Ten Best: CDH vs East Ridge
Cretin/Derham Hall and East Ridge were the center of the basketball community last Saturday with all of their young talent. The Raiders had the experience and won the contest. MVP: Daniel Outro. Despite banging his head and missing part…
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Continue ReadingCretin/Derham Hall and East Ridge were the center of the basketball community last Saturday with all of their young talent. The Raiders had the experience and won the contest.
MVP: Daniel Outro. Despite banging his head and missing part of the first half and the start of the second half Oturo still put up 17 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Maybe one of the closest near triple double games I’ve seen where a guy missed time.
Best Offensive Performance: Ryan Larson. He gives CDH so many things it didn’t have before but number one is consistency and dependability. Not to mention range and consistency at the arc. He made six of a dozen attempts and half of those were threes. Had 16 points, five assists, and five steals.
Best Defensive Performance: Outro/Larson. Having a hard time talking defense after watching zones that sucked the life out of the atmosphere in the first half (even before CDH held the ball for a couple minutes) but Oturo’s shot blocking and the quick hands/lane jumps of Larson getting steals was a big edge that CDH had for the win. I would say that CDH was much better defensively with what they did.
Best Guy Off the Bench: Jaeden King. To be honest I don’t recall if Jaeden came off the bench or not but he did make a big impact on the game. His feet set shooting touch as a sophomore gives the Raiders an added dimension that will really help them.
Best Under the Radar Performance: Ben Carlson. I would say after this game the 6-foot-8 freshman is officially no longer under the radar, not that he was before anyway. He has been a guest of the Gophers and is likely a top three prospect in the 2020 class. Saturday we saw Ben scored 15 points and within that 15 we saw his shooting touch, we saw how well he moved up and down the floor, and we saw his agility creating space around the basket for around the paint. Carlson was able to touch scores in over Oturo a couple times (when Daniel was around the basket, Oturo spent much of the second half defending the top of the arc) and that says something.
Best Underclassmen: Courtney Brown Jr. Brown scored a game high 18 points on feet set corner threes and active baskets using his length and agility to get to space to score around the rim. The Raptor young standout is filling out but is still the agile athlete that has earned him a D1 offer (UND) and other looks.
Best Story to watch Moving Forward: CDH Moving Past Rough Start. The Raiders started their season 2-4 against a very tough schedule (all losses were to top ten teams). Now they have entered conference play and against the best teams in the league (save Woodbury) they have won four straight. The wins have the Raiders at 6-4 headed into back to back games with Eden Prairie and White Bear Lake starting tomorrow.
Best Aspect of the Environment: Saturday Basketball Community Crowd. A Saturday afternoon game with solid teams is like a social gathering for the local basketball community. So many friends in the area gathering in one spot to enjoy the game. Great atmosphere.
Best Prospect: Oturo. Carlson is about top three in the freshman class, Brown is top three in the sophomore class, and Oturo is top three in the junior class. Nice players but I would say national rank wise the length, agility, and motor of this 6-foot-8/6-foot-9 talent separates him as top prospect in game. That said Carlson has a chance to make some national ranking lists when he gets older, just depends on his development.
Other: Jake Prince/Nick Christenson. Nick Christenson scored 13 and we love his scoring touch. One of the best to watch out there in terms of shooting form. Jake Prince is a tough guy, but also greatly improved as a shooter. He had 11, made all his foul shots, had three steals, but also had some turnovers that frustrated himself.