the verge of coming into their own and having huge senior years. Jordan Lynn once again showed that he can explode and change games. I think there is going to be a lot of talk about college basketball with some of these kids in the winter. There are some nice role players for the squad too.
- Parker Fox had a scoring explosion of 30 points. I’m not sure how many NAIA offers he has (four I believe), but they are going to keep loving it if one of these NSICs don’t step forward soon. The slashing Fox gets numbers at the rim and the scoring book continues to reflect it. Teammate Shayne Frost had a three point make in the first half outing against Austin that changed the game over the weekend.
- Jarvis Thomas is a top five level kid in Minnesota’s 2018 class, he’s one of the most explosive players in the Midwest, and definitely a game changer. This weekend his foot was in a soft cast. So Orono was to be in trouble, right? We’ve heard this from them before. Expect them to be down, they come back and beat Fergus Falls and Mahtomedi to make the title game. Colton Codute is an underrated lead guard who plays with toughness, Jack Anderson looked like a three-point specialist this weekend, and everybody was asking “who is that” when Max Bjorklund went for 24 in the semi-final. With Barry leading the way the Orono Spartans will again be better than expected.
- Marshall’s Weston Baker Magrath, Mitchell Sueker, Trey Lance, Reece Winkelmann, Zach Bloemker, and Gopher football commit Blaise Andries is a group I just can’t see losing much. Sueker is back from his injury, in great shape, picking up offers daily, and playing much better now that he has his wind. Weston has a D1 basketball offer now from UND, Trey Lance has grown and matured, Reece is as tough as they come, Zach can play both guard spots, they have size, toughness, guard play, etc. They have the roster to make the best push, they just have to turn the corner to success.
- The best for last is that Lamar Wood dunk. The nasty, one-handed dunk over a 6-foot-7 guy where the Henry senior went at the defense with one dribble and exploded big time. A dunk of the summer, definitely the Breakdown event dunk of the summer.